A photograph taken with permission begins with a different kind of trust.

Being photographed without warning puts a person in someone else’s frame before they have agreed to be there. Asking first changes the whole exchange: they know what is happening, they can arrange themselves or say no, and what appears is someone participating rather than someone caught. The picture may be less spontaneous, and the relationship behind it is entirely different.

Ask before you take the photograph this week, even among friends and family. Show it to them afterwards, and let the person have a say in whether it survives.