Street Photography Tips

[Andy]

there's a lot that goes into successful street photography. i'll try to open up a few subjects, and let's discuss...

awareness/focus

i'm in a zone when i street shoot. i'm looking for slices of life, expressive moments, odd juxtapositions, funny scenes, interesting people. i'm totally focused on the scene, i'm part of it as i'm walking through it. constantly watching, looking, peering, seeing. imo you cannot "street shoot" in 15 minutes. for me, it takes me a while to get in the zone, and then once there, i hope for the best - i've said it before that we make our own luck by being there. others have said "f/8 and be there!" -- same concept. so when i'm in the zone, i hope that i find some of the above criteria met - and i usually do, but some days i have to look harder than others. make mental note as you ply your streets... i have posted here before that there's a shot i'd been wanting for months, but i was never near this "standpipe" when someone was sitting on it... well, patience paid off and i got this:



what makes this shot for me, is the indifference of the subject (hey, i'm just sittin' here, reading my newspaper...), his reflection, and the reflection of the cab. and of course, the irony of the "sitting" on the "stand" pipe....

people in context

people shots are great, and i live for my street portraits. i really try to put people in context. so, rather than tight up to the cab driver, i waited weeks to find the right cabby (facial and other "attitude" character), the right light, and the right scene (again, i had this shot in my mental inventory before i even took it:



what works for me here is the fairly wide angle view of the street, the cab and the waldorf-astoria... and the absolute cooperation of the subject. i simply told him "hey, you look great, may i take your photograph? this was a one-shot-shoot, i popped in a little fill flash to get some twinkle, chatted him up a bit, asked him his name (henri), shot, smiled, thanked him, gave him my card and was on my way all in less than a minute.

more "in context" and one of my favorite street portraits, is the "suit seller" who actually approached me first trying to lure me inside the men's store to buy a suit... i stopped, did a button-hook, and went right up to him... "hey, you look great here, in front of your store like this, may i take your photograph?"



again, what works for me here is the absolute clarity of subject/environment, it's clear that he's in front of men's clothes for sale. i adore his expression, and his eyes. this shot is on my wall.

in this gallery you'll find many more examples of people in context. take a look at the chess players, for an example of some street people that i spent quite a bit of time with, they became comfortable with me, and i shot them up without disturbing their games.

confidence

street shooting requires confidence.. *you* are doing nothing wrong, so don't sneak around! put away that tele, and stick a fifty or thirty-five on your dslr, or set your digicam's zoom to the wider end of things, and see the scene "normally," up close and personaly. this may be strange for some of you, but i assure you it gets easier after your initial trepidation wears off. the worst that can happen is people say "no, i don't want my photo taken," and so you smile and move on! the wider angles offer so much more to the viewer imo, that they're worth the extra effort in becoming more comfortable ...



readiness

learn your camera's controls, shoot in a way that let's you shoot quickly! i'm always pre-set for the most part (choice of iso, aperture) and i typically shoot in aperture priority mode. i also learn the hyperfocal distances of my lenses, so that i can shoot comfortable within a distance range. watch the lighting, which can change by 8 or 9 stops just by turning a corner! it's really important to have all your senses focused on the job at hand. maybe that's why i have to stop for food and starbucks so much

attitude

if you have a confident attitude, learn your camera inside and out, focus on the lighting, the scenes, have a mental inventory of shots you want, put people in context, show an interest in your subjects, and work swiftly and politely, you'll be rewarded with good people shots and street photos.



enjoy (street) photography,

[Angelo]

Andy:

Thanks for a great thread; informative as well as entertaining, not to mention motivational.

[4labs]

Andy thnxs so much for sharing your craft its great to have a better understanding of your process

[wxwax]

Excellent tips, Andy, thanks for sharing them. The hyperfocal link is a good 'un, it's something I need to study because it's been an issue more than once. I hate not knowing what my lens is doing. Yet I suck with numbers.

