Street Walker

I’ve come to the conclusion that the human race can be a pretty unhelpful bunch, but I also like that they can be nice too.

I know this, because I have days the same, but I have recognised this in myself and have developed ways to say, ‘Thanks, but bugger off’, without actually saying it.

As a way to develop my photography skills I do unpaid work for a website called Fashion Studio. This involves me going out onto the streets of Sydney and looking at fashion trends. Unfortunately, due to privacy laws, I have to seek permission before taking pictures. This is a shame for a few reasons;

1. Often the best fashionista is having a bad hair/bad handbag/bad ‘breakout’ day. This usually means they look fabulous and to mere mortals they appear to have nothing wrong or out of place on their perfectly quaffed head.
2. They are in a hurry. This is usually a the person mentioned above who has until the moment you approach them been gliding along with ethereal grace, clearly in no hurry to get to their destination.
3. They completely ignore you. Politely, you say, ‘excuse me.’ They pretend they haven’t heard, I like being ignored, it’s gives me such a happy joy-joy feeling.
4. They tell you to ‘f*** off’. This is always very pleasant and will often issue before I’ve even said ‘Excus...
5. They say, ‘would you mind if I said no?’ Pretty hard to argue with. I tried once, I replied with, ‘Yes, I would, terribly.’ She was a number 1, she looked stunning, but she still said no, I let her go.
6. They try to pose, it never looks natural.

This is how I approach.

‘Excuse me, my name if is Jodie and I’m a fashion photographer.’ If this get one of the responses from above, I start looking for the next desirable. If they stop, I know I’m in with a 70/30 chance of getting a picture.

I go on to explain. ‘I work for Fashion Studio, an online magazine that looks at how catwalk fashion translate to street wear. Today we’re looking at xyz and I could help but notice your stunning/fabulous/amazing xyz’.

A lot are flattered, as they should be, some not so, and decline in a variety of ways

They will then ask, ‘Do I just stand here?’ So I’ll suggest a twist of the hip and look at the camera. They like that it slims them down, I like that it naturally get them putting their best foot forward (good for nice shoes) and get them to relax and maybe giggle a bit. Occasionally this doesn’t work and the full length shot looks awful, in that case I’ll take a waist up shot.

After the picture has been taken I give them a sheet that contains details of the site, my name and a URL of the site and tell them they can view their picture in the next couple of days. They go away smiling, enjoying the moment of spontaneity.

Personally if I was approached by a ‘fashion photographer’ and told what I was wearing was the height of fashion, I’d be happy to pose. The whole process that about 3 minutes. I’m not selling anything and not getting you sign up to support a charity with a regular monthly withdrawal of funds. What I notice is, that a lot of people will not even take the time to find out.

If I have the info sheet visible at ‘Excuse me’ I get a higher rate of Number 4, than if I highlight the camera, then bring out the info. Paper = selling in people’s minds.

This is not the first time I have had to solicit. I’ve done market research, I canvassed for the Alpaca Association and recently I’ve started doing voluntary work for an animal welfare group. Never selling, always offering information or offering something for free. So I’ve been on the receiving end of the general public’s wrath for a number of causes, so while I expect abuse of varying degrees, I’m still not used to it. I have learnt not to behave in a rude manner, I either do not make eye contact (the first rule of selling stuff) or I politely decline. If it’s charity, I explain I have my list of five each year and I review at Christmas. Happy to take a leaflet. Of course I do donate to charity, but it’s an ad-hoc thing and it’s rarely the big charities that spend hundreds of thousands on paying backpackers in Martin Place. Often, it’ll just be someone asking directions.

So please give this some thought next time you are approached by a stranger on a busy street.

Ask not what you can do for them, but what they can do for you.

In my case, you might just get a few minutes of fame.

PS. Thank you to the 16 lovely ladies that said 'Yes, I'd love too' today, two of whom are about.