Street photography ethics are a touchy subject and I am not talking of street photography rules but rather more how photographers choose to behave. When shooting (candid) street photography in London or anywhere else, many street photographers seem to leave their values at home as soon as they head out to photograph strangers.

I have for quite a long time tried to put on paper my honest and more recent thoughts on street photography and my views on the attitude some opt for.

Street photography in the way it's practiced can sometimes have a less attractive side, often displayed by photographers through a lack of empathy with their subject, a lack of respect and justifying their actions in a way or another, usually by stating street photography is not illegal so it’s alright.

Well I’m sure we can think of a few "legal" things that aren’t really acceptable.

The other morning I watched a video relating to street photography on YouTube in which a street photographer explained how to limit the risk of getting beaten up after he himself got beat-up.

Hindsight is a beautiful thing but in reality it doesn’t take a street photography master genius to understand his approach was aggressive and was only ever going to yield an aggressive reaction from his subjects.

In short, the guy ran across the street towards a group of friends and shoved his big camera and flash in their faces. They then proceeded to beat the crap out of him.

I’m not saying he deserved to get beaten up, but I’m not surprised either (you’d know if you’ve ever spent a night in Glasgow).