The concept is simple: get a photograph of a person, ask them a few (meaningful) questions and get them to tell you a story, or give you an interesting quote.
Simple.
In theory.
Being in a foreign country and talking to strangers is already hard enough, without the deep, personal questions. So, here are some tips and tricks to approaching and talking to strangers.
Stay calm. You're nerves have a nasty habit of getting the best of you when you are thrown into unfamiliar situations. If you are visibly freaking out, it's going to make whoever you are approaching uncomfortable.
Start with 'Hello.' This is an easy one. Don't just go up to someone and ask 'Can I take your picture?" Instead, smile and start a real conversation. When you can carry a conversation, it makes the situation a lot more comfortable.
Explain why you want to take a picture. Again, simply saying 'Can I take your picture?' can catch people off guard. Tell them what kind of project you are working on and see if they are interested in contributing.
Smile. Smiling just makes everyone more comfortable and is better than standing there without and expression.
Say 'Thank you!' Someone you don't know just allowed you to take their picture and ask them personal questions. It is only appropriate to thank them.
These are just a few tips that helped me along while in Ireland working on this project. Once I got over my fears of talking to strangers, the project became easy and fun. Stay tuned for the debut of Humans of Sneem on Tumblr.
No comments:
Post a Comment