First bash at some street photography... Not so good.

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PeteStewardson

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Ok today I went to go pick up a new holster type bag for my camera so I can carry it round easier without lugging all my kit round. But I had my 80-200 with me so decided to have a go at some street photography as I've never tried it. Was a bit nervous about the whole thing, and I found even at 200 I couldn't get close in at a distance I was comfortable with, but I just set auto ISO and AV mode and gave it a go.

Now these are the 4 best efforts, but I think they're pretty awful. Noise seemed to be a big problem and looking at the histogram I guess I was underexposing quite a bit.

Any comments on how to improve in case I get another chance would be gratefully received...

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Pete
 
Well I was trying to get the lights into the frame as well to try and make the images look a bit xmasy. TBH one of my big problems is the colour balance looks a bit off, but as I can't modify D3 files in Aperture yet, and I can't figure out NX for toffee, they'll have to stay that way.
 
3 and 4 are the best - and I prefer 3. There's a bit of a story in those pics which is missing from the first 2. Good first effort - which is one more time than I've tried doing street stuff.
 
The comment is appreciated mate, something to take on board :)

In NX even something as simple as white balance adjusting seems impossible to me :thumbsdown:
 
Number 3 is the only one that works with me as it stands, sorry, they're all OK (lighting, depth of field & exposure) but I find the chopped off legs wrong and also the central subject.
Number 4 would have been a cracker with the woman in the light full height just to the right of centre and the post box and the other person (next to the post box) more in view. Try cropping it down to the bottom left corner, leave just a bit of space to the right of the shopping bag.
I am pretty awful on composition myself, so what you've done is pretty good by my reckoning.
 
white balance is in "camera settings" tab, usually down the lefthand side of the browser window.
I fell out with NX too for a while, it was nothing like as easy as Nikon Capture, but its really growing on me, now I force myself to use it, it is 10x the software Nik Cap is, tho I still use it for quickstuff.
I'm not sure about your "street", for me its not about w/b, its not about blank space, noise, focus or anything else technical, its about capturing a moment, an emotion, an event of everyday life, in that respect, its hardly a fail.
You have to shoot closer, 200mm is so detatched from the event, its a comfort zone, if there is such a thing waving a d3 & 200 lens about in town..lullz
Shoot nifty fifty....well....its smaller than a 200.
I know how difficult it is, I have my own hangups with selfconciousness in a public place.
You have to either not care what people think or be a talker and ask.
noise reduction is nicely subtle in NX
 
OMG, I just remembered something I did shooting street to bypass the discomfort of self-conciousness....
I strapped a D70 to my dog...lullz...shutter cable up the lead, didn't allow for much framing but it was a laff, nobody noticed it except kids, fast focus nifty, app priority wide open, bingo.
errr, it didn't help btw..great shots but who gets the photocredits :shrug:

fotopoodle.com
 
OMG!!!

I've been wondering why my results from the D3 had more noise than they should, and never looked right even after playing around with them in NX...

I've just found it. While playing with NX I noticed the VIVID setting is set, so I switched to neutral, then sharpened just the same as I did before, and the difference is startling.

Before

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After ( Neutral setting )

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:eek:
 
icecavern said:
Thanks for the comments Wookie, is this the sort of crop you were meaning?
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sharp!, liking this, yes on width, but I'd probably open up vertically a bit more (normal portrait proportions not square) so you get some of the big area of out of focus shop lights on the wall above the shop entrance to keep the twinkly christmassy street feel
 
I prefer the vivid settings for this one! lots of really rich colour in the backgrounds and her complexion reflecting the golden glow of beckoning shop windows
 
try these, just quick rough cuts from your low res images, you should be able to do better, your shots have got the content and great feel but the subject tends to too low and central for impact (for me) and there is too much atmospheric background to the point it feels counterproductive, anyway this is closer to where I was thinking of, did a few versions of bikeman just to investigate possibilities, love the texture on the tree but not sure if its just a distraction, tried to get the bike on the right hand 1/3 with his head as the subject at 2/3 up, but . . . :

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think my last trim of the girl could probably take a bit more off the top, say halfway down the patch of bright lights on the left hand edge. Use the scroll bar on your browser to move the picture out of view slightly and you'll see what I mean
 
Thanks for that, gives me an idea of what I should be doing next time I have a go. :)
 
don't worry, I don't KNOW what I'm doing, just they look better to me like this.

I find off centre is generally a better location for the subject, with space where they are heading towards.

try to get your shots to include the legs and feet, that one of the girl at the postbox missed the legs and there is alot of body language in the way she is standing to echo her expression.

do you shoot standing up straight?
I normally crouch down as I prefer the lower viewpoint when shooting people (doesn't help me much as I still get something wrong every time).

