B&W My Street Portraits ***Complete*** 15 July 2016

Thanks @benc98 Ben, a few from my second round of 100 strangers which i thought particularly suited a B&W conversion.
 
Are you sure the fourth one isnt Chris Kamara? Excellent as ever, Iain. 5 & 6 are the picsks for me.

:D He could easily be a doppelgänger Kris, uncanny resemblance, I agree.
Thanks, i do particularly like Elvine's portrait too, she was very striking!
 
Thanks @minnnt David. From my first round of strangers, I have taken to converting all the portraits to B&W as a matter of course to see how they look. Some fair better than others in the conversion as they have a little more contrast in them.
Cheers!
 
Hi

A bit like when I look @sunnyside_up (Bethy's) pics I err between commenting and not commenting. They are always of a high standard and pleasing to the eye!

Just to echo the above....love the Paulo shot - he seems to ooze style/personality through your pic.

Elvine has fabulous hair and the eyes draw you in.

Fab as ever

S
 
Cracking set of images Iain, and really good PP work.(y)

George.
 
Hi

A bit like when I look @sunnyside_up (Bethy's) pics I err between commenting and not commenting. They are always of a high standard and pleasing to the eye!

Just to echo the above....love the Paulo shot - he seems to ooze style/personality through your pic.

Elvine has fabulous hair and the eyes draw you in.

Fab as ever

S

Thanks Shaheed, I am genuinely flattered by your kind comments.
Paulo was so stylish, didn't quite get to learn his personality, he was a man on a mission and only got a quick couple of portraits and his name.

great set, I've not ever approached strangers and asked to shoot them.

Thanks Al, it isn't as difficult as one may assume, people are generally very personable when approached, some decline but the majority say yes.
Ive thoroughly enjoyed the 100 strangers project.

Cracking set of images Iain, and really good PP work.(y)

George.
Thanks George.
I mainly edit in lightroom but for my B&W conversions, I tend to work in photoshop.
 
That is a brilliant set. Where on earth do you find and shoot these people? - I must go to some pretty boring places not see people like this.
 
That is a brilliant set. Where on earth do you find and shoot these people? - I must go to some pretty boring places not see people like this.

Thank you, all of the portraits above were taken in and around London.
There's a certain amount of patience involved in making these portraits. I mainly find a background first then just wait for someone to come along whose portrait I would like to make.
Other times, its very much on the fly, I see someone as Im walking around and then have to source a background nearby.
 
Thank you for the excellent tip - it makes a lot of sense to select the background first and then wait for the right subject. Mind you, I did not think of that until you mentioned it.
 
Thank you, all of the portraits above were taken in and around London.
There's a certain amount of patience involved in making these portraits. I mainly find a background first then just wait for someone to come along whose portrait I would like to make.
Other times, its very much on the fly, I see someone as Im walking around and then have to source a background nearby.

How often do you get a "no."..?

Amazing portraits :)
 
How often do you get a "no."..?

Amazing portraits :)

Thanks Ben (y)
Of the first 100, I would guess that probably I had around 15-20 people decline.
I just thank the person for their time, wish them a good day and move on. I have never had a negative experience with anyone who I've spoke to during the project.
 
Thanks Ben (y)
Of the first 100, I would guess that probably I had around 15-20 people decline.
I just thank the person for their time, wish them a good day and move on. I have never had a negative experience with anyone who I've spoke to during the project.

Thankyou :)

I honestly thought it would be a higher percentage to be fair I'd have second thoughts and I know it would be a "No" from the wife if she was asked lol
I've never asked anyone.. Just done 'Street' with people in..

I might have a go :D
 
@BennyBoo
That's a guesstimate Ben, I don't like having my photograph taken and would probably say no too :D
You would be surprised how many people have said to me when I asked to make their portrait and they said they didn't like having their photo taken or that they looked rough but still went ahead with it. No-one has ever come back to me and asked to take their photo down, so I would assume they either haven't looked at it online or are pleased with it so happy to have it displayed.
I don't do much PP work beyond global adjustments, occasionally I have removed blemishes/spots etc but that's to be fair to the subjects.
I have discussed this with a female friend and she said that most women would welcome those adjustments to their portrait.
 
