Taking Street Shots/candid/portraits

[dreamsz]

Ask you all hor, when you all go out take those Street and Candids / portrait, do you all actually ask them for permission?
Cause i saw some that took real nice portrait pictures however, i wonder if you all do ask them or just take like that.
Will they scold or can they sue us or not?

Sorry if my question sounded abit kuku as this is the first time i am into this and will need your experience to share with me how can i best tackle such. If can, also can share with me usually people use what lens to shoot for canon camera. ;p

 

[pinholecam]

my few cents;

Street is anything you see on the street.
Candid actually means...er...candid (ie. not informed)
Portraits - can be candid or with permission

 

[jasonyjw]

Ask you all hor, when you all go out take those Street and Candids / portrait, do you all actually ask them for permission?
Cause i saw some that took real nice portrait pictures however, i wonder if you all do ask them or just take like that.
Will they scold or can they sue us or not?

Sorry if my question sounded abit kuku as this is the first time i am into this and will need your experience to share with me how can i best tackle such. If can, also can share with me usually people use what lens to shoot for canon camera. ;p

hello!

If you are shooting up close and personal and just so happen that your subject is having a bad day, you are bound to get pounded. Hahaha.

Probably thats why many people shoot streets using telephotos. Especially if you are out to capture emotions, faces.

Of course, it will be polite to ask for permission but that will most probably spoil the natural part of your picture.

I was at bugis the famous kwan yin temple shooting on vesak day earlier this year. I wanted to capture a image of a lotus flower. I got screamed at by the vendor. What to do? Say sorry and shoot somewhere else. Hahaha.

So i made up my mind that my nxt lens would be a 70-200. F what i dont knw yet. But with range, it definitely helps!

 

[dreamsz]

hello!

If you are shooting up close and personal and just so happen that your subject is having a bad day, you are bound to get pounded. Hahaha.

Probably thats why many people shoot streets using telephotos. Especially if you are out to capture emotions, faces.

Of course, it will be polite to ask for permission but that will most probably spoil the natural part of your picture.

I was at bugis the famous kwan yin temple shooting on vesak day earlier this year. I wanted to capture a image of a lotus flower. I got screamed at by the vendor. What to do? Say sorry and shoot somewhere else. Hahaha.

So i made up my mind that my nxt lens would be a 70-200. F what i dont knw yet. But with range, it definitely helps!

Noted on these

 

[Reportage]

Ask you all hor, when you all go out take those Street and Candids / portrait, do you all actually ask them for permission?
Cause i saw some that took real nice portrait pictures however, i wonder if you all do ask them or just take like that.
Will they scold or can they sue us or not?

Sorry if my question sounded abit kuku as this is the first time i am into this and will need your experience to share with me how can i best tackle such. If can, also can share with me usually people use what lens to shoot for canon camera. ;p

depends. do you prefer your subjects aware that you are photographing them or you prefer that they never realize they were being photographed. myself, i like the stealth approach because i never know how the picture will turn out.

case in point, this is one i like very much but regret it not being sharp due to what i had to do to prevent her from noticing.

 

[papajanggo33]

permission? no
use telephoto lens? not necessary. if you see something that captures your interest, just shoot. keep your distance from subject and don't point your camera too long. move around, shift your focussing as though you are shooting other static subject; eg. a building. my point is do not make those people that you shoot have an impression that you are targeting them only.

hope it helps

 

[tehcbing]

permission? no
use telephoto lens? not necessary. if you see something that captures your interest, just shoot. keep your distance from subject and don't point your camera too long. move around, shift your focussing as though you are shooting other static subject; eg. a building. my point is do not make those people that you shoot have an impression that you are targeting them only.

hope it helps

Hi papajanggo,

If u guys are expert in doing this, surely no prob. For us noobs, I think our hands will tremble so much for feeling jittery. Dats why I salute u guys so much for the guts. But will try wif ur tactics n hope next time around could manage some decent candid shots.
Thanx for sharing anyway...

