Learning to relax in a street environment (public arena) is half the battle. For some people there is the quintessential and habitual fear of people (public interaction) in any public arena. So if you’re considering being a photographer and a street photographer at that you’re pushing, “you know what up hill with a shovel”, from the get go.

Common courtesy or “smiling” as you suggests goes along way to bringing down the walls of inhibitions from both sides of the camera as does conversation. I have often found that people are capable and willing to have their photograph taken candidly or otherwise if you are willing to converse with them if only for a moment.

Perhaps something else to consider also is the aspect of cultural idiosyncrasy where some cultures have a definite dislike to “having their soul captured” as in the case of some cultures of the south pacific. That is not to say the entire cultural population is of that “antiquated or spiritual” mindset but, it pays to bear in mind that some members of a particular culture may have such a cultural idiosyncrasy and you could be on the end of a severe “I’ll take that camera and shove it up your”…. if you’re not careful, learned and observant.
Yes I would say drop your labels and inhibitions and just get on with it but understand the cultural idiosyncrasies and diversity that exists in all street environments and learn to decipher them as a means of courtesy to those you capture and your self.
After all, what we want is to maintain is a sense of photographic integrity to the subjects as well, yes?

I think you’ll find that then creates “an even stronger indelible connection to the moment” as a result and for my humble thoughts “street photography is about moments” and how we see, relate/interact and document those moments.

Then again, fudging the facts works, too.

Then again, some people have such inflated senses of themselves, that they wake-up wondering if today will be the day where they can smack a camera just like it-person-of-the-hollywood-moment and stomp away.

Then again, cameras ARE annoying!

okay perhaps this explains what happened to me this weekend in the u district here in seatlte when i snapped a shot, and the subject and i ended up exchanging words (more she than i) and knocked my drink out of my hand. all this with my wife & kid around (although wifey said if she would have seen the cup knocking there would have been issues:)

i think its celebrity culture plus the addition of the negative publicity that “street shooters” have garnered. it’s unfortunate, because in the above instance, in my mind i’m clearly not the enemy; it’s the person with the telephoto that has maybe snapped about 20 shots of her prior to her incident with myself and my holga.

incidents like that make it tough to “get over”, but point #9 (at least the title of it–i read the article and it’s not so much about persisting in the face of offense) is a good one to remember.