The art of street photography, the rules for not taking risks

Street photography, also known as "Street Photography", is a photographic genre that consists in portraying subjects in spontaneous poses and in everyday life environments, in order to immortalize everyday reality in an authentic way . The main characteristics of Street Photography are therefore the spontaneity of the portrayed subject, who is often photographed while carrying out their daily activities and the improvisation of the photographer, who must seize the moment for the shot in a situation in constant motion and evolution.

This technique means that the portrait subject, most of the time, does not even know that it is being photographed, precisely to ensure the authenticity of the scene.

So what are the legal limits of this kind of photography, to reconcile the impossibility or difficulty of obtaining the consent of the person being photographed and the preservation of the artistic nature?

The problem arises more than ever in the current era, ie in the age of social media and the Internet, in which the publication of a photo can become viral on the web in a few minutes.

In the past, this problem was posed in a less preponderant way, just think of photos of famous photographers who portrayed images of fully recognizable subjects and who made the history of photography. Certainly these photographers did not ask for consent or a release for disclosure, but the artistic and cultural purposes were certainly able to overcome the problems deriving from the right of image or the privacy of the person portrayed.

Today, however, it is absolutely necessary to define the legal boundaries of this activity, in order to ensure compliance with the law and the rights and freedoms of the parties concerned.