First attempt at street photography...

[graham90]

Heres a series of shots I took this morning around Edinburgh. First time doing street photography, really enjoyed myself though
Let me know what you think...

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

 

[graham90]

10)

11)

12)

13)

14)

 

[D0c]

There are some good images here but most of them are off peoples backs.

I found street photography very hard. It takes balls to point a camera directly at someone. Telephoto lenses help but proper SP is about getting in amoungst your targets and thats hard.

Good try and keep shooting.

 

[lukewoodford]

Number 11 is the best here IMO, a guy walking past innoring the musican. There are a couple of other ok ones but most just lack interest, just normal people doing normal things. Keep trying and try to think outside the box a bit, Gary has got an absolute classic on his blog http://www.egopimp.com where a guy is sat underneath a "watch your belongings" sign and he's looking the other way.

 

[Foggy]

There are some decent shots there, I quite like number 11, but as said a few too many shots of peoples backs.

There was a 'Street photography' challenge recently with some great feedback from some superb photographers. One of the pieces of advice given was:

Note for the fearful: Please tell them “when you find you’re just shooting people’s backs, fear has gripped you and that means you have to come to grips with it. Stop. Stand on a corner. Take a breather and make up your mind that you came to shoot. Tell yourself that fear won’t stop you. Then pick up your camera and shoot someone’s foot; then a knee, then a hand and then a torso; keep shooting until you see a face. Enjoy the process. J”

It's something I try and keep in mind when out with the camera.

 

[jamlid]

I like them, especially 11 and 14.

Unfortunately I'm too shy and fearful to take any pictures of people in public. Just a fear of having to interact explain myself to someone if they did say something.

 

[NickTB]

I like 14. I wonder what the text said? And there you have it in my eyes. If a shot makes you question what was happening, then you have "street". In my humble opinion of course! :shrug:

 

[graham90]

Cheers everyone for the comments and advice. My mission for next time will be to get more face-on shots!

So many times this morning i found myself looking through the viewfinder and seeing a great shot of someone face-on, but then turned away at the last moment in fear of them looking at me and taking it the wrong way

Cheers again, and I'll take all your advice into consideration next time

 

[cdmania]

Thats a great start, Well done. number 9 for me, a sign of the times.

 

[graham90]

Thats a great start, Well done. number 9 for me, a sign of the times.

ta for the comment

heres another similar shot, of the same person but from a different angle, overlooked it when i was posting:

 

[rubber duck]

love #14 - very intriguing

#15 shows the effort that people make to avoid walking near these people

 

[Teshi]

Good first attempt but there are sooo many variations to this, its immense.

First, use a WA and then crop. This was 24mm which was then cropped.

Secondly, as others have mentioned, telephotos work well but be prepared to quickly shift what you were aiming for. Its tricky but sometimes, you do not even need to grab their face, maybe something else of interest?

So go when it starts getting darker, black camera gear is harder to spot.

Either way, keep it up, you are getting the hang of it, just try for more faces.

 

[78seconds]

I like number 14 as it is a snapshot that can´t be simulated.
Number 10 is also good, it would be even better in black and white and if the smoking woman would be sharp.

I´m trying to get deeper into streetphotography and find it very difficult to make myself invisible. As soon as people spot my camera they´ll directly look at it so the photo is ruined.

 

[petemc]

Thats a great start, Well done. number 9 for me, a sign of the times.

Hardly. There have been homeless people for centuries. A DB9 is a better sign of the times I have to echo what others said. Peoples backs isn't street. Also people milling around isn't street. Moments are. Emotion, events, chaos, pain, love, passion, are great components of a street photo. Ignore the homeless unless something out the ordinary happens. Everyone photographs them because they're easy prey for the gritty urban "sign of the times" shot.