Street Photography...what to be mindful of?

mikebeecham

mikebeecham

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I'm going to try and get out this week with the camera and the 50mm lens as do some street photography.

It's not a bustling city centre so there's not so much going on, but what things should I be mindful of and keep an eye out for?
 
Don't be shy and smile :D
 
Gramps is spot on. Whether you take candids or ask permission, a smile and a pleasant, non-confrontational attitude is paramount.

The vast majority of folk will be more than happy to have their photographs taken if they ever know it has happened. If you get a negative response, be prepared to apologise and delete the shot if that is demanded.

Oh, one other thing. Your 50mm lens may be just the ticket. There is something intimate in getting up close to your subjects that disarms any reluctance which can surface if you tried the same shot with a longer lens. some of the best street shots I have seen were taken on a 24mm lens with a 35mm film camera.
 
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Wear casual clothing but not madeup to look like a private detective or a pervert. Basically try not to look like you're doing something wrong. A look of guilt can cause way more issues than a smile and a wave. Oh, and don't act like you're spying by hiding round corners and peering over walls. One last thing, ditch the strap from round the neck and carry the camera by hand (either by wrapping the strap round your hand or getting a handstrap) Trust me, it feels better when snapping and you can do it from the hip should you want to. Obviously if you're in an area swarming with tourists then you may fit in better by leaving the strat round the neck but i've always found that wandering round london with the camera and 50mm in my hand felt easier.
 
When i was doing some street stuff after taking the shot if they were looking at me then i would pretend i was looking at some thing behind them that i was photographing,i had no problems.:):thumbs:
 
If possible, try to take someone with you. In the past I've had a friend with me to stand in front of the subject, so that it looks like I'm taking a photo of them rather than someone behind them. If you'd rather go it alone, then maybe act as though you're shooting a building or something interesting nearby!
 
Confidence is the way forward, but don't over do it - use your own judgement.

If you get caught out, James and Liz have the right idea - look past them, works well! Most will shrug it off, or turn round to see what you've taken a picture of ... and by that time, you'll be gone haha.
 
Watch out for ignorant security guards who think you cannot photograph anything in public without permission especially if it is a blue building with yellow sign writing!
 
http://www.thomasleuthard.com/

Go to the eBooks link (they are all free).

Going Candid, his first one is a good starting read. there is some duplication with the others, but were written as he has advanced and developed his style and technique for Candid Street Portraiture.

He has only been doing this since 2009, but is pretty dedicated and passionate.
 
Act like a chirpy tourist! It's fool proof. Very rarely does anyone ever confront tourists for taking their snap shots. With a 50mm you wont be too obvious, unlike you would be with say, a 70-200, so that's a good start.

If you take pics of street performers throw them a few pence, they'll appreciate it and pose even better for you.
 
Make sure you know where your nearest 'Street Photography Anonymous' meeting is as if you do start on this journey, you will become addicted in no time. You think you have a photography bug now? wait til you start shooting street!
 
On a serious note also google ,street photography forum and have a look at some of the work on that site, inspiring stuff from amateurs
 
chriscross said:
Make sure you know where your nearest 'Street Photography Anonymous' meeting is as if you do start on this journey, you will become addicted in no time. You think you have a photography bug now? wait til you start shooting street!
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I tried it a little today, but I found myself a little too conscious of getting too close to people and found myself really bad at trying to look innocent!
 
GlennBlack said:
Watch out for ignorant security guards who think you cannot photograph anything in public without permission especially if it is a blue building with yellow sign writing!
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Well that would have depended on if you were in there giant carpark or not.
 
I'm just about to embark on my first street photography project. Rightly or wrongly my approach will be small camera pancake lens, lots of smiles. If i get spotted i will smile and ask if i can take there shot for a project I'm doing, and hand them a business card offering them a copy.
 
mikebeecham said:
I tried it a little today, but I found myself a little too conscious of getting too close to people and found myself really bad at trying to look innocent!
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:lol: try street scenes until you get into the swing then just make opportunities to snap a few individuals.
 
Another thing i thought about was have headphones in. You don't need to be playing music but the lack of eye contact and the fact they think you will not hear them 99.9% of people will do nothing.
 
Personally I think deception is the wrong way to go, simply be friendly and positive - look as though you are confident in what you are doing.
 
I've been looking at a 'street photography' website today, and one of the overwhelming points they keep making is that DSLRs and Street Photography don't go well together.

I wonder what your thoughts are on this? Is it that a smaller, quieter camera would be better, or is it more about technique?
 
