first time street photography

shaylou said:
I tried that but found myself missing a lot of shots. To me the composition is so important that your method does not work so well (for me).
Click to expand...

Did you try using a proper waist level finder (as opposed to just shooting at waist level)? I find it much easier to compose my shot with that than with a prism (if you get over the initial problem of everything being backwards anyway).

A waist level finder is what Vivian Maier would have been using on her Rolleiflex.

Unfortunately, very few modern cameras offer WLFs nowadays, which I think is a shame.

I guess those articulated screens on cameras like the Nikon D5100 could serve as a makeshift WLF?
 
skysh4rk said:
Did you try using a proper waist level finder (as opposed to just shooting at waist level)? I find it much easier to compose my shot with that than with a prism (if you get over the initial problem of everything being backwards anyway).

A waist level finder is what Vivian Maier would have been using on her Rolleiflex.

Unfortunately, very few modern cameras offer WLFs nowadays, which I think is a shame.

I guess those articulated screens on cameras like the Nikon D5100 could serve as a makeshift WLF?
Click to expand...

No I haven't tried that. My first camera was a 600D and it had the pop out screen. I shot a lot from down low so I used that all the time. I miss that feature.
 
shaylou said:
These are excellent !
Click to expand...
Thanks Shayne ;) as you can see by some of them i like to get some eye contact..spot your subject (or victim) begin to focus and just as they look at you..BANG! it's all over,picture taken,give them a nod and a wink,move on :D
 
STARRIDER said:
Thanks Shayne ;) as you can see by some of them i like to get some eye contact..spot your subject (or victim) begin to focus and just as they look at you..BANG! it's all over,picture taken,give them a nod and a wink,move on :D
Click to expand...

That's a great approach . Sometimes when I do that I offer to show them the pic and even tell them where they can get it from. They seem to like that.

You got me thinking about black and white shots. Did you have a chance to see my Flickr? I think I only have one or two B&L there. The one I have I really like. Me and my mate came across this guy and got him to sit there and act as though we were not there for a pack of cigs (we always carry for this reason) and a couple of dollars. It was our first street shots and his name was Pete. So from then on I call my street photography " in search of Pete". Because we were so thrilled with what Mr Pete gave us to work with. Anyway, check out Pete if you have a chance.
 
shaylou said:
Lets not make this into something that its not. I like to capture people in a candid gesture so standing out of the way sometimes helps. The 70-200 stands out like a sore thumb so it's almost a must to have to stand off to the side to not intermediate the subject. 95% of my street shots are with me standing in plain view.

I like the way you use spy, odd, hide around corners and put me in the 1% range of people doing this but I guess that's okay as long as you cover yourself politeness with

"not that there is anything wrong with it works for you".

Come on,, if your going to insult someone be a man about it and just do it!
Click to expand...

Why would I want to insult you? You can do what you want but I don't think it is good general advice or what most people see as a method for street photography.

Remember, this was in reply to your comment "I would leave the 50 at home and get the longest lens you can find. You will not get a candid shot when sticking a camera in some strangers face." I disagree with every part of that and have got many candid shots with a 50, and even with a 28.
 
Been out to Birmingham for the first time to take some shots the other weekend, ended up getting some decent shots as the day went on as my confidence grew and my insecure thoughts about what people are thinking of me went out the window after an hour or two. Going back out there this weekend and then to my local town to see what I can find.

That's what I love about Street, you never get the same image twice, it just depends who and what you see on the day.
 
Really like some of your images Kal. Some decent shots there and there is something about having people in black and white just gives it a sense of mystery, I dunno, there's just something nice about it. Link to my Flickr with a couple of my recent shots, going back to town again this weekend so should have another set soon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top