Unflattering Stolen ID Picture Shot: My Beef with Posting Bad NinjaShots of Complete Strangers

I like street photography. It encourages you to find inspiration in everything. Street photography is an example of "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  You don't have to travel far or exert too much effort to find a subject to take pictures of. You make the most out of everything, right there and then. No contrived poses, no moving props. As hassle-free as that sounds, like most forms of photography, it involves aesthetics. Done right, it's amazing - finding beauty in even the snarkiest of places. Done wrong, it's an invasion of privacy. 

I am no critic, I don't have the props to. I'm just a hobbyist but it gives me the heebeegeebees, every time I see an "unflattering stolen ID picture like shot" of a stranger posted on social media. "Unflattering stolen ID picture like shot" - 'Unflattering' cause it projects the subject in a bad light or just down right makes him/her ugly. 'Stolen' because the picture taker didn't ask for permission to take the photo and then has the gall to post it on social media. 'ID picture like shot' for the picture shows the entire face of the 'stranger' that it will be easy for friends, family or colleagues to recognize him or her.

To make things clear, I have no beef with random pics of signs, buildings streets or stop lights. I don't even care if it's mediocre or uckly.  I'm also ok with random pictures of people, as long you cannot ID them. If you have noticed, I avoid posting photos of people on my blog and on Instagram. If ever I do, these people are blurred out - you see a face, you know it has a nose, eyes, ears etc but you cannot recognize that person with the use of the photo I posted. I am even tolerant of "in your face" photos, as long as the subjects are projected artistically. Heck, go ahead and take more of those paparazzi style photos of those non showbiz personalities - just don't post them. I hope you get my point.

These 'strangers' aren't public figures, so respect their privacy. What if it was the other way around? What if it was you who became the subject of an "unflattering stolen ID picture like shot" that was uploaded in the internet? So the next time you decide to upload an unauthorized, unflattering photo of a complete stranger - think before you click!