[tuco]

Ok, close enough....

I'd put that in an environmental or candid portrait category too.

[BarryE]

Another good point is to stand and wait. Spot an opportunity and wait till someone walks into the frame. I once saw a large heavy metal poster in a shop window. I waited till someone stopped nearby to look at it. I thought I'd hit gold when a hairy biker type, and the stereotypical small partner paused to stop and take a photo of the poster for himself. There were also two smiling, Japanese tourists who'd spotted the "picture play" in the shot. I got so excited that I completely screwed it up. A lesson to me ! It is not easy to get right ...

[Pande]

Another good point is to stand and wait. Spot an opportunity and wait till someone walks into the frame. I once saw a large heavy metal poster in a shop window. I waited till someone stopped nearby to look at it. I thought I'd hit gold when a hairy biker type, and the stereotypical small partner paused to stop and take a photo of the poster for himself. There were also two smiling, Japanese tourists who'd spotted the "picture play" in the shot. I got so excited that I completely screwed it up. A lesson to me ! It is not easy to get right ...

Thats a funny game:-) Another one is the color game. Find a place with a main color, and wait for a person who wears the same color.

@Roksonne, i did not ment to steal your tread...

[Paul the Sunman]

There is no "right" way to do street photography. Various methods and styles suit different people. A shy introvert is unlikely to be comfortable with walking up to people with a big smile and snapping right in their faces. Extroverts might be able to carry that off, à la this guy:



Personally, I have a liking for the 1950's TLR street photography exemplified by Vivian Maier and others. Working with the camera at waist or chest level is less confronting for the subject, who may not even realise you are there. The lower angle of view is also endearingly immersive. I often wished I could do that with my K5 or K3. With the K1 I can, using the flip-out screen and LV.

Waist-level shooting is by no means my only or even major street style. But it can work well on occasion.

[disconnekt]

For me, lenses that fit between 35mm & 50mm (FF Eqv.) is the perfect range for street photography. Maybe a 85mm (ff eqv. or shorter), but then it'll start drawing more attention than usual imo. Anything wider (28mm and lower), it'll start looking more like urbanscape photos.

For closeups, you'll have to be comfortable getting close to them to get the shot (just not "creeper/invading personal space" close). Of course, you'll have people give you dirty looks/attitude.

[tuco]

Personally, I have a liking for the 1950's TLR street photography ...

You can do it with a Pentax 67 using its available waist level finder (folding hood) too which makes the camera less bulky but still not as compact as a TLR. They are affordable. Pick one up. Here is my 67 using a 55/4 lens ( about a 28mm on small format) out on the street using the Sunny 16 rule for exposure.

[clackers]

Obviously you can get into fights over definitions, and people can get annoyed because a judge applies traditional criteria to a contest, and an entrant doesn't 'get' the tradition.

Street photography has often had photojournalism influences ... wide angle candid shots, no eye contact from subject, often done sneakily, and with little or no PP.

Some prefer the term 'street portraiture' for shots where the tog has interacted with the person beforehand ... seeking permission, posing, etc, with the same PP rules as if in a studio ... none, anything goes.

Some like Martin Parr and Eric Kim like to capture the surprise/discomfort of someone they've snapped up close without warning.

I've tried most of the philosophies and probably do prefer where I've engaged with the subject beforehand ... the expressions are more likely to result in a keeper, IMHO:

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Last edited by clackers; 06-09-2017 at 01:18 AM. Reason: 8

[roksonne]

Another good point is to stand and wait. Spot an opportunity and wait till someone walks into the frame. I once saw a large heavy metal poster in a shop window. I waited till someone stopped nearby to look at it. I thought I'd hit gold when a hairy biker type, and the stereotypical small partner paused to stop and take a photo of the poster for himself. There were also two smiling, Japanese tourists who'd spotted the "picture play" in the shot. I got so excited that I completely screwed it up. A lesson to me ! It is not easy to get right ...

Haha I can really relate to this after my brief venture into street photography. A lot of times I saw something really exciting and just weren't able to capture it in time.

---------- Post added 06-12-17 at 01:49 AM ----------

Wow, thank you everyone for your tips and feedback! I've been offline all weekend because my 3-year-old caught a fierce case of chicken-pox and we were all out for the count.

I'm definitely going to try some of the methods suggested including shooting from the hip in combination with the hyperfocal concept. But I can see where it could be a problem getting sharp images if there is not enough light present.

I can also relate to the suggestion of finding an interesting spot and waiting for the action to come to you. Think I did that on a few occasions without planning for it specifically. Definitely felt more "introvert" shooting like this than I usually do. Guess I need to practice a bit more on that part too.

I converted all the photos to black and white because they myriad of people and signs and stuff made everything a bit too "messy" or "noisy" in my minds eye. But that is a part of street photography that I probably have to learn to embrace.

Anyways, thanks again for your feedback everyone!

---------- Post added 06-12-17 at 01:51 AM ----------

I've tried most of the philosophies and probably do prefer where I've engaged with the subject beforehand ... the expressions are more likely to result in a keeper, IMHO:

These are really great. And I definitely don't feel like the photos loose anything because the people were aware of the photographer.

---------- Post added 06-12-17 at 01:52 AM ----------

Thats a funny game:-) Another one is the color game. Find a place with a main color, and wait for a person who wears the same color.

@Roksonne, i did not ment to steal your tread...

No problem whatsoever... Thanks for keeping it going and producing more food for thought!