[Nir]

Andy,


Thank you for sharing your insight into the essence of street photography!

[Mongrel]

Good stuff!

I appreciate the time you take to share your insights and experiences. As said above, very motivational.

Sometimes it's hard to get over the *anxiety* of street shooting, but that's where the *action* is.

One of my favorite (if not *the* favorite) types of photography to view, and yet probably my least practiced.

Thanks again

[canonguy]

Andy,

These are excellent tips. I am going to try this out on the streets of Miami and see if I can capture 1/10th of the character you capture in your shot from NYC. Just have to get over some shyness and get to it.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Angelo

Andy:

Thanks for a great thread; informative as well as entertaining, not to mention motivational.

thanks angelo, glad you found this useful

[ginger_55]

My problem with street photography, so far, I am not on the street, or the sidewalk. I am in the antiseptic suburbs. Gotta go get dirty.

Thanks Andy, I have always loved those shots, thanks for the tips.
g

[BridgeCity]

I live in Downtown Portland, so I think I am going to go get my hands dirty this weekend and try out some of these tips! Thanks for giving me the courage to get out and snap :)

[ndsimm]

I knew there was a good reason to join this forum! thanks for the great info that people like me are looking for

[Andy]

Originally Posted by 4labs

Andy thnxs so much for sharing your craft its great to have a better understanding of your process

glad you found it useful, 4labs

[wxwax]

So cocky little me thought I knew what I was doing on the street. Yeah, right.

On my Saturday walk a guy strolls by with an iguana perched on his shoulder. OK, that's unusual. I ask if I can take a shot. He says yeah. Ideally, I'd have an igauana and the guy on a third of the screen, and an out of focus street behind him.

Sure.

Let me count the errors I made, through lack of preparation and awareness. In other words, for not being in the 'zone' that Andy mentioned.

One. I had the wrong lens. I had just finished shooting the sunlight on a water tower on the top of a building, and still had the 135mm mounted.

Two. My 35mm was safely tucked away in my bag, where it was in no danger of getting the shot I needed.

Three. My ISO was OK, but could have been higher. It was at 400, but the sunlight was already gone from street level, and it was getting murkier fast. Not that it mattered, because I was oblivious to my ISO and would have had to think about it before telling you what it was. See 'zone' and the lack of it.

Four. Aperature. I was still at f8 from compensating for the sunlight on the water tower, for which shots I had been in Manual. Did I know this? The heck I knew it. See 'zone' and my missing visa for entry.

Result? Blurry shots, rotten framing, a completely wasted opportunity. The guy was kind enough to wait whille I grabbed four frames. But the lens was too long, the shutter speed too slow, the results predictably atrocious.



The lesson? Concentrate. Always know what your camera's doing. Know its settings, what glass is on it, what you'll have to do to get the shot you want. Focus.

Anyone got a pass to the 'zone'?

[Angelo]

Originally Posted by wxwax

So cocky little me thought I knew what I was doing on the street. Yeah, right.

On my Saturday walk a guy strolls by with an iguana perched on his shoulder. OK, that's unusual. I ask if I can take a shot. He says yeah. Ideally, I'd have an igauana and the guy on a third of the screen, and an out of focus street behind him.

Sure.

Let me count the errors I made, through lack of preparation and awareness. In other words, for not being in the 'zone' that Andy mentioned.

One. I had the wrong lens. I had just finished shooting the sunlight on a water tower on the top of a building, and still had the 135mm mounted.

Two. My 35mm was safely tucked away in my bag, where it was in no danger of getting the shot I needed.

Three. My ISO was OK, but could have been higher. It was at 400, but the sunlight was already gone from street level, and it was getting murkier fast. Not that it mattered, because I was oblivious to my ISO and would have had to think about it before telling you what it was. See 'zone' and the lack of it.

