How can I approach a stranger to take their photo?

Question:

How can I approach a stranger to take their photo?

I consider myself an amateur photographer, but I've always had the issue of asking to take a photo of a stranger I see on the street. Next month my family and I are going to NYC for a few days and I'm sure there will be many interesting people on the streets with us. Is there some way I can ask a stranger to get a photo of them? I'm afraid they'd be weirded out by me just asking for a photo. The thing is, I'm shy. Please help, thank you! :)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I completely agree with the poster who said ask and you loose the spontaneity of the candid photo. And if you just want posed photos of the wonderful variety of people in New York then I also agree with the suggestion from the posters as to how you can approach people and ask to take their photo.

Why ask at all? Are you familiar with the photography of Arthur Fellig, aka Weegee? He carried a 4x5 sheet film camera with a huge flash into the streets of NYC. He didn't ask permission; he just shot photos. Many of his photos are in this gallery http://museum.icp.org/museum/collections...

1) There is no legal "right" to privacy when you are in a public space. You don't have any legal obligation to ask permission. In my opinion you have no moral or ethical obligation to ask permission either.
2) As long as you don't use the photo for advertising or in a demeaning manor you don't need a model release to publish the photo. So don't take a photo of a cute girl drinking a Coke and try to sell it to CocaCola without a model release. Don't take a picture of a man in the street and sell it to illustrate an article on gay life (unless you know he's gay or he's marching in a gay pride parade - see #3).
3) If it's a newsworthy situation you don't even need a model release when the photo shows the subject in an unflattering or demeaning manor.
4) As long as you're not trying to make a photo that will embarrass the subject it's not even rude to take their photo without asking permission. It is, in fact, a compliment that you want to spend time and film preserving a small moment of their life for, perhaps, eternity.

I used to give my students an assignment that was a psychological challenge as well as a photographic one. These were people who wanted to have a career as a pro so they absolutely need to get over being shy. My assignment was find a person in a public place whom you find photographically interesting. Start taking pictures of them from a full-length distance (with a 135mm lens) and continue walking up to them shooting continuously until you have just their face in the frame. Most of them couldn't complete the assignment but the ones who did got awesome photos. As soon as the subjects noticed that they were being photographed their demeanor changed. Some smiled and posed while others got paranoid or even angry. I warned my students, for their own safety, to stop when the result was anger.

This is a technique I've used many times. I've even had some of the subjects ask me if I would take some portfolio photos for them (actors and models). If challenged I simply tell them I'm recording life on the streets. As soon as they realize that I'm not shooting for some nefarious purpose that puts them in jeopardy they relax. Many of them say okay, fine and go back to what they were doing and I continue shooting. But it they're angry or really upset and remain that way I'll sincerely apologize saying that I meant no harm and walk away. The purpose is not to cause discomfort but to get great candid photos. I know there will be a lot of people who disagree and think this rude but your intent is everything. If your intent is to photograph an interesting person than your taking photos really is complimentary. If your intent is to cause harm then you are being a lot worse than simply rude.

As far as shooting from the hip, using extreme telephoto lens or a right angle lens (a lens with a mirror in the front that takes the picture 90 degrees from the direction the camera is pointed), to me there is something inherently dishonest about these approaches. It's sneaky and kinda underhanded. And that's the way I felt when I tried using them. That's why I prefer my approach. At least it's real.

On my last NYC trip there was an old man playing a saxophone on the sidewalk. I started to photograph him and he held up his hand in front of his face and said, "No pictures unless you pay me." I could have ignored him and continued shooting or I could have argued with him but I didn't. I gave him a couple of bucks and took some photos. He gave me the money back and asked me to walk across the street to a cafe and get us both a cup of coffee. I did and we had a great conversation and I took some more photos of him playing his sax.