Is a camera a nuisance?

[M_Six]

The link off the main page about some NY restaurants banning food photography revived an uncomfortable feeling of guilt I sometimes carry. I often wonder if my camera, or more specifically, my use of my camera, is a nuisance. We were at a nice (but not exclusive) Mexican restaurant in NYC a year ago and I took a shot of a table-side Guacamole preparer as he was making our guac. I had my gripped 7D and the Roki 35mm mounted, which makes for a large rig. When I pulled it out of my messenger bag, our guest, a friend of my wife, made a non-critical comment about the size of my camera (like, "Wow! That's a big camera!") and laughed. I asked the guac chef if he minded if I took his pic and he said no problem. I took a couple shots and put the camera away. But this article has me wondering if I missed annoyed glances from those seated around us.

Fast forward to this past fall, we were attending an exclusive lecture by a well known author at the Tower of London. I asked the author (who knows my wife well) if she minded if I took some pics and she was thrilled. Her husband had a small P&S and was going to take some, but he said he'd much rather have me take them. I figured that was good enough for me and I stood in the back of the room during the talk and shot away. After the talk my wife was none too happy with me because she said I was annoying people in the audience with the camera noise. She said she saw lots of folks turn around and glare at me. (Although I saw this just once and moved well away from that person.) In the end the author giving the talk was very pleased with the pics, but I still carry the feeling of guilt and embarrassment knowing I was being a disruptive pest.

As a result of that incident, I'm now extremely sensitive about using my camera in any situation where the camera noise, or just the size of the camera, may be considered annoying. This is probably good that I'm more aware of decorum in my photographic pursuits, but I wonder sometimes if I'm unnecessarily missing good shots because of it.

To what extent do you folks consider your environment when shooting in public? Do you have any tips for discretely shooting in public?

[ahab1372]

Interesting topic. I think it really depends on the location and situation, and how people go about it. Firing flashes in a restaurant, setting up tripods, and climbing on chairs is a nuisance IMO. Taking pictures of each other at the table without a flash, even with a bigger camera, shouldn't be a problem. I have done so myself, and on one occasion, the waitress asked to take a picture of all of us. She had to walk around some tables and climb on a chair because I only had the 50 on a crop camera - that was definitely more than I would have asked for, or done myself.
All in all I would say, the camera itself (even if it is big) should not be a problem. Shutter noise can be, depending on the situation and noise level. Flash and tripods and climbing on chairs or walking backwards into the neighboring table in a restaurant can be extremely annoying - I would refrain from using those in most situations. It seems that too many people just lack some common sense in this regard.

[neuroanatomist]

Let me get this straight - people are annoyed by the shutter sound of a dSLR in a restaurant. Why...because it makes it hard for them to carry on the conversation they're having on their cell phone?

[HDNitehawk]

Camera's are never a nuisance, however some photographers are.

[DavidEccleston]

Assuming you're not taking a long set of fast burst images, the shutter is likely annoying only when you're somewhere super quiet, like a church, or library, or at the back of a hall where the speaker has no mic. I know I find the focus-confirm beep being much more annoying than the shutter. Perhaps a noisy focus can be an issue as well?

[ahab1372]

Let me get this straight - people are annoyed by the shutter sound of a dSLR in a restaurant. Why...because it makes it hard for them to carry on the conversation they're having on their cell phone?

LOL.
The only restaurant I could imagine where shutter sound would be annoying is one where it is very quiet because nobody speaks. And I don't think I want to eat there

[Kayaker72]

.... but I still carry the feeling of guilt and embarrassment knowing I was being a disruptive pest.

Why? It it sounds like those people were getting in the way of your photography....

Seriously, unless you were pushing people out of the way, shooting 8 fps right is someone's ear, or bouncing your flash off of someone's head, it sounds like you were respectfully taking photos in the back of the room.

Would they have been annoyed if you were a journalist covering the event?

Could be your wife was sensitive as it was her friend. But, hopefully now that some time has passed, everyone is just enjoying the pictures. I know this is sometimes the case at family events. People complain a little about me getting them together for a group shot, or something. But they almost always ask for a copy at some point down the road.

Camera's are never a nuisance, however some photographers are.

I think this about sums it up.

I do my best to be respectful, but I am sure I have annoyed someone at some point and time (feel free to hit that softball if you must ). It is pretty tough to go through life and not upset someone at some point. Tolerance and understanding are both virtues. Respect is another. Hopefully we can balance the three.

[M_Six]

One of the many positive things about the 6D is that the shutter is remarkably quieter than the 7D's. With Live View and Quiet Mode, it's as close to silent as it will get with a DSLR, I believe.

I found out later that the group that puts on the lectures at the Tower usually bans photography due to flashes and the noise. It was very quiet except for the speaker, so the clacking of the 7D's shutter was noticeable. I wasn't shooting continuous or using a flash, but I did take quiet a few shots to make sure I got some keepers. I guess if I'm in that situation again, I'll a) use the 6D in Live View Quiet Mode, b) take fewer shots, and c) try to move around more so I'm not annoying the same people.

As far as the restaurant story, the first thing I thought was that picture taking seems to be far less of an issue to me than unruly children and/or cell phone conversations.

[Sean Setters]

Jordan Chitwood Setup by budrowilson, on Flickr

When I shoot in public, the best I can hope for is not to be in too many people's way. If they are close enough to hear the shutter, they've probably already been blinded by the light and tripped over an extension cord. ;-)

[eldarhau]

In my experience it used to be worse in the good old, pre digital, film days, where the only option for indoors photography was with a flash. My old Canon NewF1, especially with the winder (before I could afford the motor drive), sounded like somewhere between a gun shot and a car refusing to start and the large Metz flash went off like an explosion. Not easy to be anonymous then.

Today everyone is taking pictures with their smart phones, with simulated SLR shutter noise and very often also a flash. If the photographer behave polite and avoid the chair standing and other scene dominating activities, I seldom sense any negative waves. But there are times when you just don´t push the shutter and definitely not fire off a flash, unless you have prior approval from the people you photograph. This includes events like the "I do" in weddings, the baptism ceremony, music events (e.g. solo piano) etc. The improved high ISO performance on the newer SLRs helps a lot and I also find the silent mode on the 5DIII very helpful.

Personally I find spontaneous street photography of strangers in certain situations to be difficult. Like a homeless I photographed in New York, going through a trash bin, where I felt I took advantage of his vulnerability and was trespassing on his privacy. He did not react, but I still felt uncomfortable doing it. And I suspect that quite a few of you would share that feeling. But it is probably more in our heads than anything else.

Where ever I go with my camera and there are people involved, I try to be as invisible and anonymous as possible, work on my positioning, be alert and get the right shot when it´s there.