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07-23-2012, 03:39 AM   #1
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Street photography?

Do you take photos of strangers to use as portraiture? Or not? Or do you ask them first?

Sorry, I'm just interested

07-23-2012, 04:04 AM   #2
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In this day and age of easy email and texting, I have been asked more than once by people if I am a 'professional', [I always say 'no, its my hobby'] and often they have asked me if I could take their photo and email it to them. I always oblige. Of course, some of them strike up weird poses and some are not the most photogenic but if you are walking around taking pictures of scenic stuff, you could wind up getting some decent portraits.

Obviously if you want to take real street photographs which look unposed, you would need to take candid photos.
07-23-2012, 08:13 AM   #3
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Yes, I take pictures of strangers. If they're featured prominently, or are likely to notice me snapping them, or it's more of a posed portrait where I ask them for their picture, I give them a little card with my flickr address on it so they can access the pictures or contact me. But yes, if the picture just happens to feature people as part of the image, and they are unaware of being photographed, I would not bother.
07-23-2012, 09:07 AM   #4
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I shoot a fair bit on the street (not really as portraiture per se) and if someone notices and asks I will give them a card and email them a lower res copy. also if they ask that i delete it I will (rarely happens though)
Mostly i just shoot away framing as i like and if it is an area that has a lot of traffic you tend to disappear into the background anyway. Getting a really top notch image from this though is very hit and miss. I can count the number of Street shots I have that I think are really good. most are just street snapshots as Javier has termed it.
hitting the right spot at the right time with the right framing is as much a matter of luck as anything else. you need to be persistent and shoot a lot to get that standout image

07-24-2012, 04:41 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by eddie1960 Quote
I shoot a fair bit on the street (not really as portraiture per se) and if someone notices and asks I will give them a card and email them a lower res copy. also if they ask that i delete it I will (rarely happens though)
Mostly i just shoot away framing as i like and if it is an area that has a lot of traffic you tend to disappear into the background anyway. Getting a really top notch image from this though is very hit and miss. I can count the number of Street shots I have that I think are really good. most are just street snapshots as Javier has termed it.
hitting the right spot at the right time with the right framing is as much a matter of luck as anything else. you need to be persistent and shoot a lot to get that standout image
I can't count the number of times I have been 3 seconds too soon or 2 seconds too late on a stellar opportunity.
07-25-2012, 05:12 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Blue Quote
I can't count the number of times I have been 3 seconds too soon or 2 seconds too late on a stellar opportunity.
almost every shot every once in a long while I luck out
07-26-2012, 10:26 AM   #7
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I think the business/flickr card is a great idea, and I need to come up with some. I find it difficult to do much candid photography here in Alaska as there aren't many people on the street and if you're getting a shot of someone, you stick out like a sore thumb. I suppose I just need to get brave and start asking people.

But anyways, I don't think asking folks is always necessary, but it really depends on the situation and what feels right to you.

07-26-2012, 11:21 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by sb in ak Quote
I think the business/flickr card is a great idea, and I need to come up with some. I find it difficult to do much candid photography here in Alaska as there aren't many people on the street and if you're getting a shot of someone, you stick out like a sore thumb. I suppose I just need to get brave and start asking people.

But anyways, I don't think asking folks is always necessary, but it really depends on the situation and what feels right to you.
it is a lot more difficult in an area without lots of people or photographers. I don't like to ask first because it becomes something else then
no need to shoot with a big dslr either. picjk up a cheap autofocus fixed focal point shoot like the olympus MJU and shoot away. excellent little lens with reasonably wide (35mm) lens and on film more than enough room to crop. small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. and less than threatening.
07-26-2012, 11:36 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by sb in ak Quote
I find it difficult to do much candid photography here in Alaska as there aren't many people on the street and if you're getting a shot of someone, you stick out like a sore thumb. I suppose I just need to get brave and start asking people.
Haunt every festival and parade and public event of that sort that you can.

People are expecting photographers to be around. You can take pleny of pics and people usually wont mind having their picture taken. Just stand in a very obvious place and take the pictures.

Sometimes the best way to be non-intimidating is to be very open about what you are doing and keep your friendly face on. Or if you dont have one, go for the camera geek look! Carrying two cameras and a monopod will usually be enough...
07-26-2012, 11:51 AM   #10
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+1 being blatant is far more effective at making you invisible actually, just shoot away like you belong. easiest of course at festivals and such. in more deserted areas the small point shoot film camera works well because people don't really even notice them, and it's less obvious what you might be shooting. the plus s they are fun and cheap. my mju cost $9.90, cheap film with processing/scan is about .20 per shot (the cost will actually make you think before snapping a bit, but for the price of a starbucks you can shoot develop scan a roll.
07-26-2012, 01:42 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by eddie1960 Quote
+1 being blatant is far more effective at making you invisible actually, just shoot away like you belong. easiest of course at festivals and such. in more deserted areas the small point shoot film camera works well because people don't really even notice them, and it's less obvious what you might be shooting. the plus s they are fun and cheap. my mju cost $9.90, cheap film with processing/scan is about .20 per shot (the cost will actually make you think before snapping a bit, but for the price of a starbucks you can shoot develop scan a roll.
Yeah, I think I worry too much about sticking out; I just need to up my confidence and act like I belong. Thanks for the advice!
07-27-2012, 09:25 PM   #12
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I have yet to obviously take someone's "portrait" (if you want to call it that) with their knowledge. Many interesting people shots can be had by planting yourself at the right spot and waiting for people to come to you. That's the technique I have used. I'll sit on a bench in a little square in my city and catch people as they enjoy the fountain that's in the middle of the square. Rush hour and lunch times in business districts are good times too. Lots of people rushing around and not paying attention to you! You say you're in Alaska, so I don't know if any of that is relevant to you though.
07-27-2012, 11:13 PM   #13
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I used to but lately I've really backed off on that quite a bit. I really don't like having my own pic taken, particularly unawares and sans my permission, so I can't claim I'm not being very hypocritical going there if I don't ask permission of others. I can still admire street work but I'm not particularly comfortable with it sometimes.
07-27-2012, 11:33 PM   #14
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i had some fun this week while on the tail end of my family vacation, when we stopped in San Fran and Santa Cruz CA. I had my DA15 on my K5 and just left it strapped around my neck with my wired remote control connected and strategically obscured with the controller in my pocket. So while we were walking around the Wharf in San Fran and the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, I was just snapping pictures whenever I felt like it at whoever and whatever I felt like. The DA15 turned out to be a little too wide for this, and left me wishing I had the 21 or a decent wide zoom. I shot a ton, but like others said, mostly just snapshots and maybe a few that are more interesting once croppped and processed...
07-28-2012, 10:57 AM   #15
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here's one i thought was kind of cool, for example.. cropped down a lot... this processing attempt is overkill because I was trying to do something with the harsh mid day light and corrected the perspective too, but not going to redo it right now.. Shot in TAV mode with a pretty fast shutter speed so I didn't need to worry about freezing motion..
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