?any good linkd for ethics/good practice in street/candid photography

Elines

Elines

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I'm trying to get my head round the ethics (and what is regarded as good practice) in street/candid photography.

By this I mean the taking of photographs of people in public places, where it is the people that are the main point of the photograph, rather than being incidental to the main focus.

I have tried searching this forum and the internet and clearly there is a lot of stuff - and views - out there.

But can anyone recommend the more authoritative sites/places where I could get some considered views to mull over?
 
in short in the UK in a public place you can take pictures of anyone you wish - but try not to be a tool and upset people unnecessarily

(also note that although you can photograph anyone you wish , if you use the photo derogatorily you can wind up getting sued - so don't do that)
 
Here is how you do it.

1) Two cameras with flash. Ultra wideangle on one, and 300/2.8 on the other
2) Orange fluorescent waistcoat with big label reading 'Street PHOTOGRAPHER"
3) For a start hide in the bushes with 300mm. It gives a nice bokeh, and you don't scare them out. Make sure you shoot at 12fps. It sounds good and you don't miss any shots.
4) When they come too close, jump out and stick 14mm in the face. Again at 12fps. You are sure to get something unique and unusual. Probably award winning.
5) Run and start all over again.
6) Perhaps have somebody run in with a reflector or backlight







OK don't do it exactly like that :lol:
 
When you see people like Bruce Gilden shooting street I'm not sure you can define any hard rules to stick to. Is there any street photographer you particularly like the work or style of?
 
BBR said:
It may be worth checking whether or not you need a 'model release' form signing if you plan/hope to sell or publish the photo. I suspect you might.
Click to expand...

not for editorial, but for you would want one for pretty much everything else. Good luck with that by the way. I would rather stage my own models
 
Thanks for the responses so far.

Legality - thanks this confirms what I thought the position was but hadn't known about using a photo derogatorily - but in practice don't think I would be doing that

How you do it - thanks - some specific advice at last;)

Style I particularly like - Haven't really identified any - this may be part of the problem as to why I can't get my thoughts clear.

Setting my own - quite comfortable to do this but in this sort of situation I find that I need some considered thoughts to apply my mind to, rather than just flailing around wildly

Model release form - at this stage getting a good street/candid photograph is an intellectual challenge for me rather than aiming to produce something I might publish - although I suppose if I produced something I really liked I might want to enter it into a photographic competition


So one thing I certainly need to do is get my thoughts clear on what I am trying to do.

Any further contributions welcomed.
 
Hi you won't need model release unless your going to use your photos for commercial use.
Say you took a photo of somebody in the street,and it was used in a add to sell something etc otherwise your ok.

I have been doing for a good number of years,the best advice I can give is just get out their and give you soon see if you like it or not.

Good luck :)
 
Street is shot up close.
The idea is for the shooter to be close enough to be in the scene, a participant in the event captured.
The more you blend in, go unnoticed, the less of an issue ethics/good practice becomes, that is a skill in its self.
Watch some Youtube vids of Gary Winograd.
Dunno about Guilden's methods, I think that style actually initiates an event to shoot, like he shoots the reaction that he and his camera creates, which is the opposite to being unnoticed and recording.
Nobody said you couldn't record events in the street that you yourself create I suppose, but its not nice.
 
Thanks for the further comments.

I am trying to do people/candid/street shots and I am becoming more comfortable with it so maybe part of the solution is just to keep at it.

I watched a Gary Winograd video, so thanks for mentioning him. What struck me was that he is one of those people with a smiley face and so I would expect him to have less trouble with people than me (miserable old git:))

So - again - as I become more relaxed with taking this kind of picture I should avoid a situation of the 'Self-fulfilling prophecy' ie ...

I'm worried about someone taking offence

So I look uncomfortable

So someone gets suspicious about what I am doing

So they make an issue of it
 
Elines said:
Thanks for the further comments.

I am trying to do people/candid/street shots and I am becoming more comfortable with it so maybe part of the solution is just to keep at it.

I watched a Gary Winograd video, so thanks for mentioning him. What struck me was that he is one of those people with a smiley face and so I would expect him to have less trouble with people than me (miserable old git:))

So - again - as I become more relaxed with taking this kind of picture I should avoid a situation of the 'Self-fulfilling prophecy' ie ...

I'm worried about someone taking offence

So I look uncomfortable

So someone gets suspicious about what I am doing

So they make an issue of it
Click to expand...

The thing is to keep smiling,if things do start to get unconformable just walk away.
I been doing it for many's years and every now and again you do run into problems,its just comes with street photographer.
Hang on in their and see how it goes :)
 
simonblue said:
The thing is to keep smiling,if things do start to get unconformable just walk away.
I been doing it for many's years and every now and again you do run into problems,its just comes with street photographer.
Hang on in their and see how it goes :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement - as with so many things I am ok with the theory but find the practical a bit more difficult, hence the need to keep trying
 
Elines said:
Thanks for the encouragement - as with so many things I am ok with the theory but find the practical a bit more difficult, hence the need to keep trying
Click to expand...

It will come,the more you do it the more confident you will become,let us know how you get along :)
 
simonblue said:
It will come,the more you do it the more confident you will become,let us know how you get along :)
Click to expand...

Yes - I can feel already that I am taking more time on the basics - eg composition, taking a test shot and generally less snatching of a shot.

Just to illustrate, I went to Melton Market today:

2013_10_29_3339_auctioneer_TP_reduction.jpg


And practiced taking shots of people at work, rather than street scenes as such.

Despite it looking as though the auctioneer was about to hit somebody on the head I was quite pleased with it as it captured the moment when he accepted a final bid
 
Go with a friend if you're nervous. Be relaxed, take a shot, don't linger waiting for a reaction, just smile and move on.

Agree with the 'get close, get wide' approach, context is most of the interest in street and wide gives you that. I shoot 12mm on FF usually now which really means getting up close, an advantage being it's really easy to hip shoot and DoF is massive so you can be less conspicuous,
 
Thanks again for the further help, advice and encouragement.
 
Kelby Training has a couple of tutorials. One is from Jay Maisal. His philosophy is to hide for some shots and be inconspicuous. He also does live view from the hip, if your camera does that. He also will shoot and then look up from the point of shot as if he shot something above the intended. But if caught, he smiles and waves or thumbs up. If the person if argumentative he will show them the shot and tell them it is for his gallery only and if they object he erases it in front of them. Occasionally he will ask but giving them a compliment with the request.
 
Elines said:
Yes - I can feel already that I am taking more time on the basics - eg composition, taking a test shot and generally less snatching of a shot.

Just to illustrate, I went to Melton Market today:

2013_10_29_3339_auctioneer_TP_reduction.jpg


And practiced taking shots of people at work, rather than street scenes as such.

Despite it looking as though the auctioneer was about to hit somebody on the head I was quite pleased with it as it captured the moment when he accepted a final bid
Click to expand...
 
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