 

[daredevil123]

Hi papajanggo,

If u guys are expert in doing this, surely no prob. For us noobs, I think our hands will tremble so much for feeling jittery. Dats why I salute u guys so much for the guts. But will try wif ur tactics n hope next time around could manage some decent candid shots.
Thanx for sharing anyway...

Actually the more you do it, the better you will get at it.

 

[tehcbing]

Actually the more you do it, the better you will get at it.

Absolutely bro..

 

[Royale With Cheese]

Hi papajanggo,

If u guys are expert in doing this, surely no prob. For us noobs, I think our hands will tremble so much for feeling jittery. Dats why I salute u guys so much for the guts. But will try wif ur tactics n hope next time around could manage some decent candid shots.
Thanx for sharing anyway...

Expert/veteren etc. all started somewhere as a noob as well.

Its all just practice & practice over & over again.

 

[louis23]

Yeah I agree practice really helps improve the technique part and also the nerves part. I have also started shooting on the streets recently. I usually do not ask for their permission. I just wait for them to fall in place (and sometimes for them to look into the lens) before I fire. Yes sometimes you may get cold hard stares, but other times they actually smile back. Ultimately when you look at the shot, you'll be satisfied with the whole process.

 

[Ttloong]

ask permission and rejected? Don't ask, they scold you? Just move on and continue to do what your passion is on. Don't be too bothered by it.


People Daily 2011 by TTL!, on Flickr

 

[kcchew]

I find that using a compact camera gives me more natural shots as people don't really notice. If I use my SLR with 50mm lens, some people will be wary of me.

TS, perhaps you can try practicing on people chatting on their phone while walking. They'll probably be too distracted to pay attention to you and you can see if you prefer to shoot up close or far away.

 

[kei1309]

there are alot of techniques to get those shots of people up close. just follow the pros and see how they do it

 

[papajanggo33]

Hi papajanggo,

If u guys are expert in doing this, surely no prob. For us noobs, I think our hands will tremble so much for feeling jittery. Dats why I salute u guys so much for the guts. But will try wif ur tactics n hope next time around could manage some decent candid shots.
Thanx for sharing anyway...

i'm still a noob bro. trembling hands? i still have it. just review what others have replied after my post. go out and enjoy shooting. if you have worries, it doesn't help you much. mingle with the crowd, go to places of interests, it won't take long before you got the urge to capture 'that moment'.

 

[Nikkornos]

There are many subjects you can take your time to focus frame and then shoot. We all started as noob for sure.



I do find that shooting in 2 or 3 is much better than shooting alone. In a very small group (yes, keep it small), you can explore together, and people are more receptive if you are friendly and can accept you to take the pictures of what they are doing. Give compliments, show interests, ask. You can get what you want.



When operating alone, I rely on a longer lens with larger aperture. A 105mm F2.5 was my favorite (35mm film) and now anything in the 120mm (effective) focal length is good for me. Its good for sneak candid shots. But some still do not like it, be careful. I got chased before..



I see a lot of pictures show significant camera shake (despite OS is so common now). So a fixed focus lens may be useful.

 

[dreamsz]

I am willing to keep practising but just scared people walk over and grab my camera and throw it! ( Maybe i see too much drama )
But my first camera....so more consciencious.
70-200 is nice but it cost like 2.5K which will be a huge investment for newbies like me.
Trembling hands i also have so takes awhile to focus. Guess use telephoto lens still the work around.
Pros..... please share techniques...

kcchew : thats a nice suggestion! I will do that.

TTL : thanks. will note that.

louis23 : Cold stare ok. So long dont come to me and give me a tight slap can liao

 

[gohjialong]

start with the lousier version of 70-200 first? then slowly upgrade!

 

[dreamsz]

Nikkornos, thank you so much for the help. Your photo is very nice. something that inspire me and i look forward to have your kind of skill in near future. hehe
I will take note of the suggestion of lens you give.

 

[gohjialong]

anyway, i think that carrying your dslr with a long big white tube walking around creates enough awareness already. dont you guys think so? and in this case it will get hard to be stealthy or be able to take your good shots without the subject noticing.