Street photography

Jujitsu1

Jujitsu1

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Darren
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Could any of you help me out. I'm off to newport or cardiff friday or saturday night to try my hand at some street photography for my College homework.

I'd like to know whats the best way around this. Do I go up and ask people if I can take their photos or do I just take them?

Do I use flash or no flash

Do I get in close or from a distance ?

Any help would be truly welcome.
 
Do you want posed or candid shots?

If you want real candids you need to be as invisible as possible, so no flash, no asking for permission to take a shot (you can ask afterwards if they don't mind you using it though). As soon as you start asking prior permission and using a flash it ceases to be proper street photography IMO, and more portrait.
 
Best not to ask :) mostly candid is the way to go. Capture the moment, normally when people are asked to "pose" or they notice you there making the shot, it becomes rather contrived or they avoid you all together. Available light will be ideal, if it is outdoors, even as the sun is going down you will not have much of a problem. Plus there is always street lighting, you want to capture the mood that the available lighting provides. Going wide normally allows you to capture a scene that explains the story in more detail. It can show subjects interacting with their environment/surroundings. Sometimes sniping from far away can capture some intimate moments and some classic facial expressions of strangers who are unaware that you are taking the shot. But it may not explain why they have the expression, as what they were looking at or reacting to is not in the shot for the audience to see :)
 
I've been trying to muster up the courage to do some close and personal street work. The best pics I've seen have the subject unaware of the camera so they are acting naturally; or have just noticed but haven't had time to react.

I should imagine you will be confronted at some point on a weekend night- good luck with the drunken masses!
 
A few example methods I have used:

Find a scene and composition you want. Get the camera in position, but take your eye away from viewfinder. Pre focus in manual focus, then wait. When a likely subject walks into the frame, take the shot.

or

Wide angle lens, shoot from hip on P or A mode, and capture the context, and trust your knowledge of camera and composition from experience. Be prepared to crop and adjust exposure in processing as required. With experience, your judgement will get more accurate.

or

Get close, in their face, and just take the photos. A lot of people will look weird at you, but won't complain. Some will moan and give you grief but you just smile and walk away. If someone really confronts you, delete the photo then make your swift exit. The key with this is to look and act normal. If you skulk, you will come across as dodgy. If you do it confidently, most people will not get suspicious of you. In UK law, there is still no privacy on public land, so you have every legal right to take photos of people. I cannot guarantee the public reaction, though.

or

Shoot with a telephoto, and from far away. Not as exciting results, but you'll get less hassle, and you have great control over composition and exposure.


Take your pick :) However you go about it, I believe it's easier to seek forgiveness after the event. rather than to ask for permission in street photography.
 
Thank you all for the advice . I'll try and put it to good use.
 
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