I don't buy that, DSLR's are fine, after all you're not trying to be 'undercover'!
It's just another form of photography but some people get really hung up about what is/is not 'street' and formulate all sorts of rules about it ... pass them by and go out and enjoy taking photos of people and their interactions with others and with their surroundings.
 
Their is something less threatening about a small camera I think, which maybe subtly useful in getting you THE shot...possibly.... but then I suppose you could argue that bright clothing, or even being tall has an adverse affect on 'standing out' in a crowd ..or perhaps its a good thing to stand out, who knows!
Don't worry about it, way to much talk about kit and not enough about the subject, which will be the same ish no matter what camera is use right.
 
Well I just bought I samsung nx10 specifically for street. Campact light and cheap, so I don't have to worry about it. I paid 167 with 2 lenses, one of which I will sell on for 50.
 
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Street photography depends where you live on how easy and less stressful it is. Some town centres will have people in it that don't want be photographed as it may be they shouldn't be there and I know it sounds daft but it's perfectly true.
 
Hadge said:
Street photography depends where you live on how easy and less stressful it is. Some town centres will have people in it that don't want be photographed as it may be they shouldn't be there and I know it sounds daft but it's perfectly true.
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......yep, agree with this. I'm not saying street photography is easy but I think it would be 'easier' in a bustling city.
JohnyT
 
I think it also depends on the city/town you are shooting in...

In my little town I think people are generally less inviting of the camera being around them but if I pop into Glasgow no one seems to mind what you are taking pictures of.
 
I haven't taken a lot of street photography but any that I took I went about it as though I was at work. Just taking the photos I wanted to take. There is nothing illegal about it so I wouldn't worry. I think getting some cards printed is a good idea.
 
If you want to make yourself invisible to the public, get a fluorescent jacket and a hard hat and if possible, put your camera on a bright yellow surveyor's tripod.


Steve.
 
I don't think you can actually stop yourself being noticed while taking photographs regardless of what you're using - waving a phone camera around isn't exactly stealthy is it?

I see two options:

1) Do everything you can to not be noticed, possibly to the detriment of the reason you're there in the first place - i.e. taking gear that's less capable or that you're less familiar with because you think it's less visible, not taking shots you otherwise would because you think you'll be noticed doing it, etcetera.

2) Accept you'll be noticed at some stage and just get on with it.

Either way you're doing something unusual that most people won't understand and that will attract attention eventually. Attention could be people standing to one side to keep out of shot, people being interested in what you're doing or people attacking you thinking you're doing something wrong.
 
This happy couple were more than happy to pose for me :)

clown.jpg


If I'm after spontaneous shots then I always try to wrap the camera strap around my wrist, even when the camera is tripod mounted. Next time you are in the town/city center just take time out to spot how many people are chatting on their mobiles! It's not rocket science to work out how many are snatched. You have to be aware these days I'm afraid. It's just the way society is.​
 
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mikebeecham said:
I tried it a little today, but I found myself a little too conscious of getting too close to people and found myself really bad at trying to look innocent!
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Nothing to worry about at the start,try to think about the photos your trying to get rather than the people around :)
 
A common misconception is that you've got to be right in your subjects face to take street photography. Whilst it is the case for certain styles of 'street', it's not the sole way to take street shots.

For those saying it doesn't matter what camera you have, I think that's a naive statement. I've shot with an SLR, ricoh GR1, and iPhone; and whilst the SLR doesn't really pose a massive problem, the compact and iphone are noticeably more subtle, subjects take notice of you with a bulky camera, but rarely with a compact / phone.

As for tips, I'd say go out and enjoy it! look for interesting shots, compositions, subjects and snap away.

I honestly think your 50mm with a 600d is WAY too long for street work though as you'll be too far from the subjects. I even think 50 on full frame is too long (but that's obviously a personal preference)

for settings, I personally shoot at a constant ISO 1600, and then aim for F8ish, and 1/250ish. anything around there is enough to freeze the action and get enough DoF

Relying on autofocus isn't the best idea shooting street. zone focusing is the 'best' way to do it with a large DoF.

other than that, getting out and shooting is the key!
 
Good points Ash, which I agree with in my limited experience.

I have also used DSLRs, X100 and a few others and find the Ricoh GR cameras are best as they fit in pocket, have a zone focus option, massive DoF due to sensor size and leave you to concentrate on getting the right shot at the right time. Nothing draws attention like pointing a large DSLR at people while standing and fiddling around...
 
I'm not sure you have to shoot at f8 on a crop camera to achieve a decent DOF. You then don't need to bump the ISO up to much. For example if you replaced the 50mm with the 28mm which would be a better suites to street, you could achieve the same DOF as a 50mm on a FF at f8 at f4.5.

