Words matter. We often say a photographer “takes a picture.” The dictionary defines “take” as to seize, grasp, to capture something, which grammatically makes it sound aggressive and helps explain why many people don’t want their photograph “taken.”
“Making” means to produce something by construction or elaboration. We welcome someone announcing they are making dinner. It implies that we will all benefit, that we will all enjoy the outcome. Context is everything.
A couple of experiences made me rethink how I photograph people, especially when traveling. I recently attended a performance of a local theatrical group at the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjör∂ur, Iceland. They give an entertaining demonstration of the work at a salting station between the 1910s and 1960s when women toiled on the docks, gutting, cleaning, and salting barrels of the fresh-caught herring.