Nervous shooter?

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intel86

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Just really started in photography and bought myself a 50D which i love.

Thing is, i feel embaressed taking photos in public!! People stare at you and give you funny looks!! I have always been introvert in a little way and wondered if any of you feel / felt the same?

I have just started a Photography course as i am a complete novice.
 
I used to feel like this too but it does wear off.

Best thing to do is just get out there and do your thing, people will look people will stare and occassionally people will come over and have a chat with you.

spike
 
I know what you your feeling there intel, I am the same, I hate the attention I get when I'm setting up to try to practice my photography, I usually pull my hoodie top up and try to block it out, I am worried that people are looking over my shoulder, as I'm not very good.
 
I was hopeless when I first started out doing street stuff, used to pull my camera out as quick as i could, take the shot and put it in it's bag straight after.
Used to get some right funny ol looks and I don't blame them on reflection either. Now I find myself with a much more relaxed approach, camera is around my shoulder for all to see. I no longer feel embarrassed when I put it to me eye for a shot. Smiling helps :thumbs:
 
happygolucky said:
I was hopeless when I first started out doing street stuff, used to pull my camera out as quick as i could, take the shot and put it in it's bag straight after.
Used to get some right funny ol looks and I don't blame them on reflection either. Now I find myself with a much more relaxed approach, camera is around my shoulder for all to see. I no longer feel embarrassed when I put it to me eye for a shot. Smiling helps :thumbs:
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That was probably part of the problem. Acting furtively like that probably aroused people's suspicions about what you were doing. If you just got the camera out and acted more assertively, as if you had every right to be there taking photographs, I'm sure people would have taken less notice.
 
If you feel embarassed, you'll look emabarassed/furtive.

It will start to wear off. If you look like you're enjoining yourself, I've noticed people don't give you a second look.

Enjoy yourself...:thumbs:
 
I am out with a camera every day,it does get easier,in a lot of ways i am a shy person,but once my camera go up to my eye,all i can see is the photo i am about to take.

:)
 
It does wear off over time.
I think part of it is that as you start to appreciate all the things you have to think about before taking a shot you're too busy thinking about those things to care if someone's looking at you and that the general confidence you gain in your ability is partially transferred to your manner which will make people more confident that you're not doing anything dodgy.
 
You do realise that using a camera is like wearing sunglasses? When you're doing it, no one can see you.:cool:
 
intel86 said:
Just really started in photography and bought myself a 50D which i love.

Thing is, i feel embaressed taking photos in public!! People stare at you and give you funny looks!! I have always been introvert in a little way and wondered if any of you feel / felt the same?

I have just started a Photography course as i am a complete novice.
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! STARE BACK I do, why should YOU feel in the wrong.

Say what I do, "Wana picture"
 
Ah, just posted a similar thread then spotted this one. Doing it in public doesn't bother me anymore. I don't mind snapping away in public either. lol;)
 
I get nervous, but that would be my inability to have confidence in my photography. If I was a lot better, I would be a lot less nervous.
 
Try coming to Cambridge all the tourists round here wander around taking photo's with DSLR's so if you go out street snapping you just blend in no one bats an eyelid at you.
 
ian-83 said:
Try coming to Cambridge all the tourists round here wander around taking photo's with DSLR's so if you go out street snapping you just blend in no one bats an eyelid at you.
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Just like a month ago when I was in Orlando, it seemed like every other person had a dslr. I didn't feel nervous at all using my camera but back here at home I've only ever used it around the house.
 
Usually, all I notice now, are people trying to duck under and out of shot as I look through the view finder. lol
 
people are just curious - if you have a tripod and serious looking kit they are probably wondering whether you're a journalist or not. Quite a few folk thought that about me when I was at oxford fireworks, one guy jumped in front of the lens and asked which paper it would be in lol (I only have kit lenses too)
 
sturisoma said:
people are just curious - if you have a tripod and serious looking kit they are probably wondering whether you're a journalist or not. Quite a few folk thought that about me when I was at oxford fireworks, one guy jumped in front of the lens and asked which paper it would be in lol (I only have kit lenses too)
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Ye I find having a battery grip on my camera seemed to attract more attention as people think "oo that's a pro camera" lol
 
Best thing to do is go to a few places where you know lots of other people will have cameras out, such as airshows etc. By the time you've been to a few you will pull out your camera without thinking about it and without worrying what other people are thinking about.
That way you'll become more relaxed and become a more confident photographer, you might find your pictures will improve with your confidence too.
 
I often feel like this too. Just have to grit my teeth and get on with it. Anything that draws attention to me is bad in my book so I just have to try and ignore it, and make sure I get the shots I want
 
JSER said:
! STARE BACK I do, why should YOU feel in the wrong.

Say what I do, "Wana picture"
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OP, ignore this advice, it will cause more issues for you (and all togs).

Couple of things you need to:

1) practice, it gets easier.

2) SMILE :D smile at people, say hello, be friendly.

3) Believe you are a tog and have every right to be there. If you don't believe it, then no one will!
 
I was stood on a bridge in a hi-vis jacket, in the pitch black the other night trying light trails. Just about every car that went over the bridge slowed to walking pace to see what I was up to. I was quite self conscious at first, but then wondered if they thought I was thinking of jumping :lol:
 
I know what you mean about feeling nervous.
I only bought my camera last week and instead of taking pictures in my home town I went up to the lakes to get used to using it in public areas and to get my confidence up.

Now after my first week I love going out with the camera and just get in my own little world.
 
I know what you mean. I'm think I'm kinda somewhere in the middle. I don't mind walking around with my camera on show, and it doesn't bother me taking single shots in public either. But I do sometimes get a little embarrassed when I'm shooting the same thing over and over trying different things, and people walking around in the shot are staring at me while I shoot and chimp. Probably because I look like a right amateur ha ha.

