Street Photography

[Mata]

I am having a clear out and came across this image below. It was taken a few weeks ago on a street shoot around Covent Garden. I have to say, since I have got the high res set as a desktop screensaver, this compressed and cropped version doesn’t do it justice.

The one thing I wished I had done at point of shoot would have been to blur the motion around her a little.

She is totally oblivious to the crowd as if they are not even there.

As it happens I am working on a number of projects for next year and one of them is going to be ‘Street Photography’

[Mike Farley]

The one thing I wished I had done at point of shoot would have been to blur the motion around her a little.

That might have been difficult to achieve at the time of capture. Even with a wide aperture on a fast lens, the people around her might be too close to be sufficiently blurred or be in the same plane of focus. A slow shutter speed risks camera shake and subject movement; a tripod and street photography are hardly compatible.

This sounds like a job for Photoshop. Create a new layer and try Gaussian or Motion Blur on the passers by. You can either mask off the subject or afterwards rub through the top layer to reveal her. Another technique would be to try lightening the background to make her stand out more. Taking a shot has always been just the start of the creative process, but Photoshop does make life much easier.

[Mata]

Yes I agree it would have been difficult at the time of the shoot. I had taken number of photos and most of them seem to have someone crossing the line of the shot. As you can tell it was very busy at the time so was very lucky to get this one.

I also seem to have cut out her feet?

The other thing is that guy on the lower right with a white hat. Off all the places to be at that moment in time he decides to walk by holding a white hat (or something similar) below his hips just when I am taking a shot. A little annoying to say the least.

I appreciate street photography is both a subtle and spontaneous art of capturing the moment. I have been on a number of shoots with a professional street photographer who had his work displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. His guideline, as he put it, is to (wherever possible) seek permission. A little bit of courtesy and respect goes a long way. You will always get the odd one who will refuse, all you can do is shrug your shoulders and move on to something better.

A lot of street performers are happy for you take a photograph and will adjust their bodily stance, if asked, to help you get the angle you are looking for in return for something. For most street performers this is their full time occupation of their chosen niche so a few pounds adds to their wage at the end of the day.

I am going to invest in a small and light Tripod. Something I can carry with me which I can use; like for the image above, on the odd occasion. It just gives me a few more options.

[davidc]

If you want a stationary street subject with a blur of motion around then maybe try one of the living statues in covent garden. Asking permission in that context is wise, I agree.

For other street photography it's usually the point to capture candid moments rather than posed ones so I almost never ask permission. If people kick off about it, I just apologise, delete the image and move on. Most of the time I've already copied the image from camera to phone via built in wifi so it doesn't matter if I delete it off the card

[Mata]

Street photography is about those intimate moments captured for eternity (sounds like I am writing a poem).

The other day when Mike, David and myself went from London Bridge to Tate Modern, I gave them a mission, if they chose to accept it and by their silence I assumed they had (I always assume the positive). They failed miserably.

Their task was very simple. Find me couple kissing? Spent my time looking, could I find one, no!

I think Street Photography is about ‘naturalness’, you capture what’s there at that moment, something that tells a story. So in a sense we capturing a story with a photo.

You can have an idea to start with but you just don’t know what you are going to be drawn to, or to put it in another way ‘Intuitive Spontaneity’. Go with the flow.

[davidc]

You just need to know where to look

[Mike Farley]

I did actually see a couple kissing during that outing, but it was a brief moment, a long way off with an obstruction between us and I did not have the right lens on the camera. I would have succeeded if Jay and Davidb had agreed to pucker up.

I am with Davidc about asking permission. If you do that you will normally end up with a posed shot which loses the spontaneity of the action. Some photographers advocate first shooting candidly and then taking a few more after asking permission. Sneaky, yes, but I cannot think of a better way if you want the subject's agreement.

[Mata]

Ideally a spontaneous shot without being observed would be the best take then no permission is needed, job done.

But that’s not always possible. Developing other skills helps to expand possibilities for more interaction. Most people find it difficult to approach a complete stranger and ask them if you can take their photograph and you have accept and respect whatever answer you get. Personally speaking people who do decline do so politely, the odd one may get aggressive and you have accept that as part and parcel of street photography.

Street photography is also a good way to come out of your comfort zone and become more confident in dealing with people. It’s one area where you really have to fine tune and trust your instincts. When to and when not to and that can only come through experience.

I am learning to shoot from just above my right hip with a live view on to get focus. It also means I am looking down rather than at the people I am shooting so appears less obvious. It’s all trial and error to see what works, there is no one method you can use all the time.

The other thing is to change your camera straps. They shout ‘Nikon / Cannon so loudly people can see you coming a mile off. I have bought a ‘Joby UltraFit Sling Strap’ which allows you to keep it tight against your body or can be pushed around the back when not needed. Very fluid to swing it around to the front, shoot and return it to the side/back very quickly.

Happy hunting, I am finding it great fun. It’ll get even better when I have taken a shot of a couple kissing without permission.

[Mike Farley]

I use a m4/3 camera which is small enough to be put on a wrist strap when I am out and about. The camera is visible but not obvious and readily available for shooting. The cameras also have tiltable screens and one folds as well, so it is possible to point the camera in one direction and be looking in another while holding the camera at waist level. I have taken quite a few shots that way.

Another thing to be aware of is personal safety. I once heard a talk by someone who did street photography with a Canon DSLR and on average once a month someone would try to mug him. When he switched to a Fuji Pro-1 which did not look like a professional camera, that stopped.

[davidb]

I once heard a talk by someone who did street photography with a Canon DSLR and on average once a month someone would try to mug him. When he switched to a Fuji Pro-1 which did not look like a professional camera, that stopped

I suppose I should feel fortunate that I wasn't mugged on our trip to Tate Modern. My 1DX would have stood out like a sore thumb!

I used a wrist strap on my EOS 350D but when I upgraded to the 550D I didn't feel comfortable with it. I never attracted a wrist strap to the 1DX but it's something worth considering.