How do you guys shoot street photography?


ahboyboy

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Oct 5, 2009
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Whenever i tried street photography, either some people will look at you fiercely or scold you.
do you guys use any method? Eg. pretend to check photo then snap?.
or you guys use long lens?
 

You can use the sniper method with a long lens, you can grow a thick skin and some balls to jump right into people's way. And there is endless space in between...
No right or wrong, the question is about personal preference, shooting style, intention.
Street and Candids section: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13
 

Whenever i tried street photography, either some people will look at you fiercely or scold you.
do you guys use any method? Eg. pretend to check photo then snap?.
or you guys use long lens?

You can;

1) Walk over and ask for permission to shoot the subject.
2) Shoot the subject close up then walk away as if nothing has ever happen (be prepared to get a scolding though).
3) Use a telelens to shoot from a distance
4) Use a smartphone, pretend to be surfing or searching for information, then shoot.
5) Etc.

Like what Octarine had mentioned. There is no real answer to it, just your own preferences.

A brief quarrel
10513489_10152473576683796_2104305630019686251_n.jpg


Then they decided to kiss and be 'friends' again

10511183_10152473572148796_7827129591211776651_n.jpg


I shoot the above using my smartphone, standing around 2m to 3m away from the young couple.

The thing with street photography is that you must have a good eye for things that are interesting, then shoot quickly... because many occurrences happened rather quickly and most of the time you don't have much time to react.
 

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Be very fast... move in take the shot and out before your subjects can react.
 

Pretend to shoot something else, nearby and use wider angle (crop later at home). Give the impression that the subject is in the frame just accidentally.
 

Depends what kind of 'street' right... Some ask for permission and usually have the subject aware of the camera, while others do the candid 'fly on the wall' thing.

Be very fast... move in take the shot and out before your subjects can react.

+1.

@ahboyboy If they have time to look at you fiercely or scold you, sounds like you must have been standing there in their view pointing the camera at them, taking some time to frame your shot? The moment they spotted you, chances are the moment you wanted to capture was already lost.
 

I use the 'why do u think I'm shooting u' approach.

1. Shoot subject , and move on quickly/ if subject catches u shooting , feign a irritated look and look at the Viewfinder again as if subject was blocking u.

2. Shoot wide and crop later. AF points can be adjusted easily now.

3. Shoot from the hip :) with hyperfocal distance focusing included , it can be done.
 

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I wrote this before, so found it and copy and paste here again :

There are many types of techniques for street and candids, imho, here are some :
1. The Happy Camper : waits at a spot (perhaps an interesting bkgnd) waiting for the right subject to pass
2. The Prowler : strolls along, looking ahead to see any interesting subjects/occurrences (note : looks ahead before the frame of photo, else its too late to react)
3. Sniper : Long lens dude (some say he's a coward, but the isolating effects of long lens produces nice results too.. )
4. The Assault Warrior : In your face approach (google Bruce Gilden to see an example )
5. Sneaky guy : Camera hidden/ Chest level shots/ Fake lens that shoots side ways/ etc
6. 'Confidence' Man : tries to persuade subjects to give him a pict
7. Hit and Run speciallist : Shoot from car or motorcycle (or shoot at ppl in Bus/Car/Motorcycle )
8. The Great Pretender : Pretends to shoot something else, while in fact the wide FOV of the lens has the subject in place on the sides.
9. The Quick Draw : "f8 and be there dude"; lens prefocused for hyper-focusing distance; just take up camera> shoot > down camera (subject does not even know it happened)


The more of the above the photographer can do, the more versatile he/she can be.
 

I belong to great pretender type.
even dress up like tourist auntie... nobody will suspect I am a Clubsnap cat
 

Check out digital rev's latest video by Lok. He has an awesome technique(or rather Kai's) to shoot with stealth.
 

If u shoot someone and they approach u,just show them the photo(s) and say it looks nice.
Ask if they need a soft copy and u can email them later.
 

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I use different lenses but i like the feel when I use a long lens... Can capture subjects in their candid moments
 

Check out digital rev's latest video by Lok. He has an awesome technique(or rather Kai's) to shoot with stealth.

sneaky but effective!
 

Hahah ... love the tip. But if always on liveview, battery life lost. If don't on liveview, composition may be off. So susah =(

Just curious: if we asked the general Singapore public if we could shoot them, how many times out of 10 would they reject us?
 

Hahah ... love the tip. But if always on liveview, battery life lost. If don't on liveview, composition may be off. So susah =( Just curious: if we asked the general Singapore public if we could shoot them, how many times out of 10 would they reject us?

It depends a lot on so many diff factors. Lunchtime crowd rushing for time ? Hard.

It boils down to the context of the situation, how confident and how good a smooth talker u are.

It helps a lot if u are genuinely interested in them and willing to spend time chatting with them if they are in the right mood. Have chatted up strangers with the intention to shoot them and generally most will be fine :)
 

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It depends a lot on so many diff factors. Lunchtime crowd rushing for time ? Hard.

It boils down to the context of the situation, how confident and how good a smooth talker u are.

It helps a lot if u are genuinely interested in them and willing to spend time chatting with them if they are in the right mood. Have chatted up strangers with the intention to shoot them and generally most will be fine :)

Awesome. Thank you!
 

So ... first time I plucked up enough courage to ask two big burly men if I could take their picture, and ........ couldn't get a freaking overall focus (focus square right smack in BETWEEN their faces) and pic under - exposed. Grrr!!