Streets and Candids

[pbear1973]

Hi all,

Just bought my first DSLR in May, and been lurking here quietly learning from the experts here and looking at the pictures for inspiration.

I love roaming the streets and snapping, so I do have a question: What are the "rules" you guys (and girls) follow when taking pictures of strangers? Do you use a longer focal point lens so that you don't have to get so close, do people mind you taking their picture, do you smile and say thank you, etc? Obviously one thing I guess you won't do is to ask their permission, because then it won't be candid anymore.

I guess shops can be particularly sensitive to this? Do people in general mind, any bad experiences?

Thanks for all the pointers! I'd like to get started on this but a bit apprehensive about how people react to being photographed without permission.

 

[kei1309]

hi err...

does the P stand for Pedo in your nick? hahah just kidding.

btw, if you did a search you'll find that this has been discussed to death many many many many many many many many many many many many times.

especially in Kopitiam and this Newbies sub-forum. if you hit Street Photography and limit the search to just "Newbies Corner" and "Kopitiam" you'll find what you need.

 

[pinholecam]

You can do a search on this topic as suggest.

Different FL lenses will give different effect.
To me, no right or wrong using any FL.
Wider lenses give a more contextual shot (ie. subject wrt environment)
Telephoto lenses give more isolation

 

[pbear1973]

hi err...

does the P stand for Pedo in your nick? hahah just kidding.

btw, if you did a search you'll find that this has been discussed to death many many many many many many many many many many many many times.

especially in Kopitiam and this Newbies sub-forum. if you hit Street Photography and limit the search to just "Newbies Corner" and "Kopitiam" you'll find what you need.

Haha nooooooooooo.. but you're not the first to ask. I really need a new nick. >.<

Thanks to both you and Pinholecam for taking the time to reply.. I'll search out the threads.

 

[dreamsz]

Hi all,

Just bought my first DSLR in May, and been lurking here quietly learning from the experts here and looking at the pictures for inspiration.

I love roaming the streets and snapping, so I do have a question: What are the "rules" you guys (and girls) follow when taking pictures of strangers? Do you use a longer focal point lens so that you don't have to get so close, do people mind you taking their picture, do you smile and say thank you, etc? Obviously one thing I guess you won't do is to ask their permission, because then it won't be candid anymore.

I guess shops can be particularly sensitive to this? Do people in general mind, any bad experiences?

Thanks for all the pointers! I'd like to get started on this but a bit apprehensive about how people react to being photographed without permission.

I felt that for street photography, dont post ugly side of someone because not all people like their ugly side to be posted to the whole world ( like they drunk, dig nose, sit improperly, people quarreling ). Dont do it to others if you dont like that to happen to you.

One thing i learn from the seniors and pros here, take picture with 'joy', 'happiness', 'laughter', 'loneliness'... all the emotions

i particular find taking candid of happiness and joy is much easier as most strangers are very acceptance towards their joy and happy moment being capture. So far, i am still learning candid photography. hehe

Frankly, talk is easy... but alot of times, must go out and shoot. after shooting for a long time, you will have more guts.... I am still building my guts so if i go street, i go rent a 70-200 and stand far far away...

 

[Liangzai]

People always like to c pleasant things.Nevertheless if u gena caught shooting them,juz show them their beautiful candid shots n ask politely to keep the pics.I sure most of them will reciprocate in the same way.
@dreamsz,great macro shots of the nature.All fm the Botanic gardens?

 

[EddyKoh]

i normally shoot with my primes.. Usually i use a 50.. but there are times when i just wanna focus on people.. then i use my 85... If i don't have a clear idea of what to shoot, just walk with my 17-50. I stick to below 100 mm cos I wanna be closer to the action and have the picture taken in a place that can "feel" what everyone else is feeling. Easy in theory.. Lol...

 

[pbear1973]

People always like to c pleasant things.Nevertheless if u gena caught shooting them,juz show them their beautiful candid shots n ask politely to keep the pics.I sure most of them will reciprocate in the same way.
@dreamsz,great macro shots of the nature.All fm the Botanic gardens?

I felt that for street photography, dont post ugly side of someone because not all people like their ugly side to be posted to the whole world ( like they drunk, dig nose, sit improperly, people quarreling ). Dont do it to others if you dont like that to happen to you.

