Have you ever been given a hard time for taking photos in town?

Well today I had someone call me a TikTok f**king wanna be photographer and cameras should be kept out of public venues.  First off, I don't have a TikTok page.  Second, I was photographing stone work on the fence which was surrounding a public park.  I even showed the person my photos, which I didn't have to, but I was asking him to show me what was wrong with what I was doing.  

He claimed photographers were cause of the decay of society and that we should take photos only on our own property.  

While I'm not a big fan of street photography, I'd say he was a bit over the top.

TCav wrote: While I'm not a big fan of street photography, I'd say he was a bit over the top.

But it wasn't even that.  It was more macro, filling the frame with the stone work.  Street photography, like photographing people, not my thing either.  

Twenty years ago I was taking a photo of a huge side-of-the-building wall mural in a neighboring town. A woman was touching up the mural and I waited until she was taking a break to attempt the shot. She saw me and came running after me saying that she was the artist and I couldn't photograph it. I tried to explain that I had the right, since I was standing on a public road and the mural was in plain sight, but then she was really getting upset. So I had planned on visiting some friends who owned a framing shop across the street from there, and decided that maybe this woman artist would finish and leave before my visit ended. 

When I mentioned to my friends about my run-un with the artist, they took me upstairs into their workshop area, opened the window and said "close the window when you finish". I got several good shots from there and the rest of the windows, better than I would have from the street. My photos of it were for my own interest, but I did clean it up considerably, removing the signs, parked cars, and street lights, mostly by clipping pieces from other shots. The final version of it couldn't be taken that way from anywhere. I would have given it to the artist, if she had been friendly.

I have had several run-ins with people like that. There is no point in arguing with them. If you do, the situation will become more heated. I usually just turn and walk away, sometimes around the block, and when I come back and they aren't there, I get the shot that I want. 

Charley

I have learned (unfortunately not decades sooner) NEVER to take offence when people are irrational towards me. 
They are so unhappy with themselves, they need to take it out on others to blow off steam. 

My biggest problem is uneducated security.
Not allowed to photograph their building from the street? 
When they call their shift boss and he agrees with them?
They try and detain you while they wait for city cops who is also not sure about rules of photography? 

I had almost forgotten that in my bag is a copy of the regulations, but since I have been doing almost no work outside my photo studio for the last four years I had forgotten this, so they have never been needed since I put them there. But if police were to get involved, my plan was to hand this copy to them. I had no plans to hand it to the person complaining about my photography. It was to be held until the police got involved. An irate person won't read or believe anything handed to them.

As I posted above, I try to explain my position, but then turn and walk away before getting into a heated debate. There almost always are other times for getting the desired shots, and you usually don't need to wait very long before Mr or Mrs trouble leave the area. What they don't see won't bother them at all. 

Just be certain that you are standing on public property before taking your photos. Shopping Malls are private property. Vacant buildings belong to someone, so private property. Railroad tracks are private property. Railroad stations are too, but taking photos of people in them is usually allowed, but photo/video shoots do require permission. The same holds true for Airport Terminals. Always ask permission if not certain when you are about to use a "Real Camera". Big "Real Cameras" attract attention, but nobody pays attention to someone taking cell phone photos of the same things and in the same place, "because everyone does it everywhere." This isn't right, but it's the way that it is today.

Charley 

Well planned and communicated. 
Thanks Charley. 

Several times , at least 2 occasions :

1 . 40+ years ago : on photo college assignment ,  shooting in a public space of some trains ,  apprehended by cops ,  even though I had a legal right to do so ,  they weren't interested in such things . . .

2 .  About 5-10 years ago :  was shooting our city's Maritime Museum, for personal project ,  some  young guys decided to hassle me just for the fun of it . . .

I haven't had someone give me a hard time, but I have gotten plenty of looks.  And by looks I mean people clearly not happy I was photographing something in public. 

To many Karens and Kens out there

Can't say I have been.  But not surprised to hear this, people are way to sensitive these days 

Not to that extent.  I've had people look at me strangely though.