Street Photography Techniques
Written on 4:22 AM by Shiv Prasad
When you're getting started the challenge is overcoming the fear of taking pictures of strangers. Since telephoto lenses are not normally used in street photography, how can you stand a few feet from your subject, put the camera to your eye, focus, and click the shutter without getting nervous? A good street photographer is not only fearful in the beginning (this is a good sign of being sensitive) but they also don't want to do anything which will change the how the subject is behaving.
With practice, you can overcome your reluctance to photograph strangers as well as learn techniques which will help you get better candid shots. One word of caution - it can be addictive. After a while the street photographer will choose which seat has the best view in a restaurant, or which side of the street offers the best possibilities.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MORAL ISSUES
The first thing to accept is that you are invading the privacy of your intended subject. You may have the best intentions in the world, but once you decide to point your camera at someone without their permission, you will be invading their personal space. This is what it means to take a candid street shot. Before going into the physical techniques which can make your job easier, it is important to look at your own motives. Most of the time, you see something that you simply want to share with the rest of the world. It might be funny, odd, mysterious, have an interesting design, or any other quality that you think is worth shooting. But you are nervous about taking the photograph. This is normal. When you are just starting out, ask yourself whether you would take the picture if you weren't afraid of your imagined consequences. This may seem drastic, but pretend that this is your last day on earth, and that nothing else matters but getting this shot. Take a deep breath and after learning the various techniques listed below - you should be ready to get at it.
WHICH CAMERA?
A good street camera has the following characteristics: a quiet shutter, interchangeable lenses, fast lenses (F-Stop of F2.0 or lower), no shutter lag, RAW capture mode, the ability to focus well in dark places, usable high ASA, a good viewfinder and lightweight enough to take with you wherever you go. I don't know of any digital Point and Shoot camera that meets all these criteria. A digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) will meet all or most of these properties. The Canon 40D, for example is no heavier than a Leica M, but the fast lenses are larger. The high end Point and Shoot, known as a digicam, has some of these features, but they don't have interchangeable lenses, and the zoom lenses are not usually faster than F2.8 at the wide end.
The current crop of DSLRs have many features of a good street camera.
So, let's get to it. Whatever digital camera you use, turn off any beeping the camera makes. Also turn off the immediate playback on the LCD. Do some tests to find out that highest ASA you can use without getting too much digital noise. Again, this is where DSLRs are best. Cameras like the Canon Mark II can allow you to use an ASA as high as 3200 (maybe more) without creating much digital noise in the image. Most point and shoot digital cameras creating noiseless images at much about 200 ASA.
SUMMARY
- Choose an easy locale with lots of tourists when you are first starting out.
- Turn off any beeping your camera does.
- If you photographing individuals in a crowd, don't remove the camera from your eye after you take a shot, but keep scanning the crowd with it.
- Turn off the instant playback on the digital LCD
- Use a wide to normal lens. Don't rely on telephoto lenses
- Make sure that you are focused and know how you are going to frame the image before the camera goes to your eye.
- Only shoot from the hip, or without looking through the viewfinder as a last resort.
- Practice looking for specific literal ideas: irony, juxtaposition, design elements, joy, sadness, emotional moments, things that you find unusual, surprises.
- Be prepared to take a hundred shots for every good one. And try and understand what a good shot means. (This is outside the scope of this article).
- Always have a camera with you. You'll take some of your best pictures during your normal daily routines.
- Know the laws. You don't need to get into a big hassle with the police when they stop you from taking pictures in a place where you know it's legal to take pictures; but it's important to know your rights.
- Do not ask for permission or a model release, unless you are doing "portrait" work on the streets. Do not expect that you're images will be usable for print ads unless the subject is not recognizable (profile, shot from the back etc.)
- If you are afraid to put the camera to your eye - try to imagine that this is your last day on earth, and that the shot you see before you will be great. In other words, you may need to psych yourself into taking the shot. But there is a balance and if it really is too scary - then don't force yourself. Your own fear will come across to the subject. When to shoot, and when not to push it, is something you'll learn with time.
- Never use a lens cap (have an UV filter on the lens instead)
- Remember that no matter how many of these techniques you use, you are still invading someone's privacy. There is no way around that. So you must feel that what you are photographing is worth the effort.
