Blending

After taking some pictures for my story tonight, and reading LaBelle's article I think the most important piece of advice given was that of blending. In the past I've had difficulty with this task. I've felt awkward among my subjects, feeling like the sore thumb 'journalist' in the crowd simply there to get the story and bail. However, tonight I decided to blend in as an equal and found that my subjects were much more willing to cooperate with me. Acting as an equal or 'blending' makes your subjects feel as though you are their equal, or friend not some random journalist in need of a story. Blending can also help you feel more comfortable, so that you'll in turn have more patience and take more interesting photos. 

I think blending is also important because if the people you are covering forget that you're there taking pictures, they will act more natural. This allows the photographer to be able to observe the subjects natural behaviors more closely than if he/she felt pressured to pose or do something interesting for the camera. However, I think blending takes a lot of patience (another aspect LaBelle pointed out as important). Your sources aren't going to trust you right away. Therefore, you have to establish good report with them first, introduce yourself, make small talk etc. and then step into the background.