So, my friend and I took a day trip to Jiufen this weekend. On at least 3 separate occasions, we noticed people taking photos of us without asking. These were clearly not “scenery” or “crowd” photos that we just happened to be in, I’m talking camera-in-your face and/or very obviously directly-at-you. First occasion, my friend got her camera straps, backpack straps, and scarf all tangled up, and while I was helping her get untangled, she noticed an older Chinese man sticking a camera right in her face. I turn around, and suddenly I’m face-to-face with his enormous lens. We moved on. A short while later, she and I were taking photos by a ledge…and another tourist was taking a photo of me as I was taking a photo of her! This happened again several minutes later. Several weeks ago, I was picking out a box of sushi at a “to go” place in Taipei Main Station, I look up, and some dude is standing there taking a photo of me as I’m looking at sushi! What gives? I’ve had people once or twice ask to take my picture, which I can deal with, but I’ve never had someone straight up take my picture without asking. Has anybody else experienced this?
What do you look like? Tall? Blonde hair?
In Taipei everyone just ignores me. Not had my photo taken there…though maybe there was so many people i didnt notice it.
I have a lot of people taking pictures of me. They’re medical specialists and their techniques are rather invasive.
you get all the fun don’t you 
When you are in a public space, anyone can take your picture or even follow you with a camera all day long. There is nothing you can do about that.
Just get a bigger camera and shoot back.
Yeah, it happened to me a couple of times (even though not as much as back then on the Mainland in 2000, when I was really a novelty there, I guess 
).
I usually don’t mind - on the contrary, it amuses me to no end when I see that people are trying to secretly take pictures of me and then the look on their faces when they realize that I found out and I am looking directly at them. Usually I then just pose for them Taiwan-style (big grin and victory fingers). The last time I did this I was visiting Kaohsiung with my parents. The stealth photographers were tourists from Mainland China (Inner Mongolia!) and when they realized that I even spoke Chinese we ended up taking, I think, hundreds of pictures together with the entire tourist group. Very funny (even though my parents were a little bit exhausted in the end). 
I always ask for money, or beer, or else, I spoil the shot.
Be vigilant.
Stay frosty, watch your six, and your egress and ingress.
You take my picture in a public space, it’s just like Mr. White said, you better wake up and apologize. Otherwise, I want my cut.
These are the main reasons why there have been no known photos taken of the elusive TheGingerMan.
Spooky, I say!
I’m of petite stature with red hair, very fair skin, and blue eyes. Yeah, I know it’s their legal right to take photos of me in a public space, but “legal” doesn’t mean “not rude”, know what I mean?
Be thankful that Bruce Gilden is not Taiwanese.
I don’t see any harm in it.
It seldom happens to me now that I’m a middle-aged man of rather nondescript appearance. But when it happened in days gone by, I was generally flattered rather than otherwise. And when I see someone raising a camera to take a picture of my lovely little daughter, I’m pleased that she offers such a good subject for the photographer, and glad of whatever pleasure it gives them.
If photographers always needed to ask permission before taking a picture of a stranger, many of the world’s best photographs would never have been taken. A natural shot of someone who is unaware of being photographed is nearly always going to be better than a shot of someone self-consciously posing.
Also, bear in mind that you’re now being continuously photographed almost wherever you go, as CCTV cameras become increasingly ubiquitous.
I don’t have any problem with people taking pictures without asking. Doesn’t happen often, but it’s not something I’d get up in arms about, provided of course the pic doesn’t show up in some ad campaign or something unsavory or political in nature.
I’m am curious though, country to country, are there truly no laws or rights for people to not have their pictures taken when out in public? Surely someone can’t take your picture and then use it in an unauthorized manner, right?
cfimages once took pictures of me without asking. Now he uses them to blackmail me on Facebook. :neutral:
I suppose how you feel about it depends on what you think they are going to do with the picture afterwards. We don’t mind people looking at us, we do the same thing too. It is unavoidable that people will see us. But it becomes different if the look is captured for posterity. We have a thread here full of pictures of the Taiwanese snapped by ex-pats. People are curious about the lives of other people. Hopefully you are just being snapped by some (wannabe) artist, rather than becoming the subject of masturbatory material or whatever. Try to think of it as flattery or random guffbaggery, rather than why me.
There is an estimated 380 billion pictures taken per year now globally. In the last year 10% of ALL photos ever taken were snapped. Apparently. So it’s only going to become more common.
I’m not aware of any laws prohibiting picture-taking in public space, unless you’re doing something that constitutes an assault, such as taking upskirt pictures.
The article mentions that in France there are privacy laws which prohibit the publication of a picture of a person in public without their permission, but I believe France is exceptional in this respect.
In general there are no restrictions on taking pictures in public but there are on usage and publication.
For advertising, permission for every identifiable person is required. However for editorial use, which includes news reports, magazine articles, personal blogs, fine art, educational use and a few more, no permission is required.
Watch all this change when facial recognition software goes mainstream.
expel a large stream of snot on their lens.
If that still fails to annoy them, then offer to wipe it of with your hankie (after filling it with sand).
I saw a guy on the MRT this week taking photos of women. It ranged from school girls to adults. He was doing it conspicuously. I know because I could see the reflection in the window behind him. Then it looked like he was sending it to someone.
He was definitely chatting. He seemed to receive similar photos.
Maybe some pervert MRT blog.
I watched him (from the train) travel up an escalator (at his station) behind a woman with a skirt on and and he had his phone in position.
They may be mainland Chinese tourists. They seem to like to photograph us exotic bignoses.
This has probably been discussed before somewhere, can’t find a thread, though.
What are the regulations for publishing pictures of strangers online in Taiwan?
Lot of local bloggers will blur faces of strangers in their photos, so I guess there is some kind of consent required to show faces of strangers online?