Pointing a camera at strangers without consent isn't art. The ethics conversation is overdue.

A common scene in Indian metros: a photographer with a DSLR snapping portraits of street vendors, daily-wage workers, and visibly poor people without consent. The output gets uploaded to Instagram tagged #StreetPhotography #IndianLife. The ethical problem is real and the photo-aesthetic doesn't neutralise it. Good street photography in India can be done ethically. Build relationships before taking portraits, ask permission for face-clear shots, share the photo with the subject if possible. The "decisive moment" school of photography doesn't override consent in a country where the subject and photographer have a massive socioeconomic power asymmetry.