Do you pose them or are they standing how they would normally. Love these, may be tempted to do something like this myself, think it would be fun and great publicity

Thanks Iain.
I tend to pose them, as mentioned above, I generally find a background to place the subject in front of. I would go for open shade mostly, then use a reflector for fill light.
I do like the vanishing point perspective backgrounds, mainly square on pose, sometimes a little turn of the shoulders with them facing the camera for a flattering angle. Sorry, don't mean to teach you how to suck eggs, this is my thought processes when posing strangers.
I started this to shoot more people photography. with the second round of strangers, I have been trying to capture wider shots of people, half body etc, or at the very least their hands in the shot (Paulo above, as an example). This is time dependent, I try to get a sense of the person in a few short moments, if they seem in a rush then I go with the stock head and shoulders, if they seem more amenable to posing further, I take the wider shots. HTH
 
Interesting.

They are absolutely brilliant. Elvine is gorgeous! I'd would have invited her on proper shoot on the spot!

Love Trino and Paulo :)

Elvine is a beauty blogger, IIRC she is French and was in Leicester Square promoting her beauty blog.
She had a a couple of people with her, one of which was a photographer, the other, a woman who was giving her some direction as I was photographing her. I assumed she was some sort of publicist.
I wouldn't have been so bold as to offer a further shoot but I like your thinking.
 
These are great , love the shallow dof. Really works well
 
These are awesome. I lvoe your colour series but these are very good conversions indeed IMO.
 
These are great , love the shallow dof. Really works well

Thanks Paul, I aim for a consistency throughout the project, barring a few portraits, all were shot with a 50mm lens at shallow dof for a consistent 'look'.
 
These are awesome. I lvoe your colour series but these are very good conversions indeed IMO.

Thanks Gareth, thats quite a compliment coming from someone like yourself, cheers.
Its not every portrait that converts well to B&W but these IMHO have more contrast and suit the conversion.
 
Thanks Gareth, thats quite a compliment coming from someone like yourself, cheers.

Not sure about that :LOL: But your welcome. They are very good. I would love to see them in a book. I am a big fan of printing stuff and thing the set would look immense. Or all about 20 inches across hung together.
 
Not sure about that :LOL: But your welcome. They are very good. I would love to see them in a book. I am a big fan of printing stuff and thing the set would look immense. Or all about 20 inches across hung together.

Funny you should say that, I am awaiting a book being delivered from Blurb in the next few days.
I created it for my first 100, as a keepsake for the project.
I too love seeing my images in print. I have only printed a couple of stranger portraits so far, oh and two poster sized prints of the completed project 24"x24" square.

ETA you are too modest by far, I really like your wedding work.
Having shot a few weddings myself, I aspire to the standard of quite a few on here, yourself being one of them. Not blowing smoke up your :mooning:, just saying :D
 
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Funny you should say that, I am awaiting a book being delivered from Blurb in the next few days.
I created it for my first 100, as a keepsake for the project.
I too love seeing my images in print. I have only printed a couple of stranger portraits so far, oh and two poster sized prints of the completed project 24"x24" square.

ETA you are too modest by far, I really like your wedding work.
Having shot a few weddings myself, I aspire to the standard of quite a few on here, yourself being one of them. Not blowing smoke up your :mooning:, just saying :D

This is useless without a photo! :) Or your location so I can come see.

Awww thank you for the kind words. Means a lot as I am sure you know.
 
They look awesome like that. I think the Mono is very strong but my preference is the collage of colour ones. That's proper kick ass!
 
As I mentioned Gareth, I do a mono conversion as part of my workflow, some convert better than others.
I am more drawn to the colour one myself. I feel it shows the diversity of people more than the mono.
 
Some really really great work here.

For the mosaics, I prefer it in colour. It has more impact, its striking. You're eye is drawn to bits all over, and each person stands out.
 
Very impressive :)
I don't think there is a bad one amongst them but really like 5&6 from the original set.
Just wish I had such interesting people to work with in my area
 
Very impressive :)
I don't think there is a bad one amongst them but really like 5&6 from the original set.
Just wish I had such interesting people to work with in my area

Thanks Paul.
As mentioned, all of the shots in the OP were from London, so a little spoiled for choice at times of subjects.
 
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