How do you shoot people in street photography?


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adorable

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Jun 8, 2009
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I found that whenever I wanted to take photos of strangers in street photography, they will always reject me. What I saw in photography magazine, those photographers look very nice portraits of people on the street.

How do you guys approach people?

I wonder how those magazine photographers convince people to let them take their photos?
 

I found that whenever I wanted to take photos of strangers in street photography, they will always reject me. What I saw in photography magazine, those photographers look very nice portraits of people on the street.

How do you guys approach people?

I wonder how those magazine photographers convince people to let them take their photos?

take some cue from this guy

http://www.dannyst.com/

he shares his techniques from his interviews here: http://www.dannyst.com/links.html
 

Well, it's really most of the time by chance that you get interesting looking people, and since Singapore is a conservative society, people don't really want to have their shot taken because they fear that it might be misused since the photographer gets the copyright.. So.. tough lock finding some people here, though there are some people who will agree to it for something in return ;)
 

I found that whenever I wanted to take photos of strangers in street photography, they will always reject me. What I saw in photography magazine, those photographers look very nice portraits of people on the street.

How do you guys approach people?

I wonder how those magazine photographers convince people to let them take their photos?

they don't ask. if you're talking about pure street photography.

if you're talking about travel portraits, learning how to deal with strangers helps.
 

I dun ask i just shoot. candid shots of spontaneous moments be it friends or strangers in their native spaces work great. it may almost certainly sound intrusive and seemingly exploitative but if there is unhappiness be polite / apologetic / delete the shot watever, and get ur next subject.

just do it as inconspicuously and brief as possible. sometimes i give them the impression i am shooting something behind them and avoid eye contact with the subject the moment i put down the camera or i still pretend to maintain aim and shoot after i took the shot till they pass me

after a few encounters... will get used to handling situations ;) fun nonetheless

ryan
 

Just be careful of where and who you point the camera at... depending on misunderstandings you might be slapped with a "outrage of modesty" charge or even mistaken for some terrorist trying to be subtle but failing.

In any case, if you wish to feature someone, it's usually a good idea to get the person's permission first... it'd be a bummer if you win $1000 first prize in a competition but get slapped with a $5000 lawsuit.
 

I think it is important to BE IN the scene/environment, not out of it. Blend into your surroundings, and look yourself as an ordinary human on the street.. I haven't been able to successfully do that yet. :bsmilie:
 

I found that whenever I wanted to take photos of strangers in street photography, they will always reject me. What I saw in photography magazine, those photographers look very nice portraits of people on the street.

How do you guys approach people?

I wonder how those magazine photographers convince people to let them take their photos?

ask in the right way. u will get people to pose for u.

look at the sartorialist. very good example.
 

i think it pretty much depends on what u want to nab from streets. i love the works of HCB and appreciate his concepts of nabbing decisive moments. he is a master in discreteness in street shooting. i am sure he has had his share of brawls getting shots ;p

but i guess at the end of the day it definitely pays to be polite and non confrontational when problem arises. Smile

ryan
 

You have a mouth, ask them.
 

go for the teens and foreigners.. they are usually more willing to let you take their photos.. :p
 

Just ask politely~ Most oblige so far.
If taking candid, take a snap shot quickly to avoid embarrasing moments, and move away to be another subject, to be less obvious, normally they just ignore and move on... :)
 

go for the teens and foreigners.. they are usually more willing to let you take their photos.. :p

Haven't tried them. I will. :)

That time I asked if I can take photo of a newspaper distributing woman, she immediately shouted at me "No, no no, no!" :sweat:
 

Well, it's really most of the time by chance that you get interesting looking people, and since Singapore is a conservative society, people don't really want to have their shot taken because they fear that it might be misused since the photographer gets the copyright.. So.. tough lock finding some people here, though there are some people who will agree to it for something in return ;)

Very true! I was merely carrying my camera (not shooting) and I noticed people get uncomfortable when I passed by some of them. :sweat:
 

Very true! I was merely carrying my camera (not shooting) and I noticed people get uncomfortable when I passed by some of them. :sweat:

You must be carrying something too big. Which telephoto you've got? 400mm? :bsmilie:

Personally, for streets, I say keep it simple and small.
 

You must be carrying something too big. Which telephoto you've got? 400mm? :bsmilie:

Personally, for streets, I say keep it simple and small.

No leh, I am carrying my Canon S90, small compact. I was walking inside the wet market. Maybe my dressing and my camera tell them I was obviously not that to buy things. :embrass:
 

You must be carrying something too big. Which telephoto you've got? 400mm? :bsmilie:

Personally, for streets, I say keep it simple and small.

At one time, I saw some baskets of durians on the streets. I took out my camera and wanted to shoot, the stall holder immediately shouted to me "Don't take! We are going to move it already." He might have misunderstood that I am going to STOMP it.
 

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