Advice: 1st Try for Street Photog

I've become interested in street photography and have been giving it a try over the past month. Now I think it's time to get some advice and C&C before I go much further.

Am I on the right track? What should I concentrate on to improve? Do I tend to get too close to people?

Living in a rural area makes street photog difficult. People tend not to be on the streets except when driving their car since most of our stores are in shopping centers. To get shots I've been going to public places and public events, usually with prior permission.

Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks!


#1 -- Fruit vender at Farmers' Market

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I like the first 2, the third doesn't do anything for me. Ok so here's C&C. The first one I would have tightened the shot up alittle more on the elderly woman, keeping the same comp with the people in the backround. Meaning making her the primary or the person your eyes immediatly go towards before your eyes start to roam to the rest of the shot. The second one at first I didn't like because I normally shoot with space where ever the person is looking, but upon looking at your shot I was intrigued by the composition. The pics on the walls and the empty tables absolutely make this shot work. Nice work and keep hanging out at that market, I'm sure you'll see all kinds of people in there.

Thanks for the comments. I see what you mean about tightening up #1.

These were color shots that I "de-colored" in PSE. I gotta be honest -- I much prefer the color versions.

lovely shots BLS like was said a bit of cropping on the 1st..second one i love ..3rd dunno doesnt grab me like the 1st two..very nice job on the B/W conversion.keep up the good work and post the colour vers for us to see

Thanks, Philbyuk. What? Post the color versions? Thought you'd never ask! Here goes: (But only the first 2 since the consensus of opinion seems to be that the 3rd one is boring.)


#1

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1st one definately benifits from the conversion
2nd one i still prefer the B/W but im a sycker for b/w good pics

I'm not ready to simply rule out #3. Ithink a different angle and focus on the girl could have made this a very interesting shot. I'm no pro, probably not even an advanced amature but I think your trying to get too much into your frame. I'm not saying every shot has to be a close up either. In my opinion, street photography is the eye of the person behind the camera. What is motivating you to take the picture? What was your motivation behind shot #3? To me it looks like the transaction between the two subjects is the motivation.

Urban or street photography is usually a busy scene. The person viewing the shot has no idea what your focus is unless you "pull" that into the frame. For this reason I believe that color distracts the viewer from the real focus in most cases. Take #2 for instance, put the b/w beside the color and look how the subject draws your eye in the b/w version. In the color version, she almost looks further away.

ok, that was my $.02

They're very good! How did you do the conversion?

Thanks, Sp00ks, for the thoughtful comments. Concerning #3 -- This was taken at an easter egg hunt that I wanted to document. After the hunt was over, the two main attractions were an easter bunny who talked with the kids and this lunch wagon. My motive in this shot was to document the popularity of the lunch wagon. In retrospect, I think I should have taken a shot that showed the long customer line. That shot would have documented the wagon's popularity, not the server.

BottomBracket -- The B&W conversion was simple-minded, to say the least. In PSE 2.0, I hit Enhance>Adjust Color>Remove Color, then added some contrast. I don't enjoy post-processing. I'd rather spend the time behind a camera than behind a keyboard.

I think your pictures have beautiful colors

Personally, I like the first and third shots. The third one invokes memories of vacations back when people had time to take vacations. I don't know, this may be a street-corner vendor, but it reminds of of a sandwich shop on a beach.

The second shot, while it does have great tone and the pieces of art work well, has the woman too close to the edge she is facing. When my eyes follow the flow of the shot, I feel as if I'm going to slide right out of the picture. It also looks like you were trying not to make it obvious you were taking her picture. I sense a bit of fear in the technique--which is understandable because I get the same way when I try street photograhy.

If, as you say, you've only been at this a month, I think you did a great job.

I swear I was thinking the same thing before I read any of the comments. The first two are interesting.

Good style. W. st shots or any photo for the matter, simplicity always matters.
Makes the viewer focus decidedly on the primary subject and gives some 'direction' in your photos.

I like the 2nd shot best, although I would have directed the cammie a little more to the south left. Gotta watch out for crop out pts too.

All are nice..

nice shot man

I really like them.... I like the old lady reaching over all the other produce looking for just that specific one, the croping on the second shot is wonderfull, and the third is a good day in the life shot made better by a very good conversion to B/W. I don't see too many issues with these at all.