Hello, I am a 23-year-old self-taught photographer, I seek through street photography, and photojournalism to show the world the cruelty of Argentine life, subjected to a dictatorship disguised as “good people”. I want my photographs to reach people from other countries so that they can see that Argentina is not the World Cup, it is hunger, anger, ignorance, corruption, insecurity and death. I’m not a great photographer yet, but from my place I’d like you to give me advice and opinions for this project which I’ve been working on for months, in order to leave a record of the irregularities of this horrible government, which censors and even imprisons artists, journalists and opposition influencers. Sadly, they may be re-elected through electoral fraud. I apologize for my poor English. I also apologize for this post, I don’t know if it will be the right place for this, honestly, I didn’t know it was like that.
This sounds like an interesting and important project, and I wish you luck! I’d suggest a few things before you set out: Know the laws around photography in Argentina, keep your gear light, and respect the dignity of the people you’re photographing.
Photography laws In most places it’s perfectly legal to photograph anyone who’s in a public place, and the photographer is automatically the author and copyright holder of any photo that they take. However there’s different laws about what exactly counts as “public” (eg. A shopping mall might be open to the public, but it’s privately owned), whether you can sell an image of a person without their consent, whether you can take photos of cops, et cetera. It’s worth looking into local guidelines for paparazzi and photojournalists.
Knowing the law isn’t a magic bullet for avoiding issues with cops or anyone else who gets confrontational, but it certainly helps.
Gear Minimal gear is good for several reasons: You’re less noticeable, you won’t get overwhelmed by setting up equipment in the moment, and if you need to get the fuck out of somewhere, you can.
Respect your subjects Your work is potentially going to show people in vulnerable or unflattering situations. You have a responsibility not to be exploitative, condescending or overly invasive in your role as a photographer. Take the responsibility seriously.