There is quite a tradition of street photographers taking pictures of homeless people. And the ethics and debate around this has been discussed in both academic and more casual forums for years.

My photography rarely includes people at all. In fact, I often studiously avoid including people, even though most of my photo work is urban. Partially it’s an ‘ethical’ issue, I’ve never been mad about the ‘in-your-face’ approach of some street photographers. But, more than that, there are more than enough cameras in nearly every Western city in the world – from surveillance, to tourists with selfie sticks – that I really don’t think that I’d be adding much by hurling my camera lenses into that general mix. So I generally try to capture spaces and detritus in-between the ‘usual’ of the city.

But photographs of homeless people is an odd phenomenon. It’s a genre which has been saturated with images over the years. But I wonder why so many contemporary street photographers still latch on to it? Perhaps they take inspiration from the classic street photographers, who documented the ‘dispossessed’, particularly in the streets of London and Europe. And why not? Homelessness is certainly a topic which needs documenting and publicising – although, more importantly, it needs addressing.

There are many excellent street photographers, who deal with the subject of homelessness very well. But I sometimes wonder at the casualness with which the subject can be treated. Homeless people are almost too easy a target, it seems. Many of the images I’ve seen on Flickr, student art shows, or even in galleries, feature apparently drunk, unconscious and possibly mentally ill people. It is unlikely that their permission has been sought. But, even leaving that ethical issue aside, there often seems to be a distinct lack of sympathy for, or engagement with, the subjects of these photos. Many times, it appears to be a slightly voyeuristic or thoughtless collection of easy photographic targets and it is hard to see how many of these images of homeless people, add substantially to the body of photographic documentary knowledge, art, or… whatever.

I suppose some of the same arguments can be used with a whole list of photographic topics. And I’m not claiming to have all the answers. But homelessness seems to be such an important signifier in street photography, that it probably deserves a discussion of its own.