Another thing which has embarrassed me in the past is when I'm lining up a shot like down an alleyway or something, then someone appears at the end and is walking towards me. I don't want them in my shot, and they know that, but they're not gonna run to hurry up past me, and I wouldn't want them to. I've just sorta stood there waiting, and it's obvious I'm waiting for them. I don't wanna stare at them while I'm waiting, so I just sorta look around. When they finally walk past me there's an exchange of awkward smiles, then I can get on with getting my shot. This has happened to me a few times and I've always wondered what other photographers do in this situation. I probably look like a right nob when this happens ha ha. Oh well, as long as I got my shot!
 
Just take your camera to the busiest place you know and get it out of your system once and for all. I recently got into large format photography, so if you think looking through a viewfinder is embarrassing then try ducking in and out of a dark cloth in public! I was nervous at first but decided to go to the most crowded place near where I live (a place called Mongkok - the most densely populated place in the world) and now I don't feel any unease. Good luck!
 
I was also quite nervous when I first started. But you do eventually get used to it. For myself, I always think about achieving great end results and it's all worth it. Keep going otherwise you'll lose all those opportunities for great shots!

Having a smile while you're shooting also helps! :)
 
i can go to places like Edinburgh or Manchester etc and shoot away all day without a thought but getting my camera out in my own home town just fills me with dread unless im doing an actual photoshoot for someone then im in work mode its very strange.
 
I was pretty self conscious about shooting in public at first but it gets easier after a while. In fact it's quite funny as people often look like they are trying to figure out what I have just taken a shot of.
 
A tip that was passed on to me was not to take the camera away from your eye straight after you've taken the shot. Keep it there and the subject will think you're photographing something/one else. I've seen many look over their shoulder to see what I'm photographing when it's actually them.

Of course, this doesn't always work if the subject is stationery.
 
Im a very shy person when it comes to getting my camera out but alot of it depends where i am. For example i often go to Coombe Abbey and spend some time in the woods and the bird hut on my own, quite early in the morning aswell so there aren't many people around, which is when im most comfortable.

I was once walking around when i bumped into another photographer, i stopped taking shots (out of slight embarressent i supose). I think he realised this and started talking to me, it eventually became aparrent that he was my cousin's photography lecturer from derby uni. Since then i have become slightly more confident when it comes to getting my camera out (although i still have along way to go) because i am starting to realise that most people are more interested in what i am doing/taking the shot of.
 
intel86 said:
Just really started in photography and bought myself a 50D which i love.

Thing is, i feel embaressed taking photos in public!! People stare at you and give you funny looks!! I have always been introvert in a little way and wondered if any of you feel / felt the same?

I have just started a Photography course as i am a complete novice.
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Its a camera, it isnt going to slap you in the face
 
intel86 said:
Just really started in photography and bought myself a 50D which i love.

Thing is, i feel embaressed taking photos in public!! People stare at you and give you funny looks!! I have always been introvert in a little way and wondered if any of you feel / felt the same?

I have just started a Photography course as i am a complete novice.
Click to expand...

Why do people hate having their photo taken?

People hate having their photo taken and why some even shy away every time a camera is pointed in their direction. Is it because they are not happy with their own appearance, or is it that they only see their "worst" features (i.e nose, ears, smile, teeth etc) or is it simply because they've never actually seen a photograph of themselves that they like!.
 
The Boz said:
Another thing which has embarrassed me in the past is when I'm lining up a shot like down an alleyway or something, then someone appears at the end and is walking towards me. I don't want them in my shot, and they know that, but they're not gonna run to hurry up past me, and I wouldn't want them to. I've just sorta stood there waiting, and it's obvious I'm waiting for them. I don't wanna stare at them while I'm waiting, so I just sorta look around. When they finally walk past me there's an exchange of awkward smiles, then I can get on with getting my shot.
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lol... I don't think there's much else you can do, except perhaps as soon as you see them come, take out your mobile and pretend you've just got a text and you're replying until they walk past :thumbs:
 
The Boz said:
.....

Another thing which has embarrassed me in the past is when I'm lining up a shot like down an alleyway or something, then someone appears at the end and is walking towards me. I don't want them in my shot.....
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I think having someone in the alleyway can in some ways make the shot better rather than worse, but obviously not everyone's taste :cool:
 
I have in my time taken photos in very difficult circumstance,the trick is to have your camera out ready,move around with your camera in view,smile a lot,it will give you confidence,and the people around you will become less aware of you,you don't have to rush to start of with,give yourself time :)
 
I get 'nervous' in busy places too. Probably why I tend to mainly shoot landscapes where there's nobody for miles around. The worst thing though is when I see other photographers. The self conscious part of me is convinced they're 20x better then me and are wondering what on earth I'm trying to take a photo of from *that* angle/place and that I'm doing everything wrong!

I'm really not a people person though so I do tend to avoid areas with lots of people if possible but when I have had to take photos of people I've mainly had the fortunate situation of them being far too involved in whatever activity they were doing to pay any attention to me.
Taking photos of my friend in a local park was a real challenge as I had a reflector and she had a few props too. No hiding/trying to blend in to the background there! Turns out if you act like you have a rough idea of what you're doing people assume you DO know what you're doing which certainly helps the self-esteem. :)

I guess it's all just down to practise and getting used to it.
 
I'm at that in between place - i'll quite happily pop down to Whitby for the day with my camera but wouldn't take it to the nearest shopping town....... But that could be more to do with the fact that it's Middlesbrough ;-)
 
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