I've really got no idea what should or shouldn't be done, just what I like. So don't take my opinions as gospel!
 
I was sat down on some benches, I had a load of shopping with me, only had the camera as I'd gone to buy a small case/bag to carry the camera and 24-70 in rather than a big bag. So I thought as I had 20mins of time left on the parking I would have a go :)

I wasn't really sure what to do, and so just snapped away hoping I could learn from it. Which I am doing :)

Pete
 
Get closer! 80-200mm is far too far away. Be a part of the scene, not a distant, separate observer to it.

Also, black and white.
 
blinkerz said:
theres nothing wrong with being far away, can make people more flattering. Id say mix it up though with distant and up close, find out what you prefer.
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Voyeuristic street photography is bad street photography, IMO and in the opinion of most street photographers:

Street Photography involves getting close to people — often very close. To do this type of shooting successfully you have to be in the scene, part of it, not a distant observer. This means shooting with wide lenses; certainly nothing longer than 50mm. With a wide-angle lens you are a participant. With a telephoto you are at best just an observer, at worst a voyeur.

Shooting this way means moving closer into most people's personal space than they are normally used to. For this reason places like crowded streets in big cities, midways, carnivals, parades and the like are preferred venues.
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http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/street.shtml

Or this thread, where 99% of shooters shoot between 24-50mm on film bodies: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DuHo

I'm not attempting some sort of appeal to authority or to tradition, but there is a philosophical reason why the vast majority of street photographers use far less than ~128mm-320mm (80-200 on a crop DSLR).
 
Well I reckon if that's your first attempt at street photography you've made a pretty good fist of it. I don't agree that the telephoto is necesarily the wrong lens. In this case it has isolated your subjects well, and the out of focus colours in the distance add atmosphere.
I do like to move in with the wide angle, but the tele has worked here.
I am surprised that you should start with night time shots. You are really going in at the deep end.
If there is one thing that can help improve your street photography - it's keep doing it. Keep practising. Keep taking pictures. It is all about good timing, and good timing starts with good anticipation.
You will not always be able to compose people shots perfectly, so be prepared for some cropping and re-framing afterwards. It's all part of the game.
Well done
Philip
www.philipdunn.blogspot.com
 
robmiller said:
Voyeuristic street photography is bad street photography, IMO and in the opinion of most street photographers:


http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/street.shtml

Or this thread, where 99% of shooters shoot between 24-50mm on film bodies: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00DuHo

I'm not attempting some sort of appeal to authority or to tradition, but there is a philosophical reason why the vast majority of street photographers use far less than ~128mm-320mm (80-200 on a crop DSLR).
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Everyone has to start somewhere, we don't jump onto a motorway to learn to drive, so why should you start with a fisheye for your first go at street photography? :)

BTW I'm shooting full frame, so a 80-200. I take your point that many street shooters use wider lenses, but as said this was the first time I've had a go, and was a bit impromptu rather than a planned outing.

phototutor said:
Well I reckon if that's your first attempt at street photography you've made a pretty good fist of it. I don't agree that the telephoto is necesarily the wrong lens. In this case it has isolated your subjects well, and the out of focus colours in the distance add atmosphere.
I do like to move in with the wide angle, but the tele has worked here.
I am surprised that you should start with night time shots. You are really going in at the deep end.
If there is one thing that can help improve your street photography - it's keep doing it. Keep practising. Keep taking pictures. It is all about good timing, and good timing starts with good anticipation.
You will not always be able to compose people shots perfectly, so be prepared for some cropping and re-framing afterwards. It's all part of the game.
Well done
Philip
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Thanks for your comments Philip. Taking the shots at night wasn't a conscious decision really. I was in town with my kit so thought what the hell. As I haven't had the D3 for long I figured what better way to try it out than shoot in the dark :LOL:

Confidence is the thing here I think, I was very nervous shooting complete strangers. Hopefully I'll give it another go soon :)

Pete
 
icecavern said:
Confidence is the thing here I think, I was very nervous shooting complete strangers. Hopefully I'll give it another go soon :)
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Indeed! :clap: Well done for giving it a try. As i've said before, standing under a military jet on approach holds no fear for me but walking up to someone in the street and taking pictures scares the life out of me! :thinking:
 
icecavern said:
Everyone has to start somewhere, we don't jump onto a motorway to learn to drive, so why should you start with a fisheye for your first go at street photography? :)

BTW I'm shooting full frame, so a 80-200. I take your point that many street shooters use wider lenses, but as said this was the first time I've had a go, and was a bit impromptu rather than a planned outing.
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I wasn't trying to be negative :shrug:
 
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