Four. Aperature. I was still at f8 from compensating for the sunlight on the water tower, for which shots I had been in Manual. Did I know this? The heck I knew it. See 'zone' and my missing visa for entry.

Result? Blurry shots, rotten framing, a completely wasted opportunity. The guy was kind enough to wait whille I grabbed four frames. But the lens was too long, the shutter speed too slow, the results predictably atrocious.



The lesson? Concentrate. Always know what your camera's doing. Know its settings, what glass is on it, what you'll have to do to get the shot you want. Focus.

Anyone got a pass to the 'zone'?

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by Angelo

Harder, harder, I need to be punished, I deserve to be punished.

[fish]

For me, the need to ask permission is inversely proportionate to my focal length. If I'm shooting with a short lens that requires me to practically stick the lens in the person's face, then I'll ask permission. If I'm shooting with a long lens that allows me to shoot from a good distance away, then i don't bother.

Permission:




No permission:





um...what was the question again?

[GSPeP]

Very interesting

Thanks

[founders2]

Thanks for the inspiration, Andy. But how do you handle Model Releases (or lack thereof) with your street shots?

Maureen

[Andy]

Originally Posted by wxwax

Excellent tips, Andy, thanks for sharing them. The hyperfocal link is a good 'un, it's something I need to study because it's been an issue more than once. I hate not knowing what my lens is doing. Yet I suck with numbers.

it's worth it, sid, it's way worth it.

thanks for commenting, and putting this in the hall!

[ginger_55]

Originally Posted by wxwax

So cocky little me thought I knew what I was doing on the street. Yeah, right.

On my Saturday walk a guy strolls by with an iguana perched on his shoulder. OK, that's unusual. I ask if I can take a shot. He says yeah. Ideally, I'd have an igauana and the guy on a third of the screen, and an out of focus street behind him.

Sure.

Let me count the errors I made, through lack of preparation and awareness. In other words, for not being in the 'zone' that Andy mentioned.

One. I had the wrong lens. I had just finished shooting the sunlight on a water tower on the top of a building, and still had the 135mm mounted.

Two. My 35mm was safely tucked away in my bag, where it was in no danger of getting the shot I needed.

Three. My ISO was OK, but could have been higher. It was at 400, but the sunlight was already gone from street level, and it was getting murkier fast. Not that it mattered, because I was oblivious to my ISO and would have had to think about it before telling you what it was. See 'zone' and the lack of it.

Four. Aperature. I was still at f8 from compensating for the sunlight on the water tower, for which shots I had been in Manual. Did I know this? The heck I knew it. See 'zone' and my missing visa for entry.

Result? Blurry shots, rotten framing, a completely wasted opportunity. The guy was kind enough to wait whille I grabbed four frames. But the lens was too long, the shutter speed too slow, the results predictably atrocious.



The lesson? Concentrate. Always know what your camera's doing. Know its settings, what glass is on it, what you'll have to do to get the shot you want. Focus.

Anyone got a pass to the 'zone'?

You know why I miss those shots? Nerves, fear.......the idea that I should not be doing this, that these people are doing me a favor and I should hurry.

Change my lens? Would they mind? No one has yet, but then I usually don't. I do all I can to do what you did, Sid. And no matter the shutter speed, I blur the shot, usually.

(Don't look at the shot I took yesterday of someone "on the street". It is in my chal thread, but it was the second time I shot the guy, he was very cooporative and friendly. My husband was gone with the car, I was stuck there, as was my subject. And I took almost two RAW 1gb cf cards.)

I usually do what you did, Sid. You actually know more and are better at this than I am, but we choke. You choked, and I choke all the time. Sometimes I cannot believe how hard I must have worked to blur a shot. To say the least of the lack of good composition. I am thinking I am lucky that good them actually are letting intrusive me, rude me, take a shot of them.

Hey, at least we try. You more than most. So you choked once. And will again. All the good athletes do it, but they still show up. doG, I hate that "showing up" stuff.

ginger