The furtive photographer gets worse pictures and more trouble. Being visibly, openly a photographer — camera out, unhurried, comfortable in your own presence — reads as legitimate and lets you work far closer than any hidden approach ever could. Confidence here is a technique, not a personality trait.

The method: move slowly, keep the camera visible, make eye contact and nod, act like you belong. People mirror your energy — calm reads as calm, furtive reads as threat.