One thing i learn from the seniors and pros here, take picture with 'joy', 'happiness', 'laughter', 'loneliness'... all the emotions

i particular find taking candid of happiness and joy is much easier as most strangers are very acceptance towards their joy and happy moment being capture. So far, i am still learning candid photography. hehe

Frankly, talk is easy... but alot of times, must go out and shoot. after shooting for a long time, you will have more guts.... I am still building my guts so if i go street, i go rent a 70-200 and stand far far away...

i normally shoot with my primes.. Usually i use a 50.. but there are times when i just wanna focus on people.. then i use my 85... If i don't have a clear idea of what to shoot, just walk with my 17-50. I stick to below 100 mm cos I wanna be closer to the action and have the picture taken in a place that can "feel" what everyone else is feeling. Easy in theory.. Lol...

Thanks all for your thoughts, they're very helpful for a _real beginner_ (read: fewer than 100 street shots so far - have been doing largely scenery before this). I love my 18-200, but because it's a fairly slow lens and I like to shoot at night, I bring along my 35mm too. Still learning.

Dreamz, your macros are really beautiful. I love the contrasts on the flying ants shots, in particular how their color contrasts against the white petal. The dark blurred background also emphasizes this contrast. Very nice.

 

[tehcbing]

As long as we're not being intrusive and those we took can past our own conscience should be fine..
My own opinion though.. Btw welcome to the club and keep shooting!!!!

 

[dreamsz]

Thanks all for your thoughts, they're very helpful for a _real beginner_ (read: fewer than 100 street shots so far - have been doing largely scenery before this). I love my 18-200, but because it's a fairly slow lens and I like to shoot at night, I bring along my 35mm too. Still learning.

Dreamz, your macros are really beautiful. I love the contrasts on the flying ants shots, in particular how their color contrasts against the white petal. The dark blurred background also emphasizes this contrast. Very nice.

Hi,

Thank you for the compliment. I am flattered. I am a beginner and still learning.
Your experience in scenery shoo.... can share with me when there is opportunity cause i totally know nuts about it.

 

[pbear1973]

Hi,

Thank you for the compliment. I am flattered. I am a beginner and still learning.
Your experience in scenery shoo.... can share with me when there is opportunity cause i totally know nuts about it.

Haha I'm also very new at that.. so a couple of things I've learnt, rather than any real advice. Again this is noob experience, so I hope the experts here will correct me where I'm wrong or mistaken.

i. My camera (D7000) gets seriously over-exposed in bright sunlight. So I have to remember to shoot at maybe -0.3 ev.

ii. I try to include a balance of sky and ground, with the sky taking maybe 30-40% of the picture. Of course buildings and mountains will block parts of the sky, but I try to keep my horizon just above center.

iii. I like to look for interesting features in the landscape, like the valleys between mountains, and frame this using the rule of thirds (i.e. imagine the view finder is divided vertically and horizontally into 3 parts each with imaginary lines, and align the features with the imaginary lines. I also try to look for features like reflections, mix of color, etc.

iv. I've tried using a CPL filter to enhance the sky and trees, but didn't have much luck. I think this is because I was using a cheapo Green-L filter. So one more thing I've learnt: DON'T SKIMP ON FILTERS!

v. One thing I've learnt to do is to ask myself "WHY do I want to shoot this scene?" This I've found to be important because I can identify what is it about the scene that caught my eye, and then compose the shot to preserve that thing.

vi. Point v. brings me to one more thing: Very often I can't capture what I like at 18mm. So I've ordered a 10-24mm Nikkor. Hoping to get good results out of that! This lens is famous for its vignetting and distortions (for that matter so is the 18-200 that I use), but with Photoshop that's easily fixed.

That's about it I think. I've still not taken into consideration factors like lighting, etc.. still too advanced for me.

I've got some shots of Norway here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctky1973/sets/72157627192461348/

One mistake you will see several times in this set is that I had chosen to shoot fountains and waterfalls with a very fast shutter to freeze the drops. In retrospect a slow shutter is MUCH BETTER because it gives that dreamy feel. But in bright lights you'll need an ND-filter (I have cheapo Green-L filters that I'm now afraid to use. Makes the pictures really soft!). I don't know if using maybe -1.2 ev or so will help, will leave that to expert opinion.

I have shots of Changi here. You'll notice that many of the shots are fuzzy. I think it's caused by the Green-L filter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctky1973/sets/72157627060086043/

So that's my humble 2-cents.