I'm with Ash even 50mm on a FF is long. I love my nx10 so much i'm thinking of getting a second. I'll have a 30mm fitted to one and a 20mm on the other, both will fit in my coat pockets.
 
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ernesto said:
Good points Ash, which I agree with in my limited experience.

I have also used DSLRs, X100 and a few others and find the Ricoh GR cameras are best as they fit in pocket, have a zone focus option, massive DoF due to sensor size and leave you to concentrate on getting the right shot at the right time. Nothing draws attention like pointing a large DSLR at people while standing and fiddling around...
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I agree. I've seen people on the streets shooting with 5d / 24-105 combo, and it just looks massive to me - for street shooting at least.

To the OP. I'm not suggesting you go out and buy a new camera though, the DSLR will be fine, as I say - I've shot street on an SLR too, and it's fine.

I think one of the reasons I love a compact so much is that it weighs as much as a phone, so I don't have the weight of a DSLR on my wrist constantly.

rjbell said:
I'm not sure you have to shoot at f8 on a crop camera to achieve a decent DOF. You then don't need to bump the ISO up to much. For example if you replaced the 50mm with the 28mm which would be a better suites to street, you could achieve the same DOF as a 50mm on a FF at f8 at f4.5.

I'm with Ash even 50mm on a FF is long. I love my nx10 so much i'm thinking of getting a second. I'll have a 30mm fitted to one and a 20mm on the other, both will fit in my coat pockets.
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Perhaps. Even at 1600 on most DSLR's noise isn't too troublesome, nothing PP can't fix anyway.

I shoot my street work on film, so quite like the grain produced at 1600. I shoot with a 28mm, and I'd still always use F8 at least and F11 if possible. Having a large DoF shooting street is much more workable than a shallow Dof if you're trying to get a quick shot.
 
Ash. said:
I agree. I've seen people on the streets shooting with 5d / 24-105 combo, and it just looks massive to me - for street shooting at least.

To the OP. I'm not suggesting you go out and buy a new camera though, the DSLR will be fine, as I say - I've shot street on an SLR too, and it's fine.

I think one of the reasons I love a compact so much is that it weighs as much as a phone, so I don't have the weight of a DSLR on my wrist constantly.



Perhaps. Even at 1600 on most DSLR's noise isn't too troublesome, nothing PP can't fix anyway.


I shoot my street work on film, so quite like the grain produced at 1600. I shoot with a 28mm, and I'd still always use F8 at least and F11 if possible. Having a large DoF shooting street is much more workable than a shallow Dof if you're trying to get a quick shot.
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Well its a balance between the two isn't it. High iso will soften images not just add noise and PP NR will soften further. Shooting at such small apertures you are at the risk of softening images even further due to diffraction. I see no reason to shoot higher than f8 for street, and generally F5.6-f6.7 is fine for 30mm on a crop sensor, and can still be at sensible iso's even with 1/250 shutter speed.
 
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rjbell said:
Well its a balance between the two isn't it. High iso will soften images not just add noise and PP NR will soften further. Shooting at such small apertures you are softening images further again due to diffraction. I see no reason to shoot higher than f8 for street, and generally F5.6-f6.7 is fine for 30mm on a crop sensor.
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That's fair enough. It's a personal choice.

Street shooting seems to be different to pretty much every other aspect of photography for the reason that I don't think you'll find many people shooting street who discuss image quality. Providing it's in focus (or not, as some styles adhere to) - it's all about the image.

Don't get hung up on an image being slightly softer than it could have been, if the image is good, nobody cares about how sharp it is...
 
I don't get hung up on it, i have a £160 samsung for street. However Its no point degrading images unnecessarily, and shooting f11 on the street with a crop would be.
 
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rjbell said:
I don't get hung up on it, i have a £160 samsung for street. Its no point degrading images unnecessarily.
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I didn't say you specifically, I meant in general. I feel people get too hung up on perfect image quality, no grain, no CA etc - whilst very important for certain aspects of photography, it's not really that important for the vast majority of people who will probably only ever view images on a computer screen (myself included).

As for degrading the image, again, I never mentioned anything about that. but for me personally I'd rather shoot an extra stop down to get the shot and potentially have a 'softer' image. If people on the internet wish to moan about the image quality on a 100% crop, rather than viewing the image itself - so be it.

I simply stated that 1600, 1/250th and F8 are optimal for the street that I've been shooting recently. If an image is a tiny bit less sharp than it could have been - oh well, I'll get over it :)

Anyway, I digress...
 
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