How to Shoot London Underground

ajdesq said:
Just to go back to the 'flash' issue. It could possibly be to do with fire detection, but as an ex-ASLEF member I can tell you that the main reason is safety as, even in this automated age, there will be a real man or woman at the controls of a train with possibly hundreds of people on board. Can you imagine what it must be like to drive for a few minutes through pitch black tunnels, pop out in a station, and be blinded by a camera flash? :eek:
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you may be surprised to know that most of the LU lines no longer need drivers, they are only there because the general public didn't like it when they did trials without any drivers in the trains but they aren't actually driving the trains in most cases.
 
Chaz Photos said:
but your on privet land and you have to do as told get a pass and noone will stop you
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:LOL:
shakespeare no doubt in disguise...

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oi! my sig's gone
 
I have taken hundreds of photographs on the tube with compact cameras and a few with my new DSLR and never yet had a problem. I don't normally hang around though (maybe just skip one or two trains) and just get a few snaps as I'm travelling around.

I know a few people who work for LUL (I work for the mainline railway) and all have told me that normal w/o flash/tripod photography is ok.

You may of course be questioned for 'security' reasons but that could happen for anything!

As for suggestions for what to shoot... it really depends on what you're in to. Easy to get some nice blurred trains anywhere and 'away' shots of departing trains are best taken from the rear of the platforms.

The Victoria and Metropolitan lines are interesting as the trains will soon be replaced and will quickly make the photo historic!


People shots on the tube can be great but (for me) that's all down to luck!
 
43 posts and no one got close to even answering the question LOL

Carlm90 said:
what's the best way to shoot trains approaching when it's dark?
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they have headlights, so preset your exposure or shoot manually.

pan with the train if you want some motion blur.
use high ISO to get a faster shutter speed if you dont want motion blur
use low shutter speed, put camera somewhere stable if you want everything thats moving blurry
servo assisted focus (if the headlights dont shine straight into the lens and throw it off)

thats about it i would say.
 
Just like to say thanks for the argument a few people for helping with the actual photography part. I'm on the trains now and looking for shots. I'll just have to ask permission if they ask me. I'm not paying £30 for my shabby learning photography!
 
Just To let you know that it went ok, Westminster and London Bridge were fine and I hope I got some good shots. They just emphasised not using flash and making sure I didn't get in the way. Some lady took it upon herself to be high and mighty, and started going on about how I can't take photos. Soon told her I had permission and she took a nice silent walk off. I even offered to show her the pictures but she refused. Saved £30 and had a great time learning.
 
my self and another tp member went to st pancras station yesterday .we went to the security office and asked for a permit .was asked if it was for commercial ,,,and were we using tripods ???? no and no ,,ok no problem ,,,was very good about it ..we even asked a pcso ocifer where the place to ask was , and he took us there ,very helpful to be honest ,,,,we never got stopped by anyone whilst there ,,police and pcso's and security all over the place .had a good walk about ,,,,i just hope i dont see SOME of the photos :D
 
Donutagain, did I see you with a tripod taking a picture by the First Capital Connect entrance / ticket barriers at about 5pm?

I was going to stop to ask if you'd got permission but was rushing for a train.

David
 
Carlm90 said:
Some lady took it upon herself to be high and mighty, and started going on about how I can't take photos. Soon told her I had permission and she took a nice silent walk off.
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What was her argument?. Seems it's always women doing the ranting, I wonder why??

David
 
She didn't have an argument, just said she was "pretty sure I couldn't take photos". I was cautious with taking photos and got some dodgy looks. It was new to me but I came out with a few good photos. I'm waiting til I get back to my laptop to publish them. I'll put them on a new post and link to here when I can. She probably thought I was doing something incriminating, when obviously I wasn't. I wonder why some people are so bloody cautious. I know with terrorism and all that but you can't do anything these days without being questioned. I don't like my photo taken so I guess some people get self conscious about me taking photos. I hardly get peoples faces unless I'm specifically taking a photo of them, I was more interested in photographing the train.
 
I've shoot some before, just using high iso, and don't forget to make youself look like a tourist:LOL:
 
I guess it pretty difficult without the aid of a tripod as most of the shots are in low light?
 
dong_allen said:
I've shoot some before, just using high iso, and don't forget to make youself look like a tourist:LOL:
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Haha, I certainly didn't look like a tourist. I don't think tourists stop at the bottom of Westminster elevators and also make an effort to reach the end of the platform :LOL:

Nevermind, I was using my ISO on 800 and the light was not too bad, I'm just going through the photos now and will have them online tomorrow.

@jimmy83 It was very hard but I had to make the most of it. I'm learning and the photos were not bad in the end.
 
Willid1 said:
Donutagain, did I see you with a tripod taking a picture by the First Capital Connect entrance / ticket barriers at about 5pm?

I was going to stop to ask if you'd got permission but was rushing for a train.

David
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i was back home by then so not me . we had been to smithfields first thing so my legs wouldnt have lasted that long :D
 
No tripod ! What about monopod ? Do you think this would come under the same rules ?
Sorry if i've just started another debate .
 
3492956091_89192ed343.jpg


Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.8
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
 
Obviously I used a tripod for that shot! Works really well with slow shutter speeds though :)
 
That's a great photo, I may try and get away with a tripod next time. Did the lady know you were photographing her?
 
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