[Scottnorwo]

nice captures, catching the people in a much more natural pose with the shooting from the hip

[fractal]

Thanks Scott. I was not feeling very brave today.

[séamuis]

nice photos, even if I have never liked the 'from the hip' approach.

[Darren M]

I like the second, but to be honest all the rest have a very distinct "shot from the hip" look to me. Basically, it is impossible to thoughtfully compose when you shoot from the hip. What's worse though is that by shooting from the hip, you are basically saying that taking photos is wrong and it is something to conceal. I see this as a lose-lose situation. You get photographs which are not as well composed or thought out as they should be and non photographers get a (valid) reason to view photographers as deceitful and worthy of distrust.

BTW, it is entirely possible to take natural, candid photos of people on the street without resorting to hip shots. All it takes is confidence and a willingness to wait a few minutes so that people get used to you. I would much prefer that all photographers try to do this before they go guerilla.

[séamuis]

I like the second, but to be honest all the rest have a very distinct "shot from the hip" look to me. Basically, it is impossible to thoughtfully compose when you shoot from the hip. What's worse though is that by shooting from the hip, you are basically saying that taking photos is wrong and it is something to conceal. I see this as a lose-lose situation. You get photographs which are not as well composed or thought out as they should be and non photographers get a (valid) reason to view photographers as deceitful and worthy of distrust.

BTW, it is entirely possible to take natural, candid photos of people on the street without resorting to hip shots. All it takes is confidence and a willingness to wait a few minutes so that people get used to you. I would much prefer that all photographers try to do this before they go guerilla.

+1. very well said.

[fractal]

They have a very distinctive 'from the hip' type look because they are simply that. And i'm not sure I agree with you that it is impossible to thoughtfully compose when you shoot from the hip. I've even heard folk claim they can manually focus from the hip on this forum.

In this day and age Darren, unfortunately some people consider taking photos of strangers wrong. Believe it or not, people have been locked up over this. I have lived in China before and rarely ever resorted to hip shots. You should understand this being in Taiwan. I dare say also that people, generally, don't like you sticking a camera in their face. Hanging around within 1 metre of a person for a matter of minutes could just possibly wierd them out even more.

You do not have to have a camera to your eye to get a good shot.

[séamuis]

You do not have to have a camera to your eye to get a good shot.

true, but you also don't have to 'hang around' or stick a camera in their face to get a shot either.

I understand that you like this technique. that's cool, its your choice, but given the very things you describe about people and being photographed, wouldn't it be even more detrimental if people started noticing that you were specifically trying to hide the fact that you are photographing them? wouldn't that make you look like the 'bad guy'? like you are doing something wrong? it may never happen (and I hope it doesn't) but you could be setting yourself up for some very ugly confrontations like this.

I can also manual focus from the hip, I certainly cannot guarantee focus but its pretty easy using a wide angle lens and hyperfocal. but you still do not have good control of your framing. its not a killer of a good photograph of course, but this technique yields the same look for all your photos.

[fractal]

Well I guess setting a higher aperture value will make it easier to manual focus.. but then there is minimal bokeh. Making it look even more like a hip shot.

Hip shots are ideal for candid portraits. Unless of course you want to zoom. I use both, but using a lens at 18mm you do need to be quite close. I don’t have time to befriend every person I photograph.

wouldn't it be even more detrimental if people started noticing that you were specifically trying to hide the fact that you are photographing them? wouldn't that make you look like the 'bad guy'? like you are doing something wrong? it may never happen (and I hope it doesn't) but you could be setting yourself up for some very ugly confrontations like this.

Well I don’t see how the confrontations could be ‘very ugly’ as you so describe. I've been busted many a time. I’m more likely to ask a deranged derelict for a photo than average folk. That is probably more prone to a dispute. In any case, I don’t want to start a thing about the morals of candid street shooting; it has been done.

[Darren M]

They have a very distinctive 'from the hip' type look because they are simply that. And i'm not sure I agree with you that it is impossible to thoughtfully compose when you shoot from the hip. I've even heard folk claim they can manually focus from the hip on this forum.

Maybe you can thoughtfully compose, but you are still relying on a good bit of luck. Nothing at all like the thought you put in when you can actually see what you are shooting. As for manually focusing; you can zone focus, but that is something a little different.

In this day and age Darren, unfortunately some people consider taking photos of strangers wrong. Believe it or not, people have been locked up over this.

Sure, they have. In what way are you making things any better? By intentionally hiding what you are doing (though it is usually quite obvious to the people on the periphery of the scene), you are giving the impression that even photographers believe what they are doing is somehow wrong. In what possible way does that make photographers safer from being a target? Acting as though you are doing something wrong or to be ashamed of, which is a logical impression someone would have when they see someone sneaking shots, only makes it easier for people to dislike or distrust photographers, which further enables people to take our rights away from us. This is exactly why I don't like hip shots; it makes us look quite similar to peeping toms and it most certainly hurts our credibility in the eyes of non photographers.

I have lived in China before and rarely ever resorted to hip shots. You should understand this being in Taiwan.

I am sorry, I don't understand your point all here. Are you saying that in China/Taiwan, it is easier or more difficult to get photos without resorting to hip shots? Quite honestly, it doesn't matter to me; I have used the same methods in Canada, the US and Australia, with pretty much identical results.

I dare say also that people, generally, don't like you sticking a camera in their face. Hanging around within 1 metre of a person for a matter of minutes could just possibly wierd them out even more.

I work from in very close and have had very, very few confrontations. Hanging out near someone is not the same at all as hanging out within one meter of them. If people don't feel comfortable, I move back, or don't take the photos at all, but that really doesn't happen at all. Again, this does not mean that I am crowding them for minutes; that is quite honestly ridiculous.

You do not have to have a camera to your eye to get a good shot.

Nope, you don't. But in not bringing it to you eye, you are letting go of some control and therefore relying on more luck than you otherwise would. To be frank, that part of the equation isn't at all important to me anyways. What is important though is that you are giving people a valid reason to dislike and distrust photographers, and that I really don't like at all.