Street photography has a consent problem. The classic approach — invisible observer, telephoto lens, shoot and walk away — produces images that feel stolen because they are. I’ve made those images, and I’ve regretted them.

Here’s what I do instead now. When I see a scene I want to capture, I lower the camera, make eye contact, and smile. Sometimes I nod toward the camera with a questioning look. About 70% of people say yes. Of those who don’t, most simply shake their head and move on. I’ve been yelled at exactly twice in twelve years.

The people who say yes often give you more than permission — they give you collaboration. They straighten their collar, or don’t. They hold the expression you caught them in, or they change it. Both are interesting. Both are truer than anything captured from across the street with a 200mm.

I’ve learned that proximity is a technical choice disguised as a social one. Getting close — actually close, within arm’s reach — requires trust, and trust shows up in the image. You can see it in the eyes, in the micro-expressions that only happen when someone has decided to let you in.