Taking pictures at tango events - an intrusive practice?!

[Brummbaer]

Ego- and status-centered dancing, always a pleasure to be around.

Well, that's probably another issue with London-centric AT, at least as reported. More 'look at me' rather than 'look at my dance partner' (but, of course, that was never the case during that intimate tanda partnership in older times)

 

[Tango Newbie]

We have multiple (and competing) dance instructors and studios, with just about all of them posting pictures and videos of the classes, practicas / practalongas, and milongas on social media.

Some like it (based on the responses) and others like my SO isn't as interested since she likes the anonymity of Tango we enjoy. She doesn't want her clients searching social media, and revealing they've seen her in public, particularly Tango where she wears the traditional tango attire, or who's in her private life (me, out of respect). I also don't typically post pictures of us on my social media out of respect for her and her profession.

As for me, I'm totally 'okay' with pictures of us, either as a couple, or while dancing with others. I will admit, some of the stoic expressions on me, and others aren't the most flattering some of the time. Either way, I make it a point to 'save' the ones I want to cherish.

 

[ArbeeNYC]

While a minority don't like it, if you look at the Facebook posts from festivals, etc, where photos are posted, they are very popular with participants – indeed, eagerly awaited.

Personally, I enjoy the memories these photos bring back.

I've been happily surprised at photos of myself dancing. Of course, I am not the focus of the photos, she is, but that's fine with me. Sometimes, I wish there were more of them. Over the years, they have provided a record of my travels through tango.

 

[pianistamediano]

Well, that's probably another issue with London-centric AT, at least as reported. More 'look at me' rather than 'look at my dance partner' (but, of course, that was never the case during that intimate tanda partnership in older times)

Honestly, I think that if I'd started tango in London, I would have given up long ago. And I'm fairly certain that if I weren't already an experienced leader, I would have had such a horrible time in the milongas that I'd just stick to classes and practicas for the next year or so. And that has its own unique set of problems.

Thankfully, I've already found a few regular/favourite followers, so all I really want right now in terms of tango is more great dances and being able to DJ regularly. But I hate networking, so that last one's going to be a drag... And it doesn't help that I dance quietly, so I become invisible and don't get noticed by the followers I want to dance with. Always a problem!

 

[ArbeeNYC]

• If a photo was taken legally, those in the photo can ask that it not be used in exhibitions, media (online or traditional), or publicity, and that request isn't considered harassment or nuisance, but the copyright holder – the photographer or their customer – can ignore the request*, and there's no further recourse.

I was under the impression you needed a release if the work was going to be used for commercial purposes--that would include an exhibition of the work. At least, that's my understanding of U.S. law. Unless it's changed since I last investigated this.

 

[Tango Newbie]

I've been happily surprised at photos of myself dancing. Of course, I am not the focus of the photos, she is, but that's fine with me. Sometimes, I wish there were more of them. Over the years, they have provided a record of my travels through tango.

Me too and I'm usually happily surprised. About less than half of the time my face is visible, while hers is usually the face (with a smile) that's captured. And of those, they're not just us, and we're typically near the couple the photographer is taking the picture of, or closely in the background.
I find the videos to be quite entertaining too, and my SO will usually warn me "they're taking pictures of us" and will suggest doing something for the camera like a "triple volcada" (or something of the sort).

 

[ArbeeNYC]

Me too and I'm usually happily surprised. About less than half of the time my face is visible, while hers is usually the face (with a smile) that's captured. And of those, they're not just us, and we're typically near the couple the photographer is taking the picture of, or closely in the background.
I find the videos to be quite entertaining too, and my SO will usually warn me "they're taking pictures of us" and will suggest doing something for the camera like a "triple volcada" (or something of the sort).

I've always ignored the camera and simply keep doing what I always do. I like to keep my focus where it belongs.

 

[Tango Newbie]

I've always ignored the camera and simply keep doing what I always do. I like to keep my focus where it belongs.

Yes, I am too modest to look for cameras or the people taking the pictures or videos. You're right, if I'm looking at them, I'm not doing my job. However, my SO is resigned to the fact that photos are common, so she usually looks at the camera and smiles. And like I mentioned, she wants to 'put on a little show' of our talents so we can look back at them later.

 

[JournalInTime]

I was under the impression you needed a release if the work was going to be used for commercial purposes--that would include an exhibition of the work. At least, that's my understanding of U.S. law. Unless it's changed since I last investigated this.

This doesn't surprise me for the U.S. . . . the culture is overall more litigious than that of Canada, so there's a lot of "belt and suspenders." Some people up here would like things to work that way, but so far, if I take a photo in a public place or private place with public access, I can decide to use it unilaterally unless it's illegal in some other way.

 

[Steve Pastor]

Bill Alsup was the host/dj for my favorite practica since before I started AT. And Bill was a photographer. He has Flickr albums for his different cameras. Photogs are really into their gear. He even shot with and OM1, one of which I still own, and an unused roll of film for it! Anyhow, I scrolled through many pages of the images he took during practicas over the years (until he gave it up during and after covid.) You couldn't miss the fact that he was taking pix. I never felt that it was intrusive or that he was making something I was doing in public ... more public?
BTW, it was great fun cruising through all of his images and seeing may familiar faces, and faces that showed a great deal of satisfaction. (It might even be enough to get me to go to Tango Berretin to hear Alex Krebs and crew play this Saturday.)

P.S. Super glad that 'someones' (is this a word?) took pictures of early tango, swing, and "country" dancers

 

[TTanguero]

I was under the impression you needed a release if the work was going to be used for commercial purposes

Yes, but 'commercial' usage is very narrowly defined, essentially limited in meaning to using a photo for (unrelated) advertising. So a milonga organiser can use a photo of you dancing in their milonga to promote that milonga; Pepsi can't use the photo to sell sugared water.

 

[Rabbit]

I wonder, how/when did this start, taking pictures of the participants dancing at different tango events? Somehow I am guessing that it is a slip, that cameras shifted focus from the couples of maestros performing/giving shows to the humble, regular participants. Only that there is an unbalance here, a sort of inequality: while the performing couples are fully aware of this and have trained in posing, the regular tanguer@s (well, most of them) are at loss - being either unaware or unskilled in posing. They are so immersed in the dance, in their own feelings that they somehow feel like being photographed naked - which they are, in a way, emotionally naked.

What is your take on this?

Sometimes it feels a bit intrusive if there are too many cameras, on the other hand it's nice to have a souvenir of the event, so on balance I don't mind. One need not worry about posing, the photographers are not going to post photos where people do not look good.

 

[pianistamediano]

... the photographers are not going to post photos where people do not look good.

Yes, but my complexion is already bad, I have too much baby fat on my face, my hair loves to defy gravity and other assorted laws of physics despite copious amounts of pomade... So I always look bad, photo or not!

 

[TTanguero]

my hair loves to defy gravity

Don't worry, by the time you get to my age, the problem will have solved itself.

 

[Brummbaer]

I never felt that it was intrusive or that he was making something I was doing in public ... more public?

There's a vast difference between 'public' many years ago pre-FB and 'public' nowadays, especially with the ability to find other matched images across a vast collection, and to associate that with other data (e.g. location, date, time, name, nickname, DoB, old school or college, other hobbies, pets, family, friends, status, relationships, etc.). Also what makes history interesting!

I think there's a difference between a 'good' (i.e. interesting) image (lighting, position, pose, position, colouring, texture, etc) than some random image published online placing you at that event. I'd concede that, in some future, that might become historically 'interesting'.