Some Paris street candids

I loved her red hat and bag, and they looked cute together. So I couldn't resist a shot. This was at the Cimetière (cemetary) de Montmartre

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Not sure if you're looking for critique at all, but I try not to shoot backs in "street" photos.

I like #2...

idkdc wrote in post #17886541
Not sure if you're looking for critique at all, but I try not to shoot backs in "street" photos.

Fair point, I'm not sure if the 1st 2 qualify as "street' either. I wasn't sure how to categorize them, I took them in Paris, and there is a street directly above us. Yeah it's a stretch. Heck maybe none of them do. They're certainly not up close and personal like many I've seen.


As for shooting peoples backs. Another fair point. I probably wouldn't have either, but I saw them go by and thought to myself: "do I want to shoot them again?" Then I saw how she contrasted against the BG, like selective coloring, without Photoshop. So I thought yes. When I was reviewing the shot, I felt it gave a sense of mystery to it. Like a couple of random people walking by. Perhaps I'm not being critical enough.

I appreciate the feedback, thank you.

joeseph wrote in post #17886627
I like #2...

Thank you.

Crimzon wrote in post #17886952
Fair point, I'm not sure if the 1st 2 qualify as "street' either. I wasn't sure how to categorize them, I took them in Paris, and there is a street directly above us. Yeah it's a stretch. Heck maybe none of them do. They're certainly not up close and personal like many I've seen.

As for shooting peoples backs. Another fair point. I probably wouldn't have either, but I saw them go by and thought to myself: "do I want to shoot them again?" Then I saw how she contrasted against the BG, like selective coloring, without Photoshop. So I thought yes. When I was reviewing the shot, I felt it gave a sense of mystery to it. Like a couple of random people walking by. Perhaps I'm not being critical enough.

I appreciate the feedback, thank you.

No problem.

Are you thinking of this as art or just for your personal enjoyment? You have a large watermark across the front of your images so my expectation is that you think it holds some monetary or artistic value for people outside. If that's the case, you should be your worse critic. If this is for your personal enjoyment, no need.

From a street perspective, I just find backs of people's heads like in 1 and 3 unexciting and voyeuristic. There's zero risk or engagement by the photographer. There's some skill to take a photo from the front without being noticed; or engaging a stranger and having a cordial result and photo. I'm not a huge fan of violating personal space by flashing people or making them angry like Bruce Gildan: I don't think that's skill.

From a cityscape / people in urban environment perspective, I think timing and composition could be better. 2 is your strongest photo, but at 65mm, the background is a bit cluttered. Maybe stepping to the right would center the couple more and place them with the vanishing point between them. I would ease off the post-process if you're using clarity slider or HDR or messing with the colors too much or something.

Number 2 for me, like the closing scene of a movie...one comment however, & it may be my eyes, or my iPad but none seem to be in focus...

I enjoy your spots of red in various settings.

Capra's advice still holds true - "if your photos aren't good enough, you're not close enough". I think all of these shots, save possibly #2, are too wide and too cluttered, which puts them into the dreaded snapshot category. Street photography is HARD, at least for me, because you usually need a strong human subject to make it work, which means you need to either be stealthy or ask permission. And you usually have very little time to get the shot. As with all things worth doing, practice makes perfect!

Thanks everyone for the comments and the helpful feedback

Try and keep the ISO down in place of using unnecessary faster shutter speeds. You could half the ISO and shutter speed in most of these shots and still have a sharp, hand held image. They would be cleaner to boot.

I'll revive this thread
street statue or street theatre?
At La Dame de Fer

In general, I like the idea. You should consider cropping some of them.
For example number four.