 

[tehcbing]

Haha I'm also very new at that.. so a couple of things I've learnt, rather than any real advice. Again this is noob experience, so I hope the experts here will correct me where I'm wrong or mistaken.

i. My camera (D7000) gets seriously over-exposed in bright sunlight. So I have to remember to shoot at maybe -0.3 ev.

ii. I try to include a balance of sky and ground, with the sky taking maybe 30-40% of the picture. Of course buildings and mountains will block parts of the sky, but I try to keep my horizon just above center.

iii. I like to look for interesting features in the landscape, like the valleys between mountains, and frame this using the rule of thirds (i.e. imagine the view finder is divided vertically and horizontally into 3 parts each with imaginary lines, and align the features with the imaginary lines. I also try to look for features like reflections, mix of color, etc.

iv. I've tried using a CPL filter to enhance the sky and trees, but didn't have much luck. I think this is because I was using a cheapo Green-L filter. So one more thing I've learnt: DON'T SKIMP ON FILTERS!

v. One thing I've learnt to do is to ask myself "WHY do I want to shoot this scene?" This I've found to be important because I can identify what is it about the scene that caught my eye, and then compose the shot to preserve that thing.

vi. Point v. brings me to one more thing: Very often I can't capture what I like at 18mm. So I've ordered a 10-24mm Nikkor. Hoping to get good results out of that! This lens is famous for its vignetting and distortions (for that matter so is the 18-200 that I use), but with Photoshop that's easily fixed.

That's about it I think. I've still not taken into consideration factors like lighting, etc.. still too advanced for me.

I've got some shots of Norway here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctky1973/sets/72157627192461348/

One mistake you will see several times in this set is that I had chosen to shoot fountains and waterfalls with a very fast shutter to freeze the drops. In retrospect a slow shutter is MUCH BETTER because it gives that dreamy feel. But in bright lights you'll need an ND-filter (I have cheapo Green-L filters that I'm now afraid to use. Makes the pictures really soft!). I don't know if using maybe -1.2 ev or so will help, will leave that to expert opinion.

I have shots of Changi here. You'll notice that many of the shots are fuzzy. I think it's caused by the Green-L filter.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctky1973/sets/72157627060086043/

So that's my humble 2-cents.

I might be wrong but shooting in broad daylight with ISO6400 could be a bit too much. Ur Changi set looked a bit noisy to me.
Or could be that you purposely cranked it up to have the grainy feel.. Just my opinion though..

 

[pbear1973]

I might be wrong but shooting in broad daylight with ISO6400 could be a bit too much. Ur Changi set looked a bit noisy to me.
Or could be that you purposely cranked it up to have the grainy feel.. Just my opinion though..

No that was a mistake >.< so maybe it wasn't the filters after all. To be fully 100% honest I didn't realize that the iso was cranked up so high.

 

[tehcbing]

No that was a mistake >.< so maybe it wasn't the filters after all. To be fully 100% honest I didn't realize that the iso was cranked up so high.

Maybe u shud take note of ur ISO settings next time when u go shooting. That might oso be the reason why ur sky turned out too bright.
Could feel ur frustration though.. Haha..

 

[pbear1973]

Maybe u shud take note of ur ISO settings next time when u go shooting. That might oso be the reason why ur sky turned out too bright.
Could feel ur frustration though.. Haha..

Haha so true!! While I know the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and iso, remembering to set them correctly is another matter >.< I normally shoot in aperture priority, so I remember my f stops but forget my iso. White balance is the other thing that trips me up. But I shoot in raw so at least that's fixable.

Maybe I might give my green-l filters another chance. I had assumed that they were the cause of the poor image quality.

 

[tehcbing]

Haha so true!! While I know the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and iso, remembering to set them correctly is another matter >.< I normally shoot in aperture priority, so I remember my f stops but forget my iso. White balance is the other thing that trips me up. But I shoot in raw so at least that's fixable.

Maybe I might give my green-l filters another chance. I had assumed that they were the cause of the poor image quality.

You should.. Keep shooting man..
Enjoy the weekend :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[pbear1973]

You should.. Keep shooting man..
Enjoy the weekend :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks bro for the encouragement.

 

[tehcbing]

Thanks bro for the encouragement.

No prob man.. Anytime

 

[kei1309]

there's a streets outing tmr. u might wanna check it out in the gatherings and outings section

 

[pbear1973]

there's a streets outing tmr. u might wanna check it out in the gatherings and outings section

Thanks Kei! This weekend is a bit packed (I turn one year older! ), but I'll be interested to join future outings.