STICKY:  Shooting 'the streets/candids' - all the tips!

So my advice put the zooms and the long lenses away. Get a normal or wide prime and get down there in it. Learn to use the DoF scales on the lens because no auto focus in the world is faster than being pre focused. Go spend some time looking at the work of those that really did it well. Learn to incorporate visual elements in the frame to help support the subject and the visual statement.

A list of those whose work you might want to study. Not to copy but to see how they used visual elements and visual language to build interesting photographs. Read about their philosophies and their approaches to the medium. And then get out there and have fun...

Robert Frank
Joel Meyerowitz
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Garry Winogrand
Bruce Davidson
Roy DeCarava
Bruce Gilden

These are a few and all had very different styles and approaches.

Here are tech tips for those, who shoots with Fuji x100 cameras - my blog post was featured on PetaPixel as well [there you can get marvelous comment galore as well, heh]. Might work for you or not :]

Over my page or over PP.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #15977294

Colon Bar ... what dat?

condyk wrote in post #17785572
Colon Bar ... what dat?

Color Bar.

OhLook wrote in post #17785861
Color Bar.

OK, I did wonder. Don't get no colon treatments down at my barber shop, I know USA is different!

The urge to go out and try street candids finally overcame my anxiety at doing so. I didn't get any images to be proud of but posted a few on here as technically they are currently my best candids he he.

As a learning excercise it was crucial and everything the experienced members have posted here proved to be true. It took about two hours to go from creepy photographer everyone noticed to realising most people are flattered by the attention (people smile at you rather than snarl!) and I started enjoying it.

Try it.

Don't be afraid to get close to your subject and in front of someone's face. Most of my interesting shots, I was able to fill the frame. Sometimes the subject would acknowledge and play along. Don't be that creeper with the 200-400. Although you might get something, you might as well as be stalking people. That's not a good feeling and not good etiquette in my book.

Interesting and nice thread. It was started couple of years before I have started to take pictures on the street.

Reading about Garry Winogrand lessons and watching John Free videos helped me with how to behave with camera on the streets. Reading Henri Cartier-Bresson writings made me thinking even more.
Studying and understanding geometry and fundamentals of art is one the the key parts to be able to see something good and frame it.

Don't be afraid to be different on exposure. Sharpness and focus is as good as motion blur and OOF.

Candid photography is next to fishing. If you want to have some bites go to where it is unusual. It is like on the lake, fish comes to where wind shore it. Best salmon fishing is in stormy waters. Go where wind is blowing and light is harsh. Big fish is always near the small fish schools. Find the crowd, look from the side.
Set the hook not early, not to late. Watch and Wait.
I went from hundreds of pictures within few hours to dozen or two frames per day. I'm trying to take it only if I want to see it the the print. Amount of keepers is not related to amount of taken exposures.

Great thread, I am learning.

Ok, a question. I never shoot street photography, it just never really interested me. Today I went for a walk around a small (snobbish) town to shoot a test roll of film with my new film camera to make sure it works before warranty runs out. My first attempt was a youngish girl (17, 18) literally hanging of her porch with one arm to take a selfie. I approached her, told I was testing a camera & asked if I could take a picture. She said she felt uncomfortable, I said "OK, thanks." & walked away. Twenty minutes later a cop approached me & told me someone had called & said I was asking to take photos. I told the cop I was doing nothing wrong, I could have taken her photograph without asking & still would have been doing nothing wrong. When she said no, I walked away. He acknowledged I was doing nothing wrong & that he had told the person that on the phone. I then said, "Then why are we having this conversation?" He said because he got a phone call. I then asked if you got a phone call about somebody coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, would you be talking to them. "No. Of course not." "Exactly. Have a nice day", and walked away.

I don't like to be hassled, especially if asking permission first. My first reaction was to go back to the house & sit on the park bench across the street & photograph everybody that went in or out that door ( did I mention the house she was in is on MAIN STREET).

People everywhere see people taking pictures with cell phones, everywhere. I've never seen anybody say, "Hey, my kid is in the background." Cell phones are everywhere, not heard on comment or complaint. As soon as you pull out a camera...……..

Advice??? Suggestions???

condyk wrote in post #17786293
OK, I did wonder. Don't get no colon treatments down at my barber shop, I know USA is different!

And, by conversation with a business colleage, you could not expect to be in Taiwan and walk into a store with a barber pole in front, and ask for a haircut; no colon treament, no haircut. What parallel universe did we stumble into?!

jamesepoop wrote in post #18012623
Don't be afraid to get close to your subject and in front of someone's face. Most of my interesting shots, I was able to fill the frame. Sometimes the subject would acknowledge and play along. Don't be that creeper with the 200-400. Although you might get something, you might as well as be stalking people. That's not a good feeling and not good etiquette in my book.

^
Nothing dispells fear, like direct and obvious action. If they do not want you to photograph them, a negative shake of the head or a finger wag 'no no' then communicates clearly their approval/dismay.

Sneaking around taking photos with long FL smacks of PI spying, fear of 'why is he sneaking?', sneaking around catching someone in an embarrasing situation?

But then there is the issue of paranoia...that cannot be dispelled, even when there is no foundation for the fear.

If you have film camera these days and girl is not asking about camera or mention it, it just not your subject for tests .
If you ask someone on the street it has to be about them, not about you and what you need.
Candids are taken without asking. If person is aware but not concern and doing what was doing, it is candid.
If person is aware of you and looking at you it is not candid. IMO. In yours situation you want young female to act as photo model for you for free. I bet she thinks it is not fair. At least. If not creepy.

Porch of the house on just a Mian street is most likely a private property. You could photograph any one on the Main Street in front of this porch. Taking series pictures of people coming via door to private property could be taken as breach of privacy.

Your mood is and probably was wrong. If you don't feel sympathetic about place and people, you'll get the same in return.
Show your motivation about place and its people, not your thing warranty.

Wrong. Once you are outside you have no privacy. Not sure how it is where you are. The cop even told them it I did nothing wrong.

You can be on private property, if you are located where you have no reasonable EXPECTATION of privacy (ie, you are not inside a restroom or changing room or bedroom) your visibility even thru a uncurtained window is NOT a reaonable expectation of privacy. Outside on a porch is fair game. The key is 'plain view' observation (which a 400mm lens is not...but a 35mm certainly is)