I'm not sure what to do. I don't like invading someone privacy but if they are performing before the public, as opposed to a private special event, then I think they are an appropriate subject to be photographed. However, no one should get in their face with a flash camera or stand in front of them blocking the view of the audience of their performance. If you have a decent lens you can take pictures much more discretely.

The second question is what one can ethically do with such photos. On one extreme no one should do anything commercially without getting a release from the performer. On the other extreme I would think most performers would be delighted to get some free publicity on a public forum such as ours or Facebook, as long as they were identified and the photos were showing them doing good work. However, I certainly would object if someone published embarrassing images of myself or other performers; it's easy to take such pictures but rude to post them.

If I know before hand that someone is adverse to being photographed I would certainly respect that. But seldom does one know that in a festival situation. I don't have a clue who "Johnny J" is (or if he or she even exists) but if I see the name on a list of performers I will find someone else to photograph. There's lots of choice.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble