I have a question...partly out of curiousity, but also because I need some guidance. How many of you hesitate to bring out the camera in the open in the middle of bright daylight on a crowded street? And why? I've had some really bad experiences with this and even when my partner is roaming around with his camera among strangers like this (he loves street photography), I feel like I want to vanish into the ground. So how do you do street photography without feeling awkward? Any tips and tricks are welcome :) Christa

Oooh...excellent question. PASCALEEEEEEEE WE NEED YOUR GUIDANCE!!!!! When i was in Rome i thought i would try that out...seeing we dont have that many streets out in the bush where i reside...sigh. But i gotta say i felt really uncomfortable even though it was impossible to spot someone without a camera. But they were all shooting monuments so i felt like i was invading their privacy by shooting them...so i just clicked without aiming most of the time, lol. I locked focus at some stupid statue and then i casually pretended like it was raining while i pointed my lens into another direction....half the times i managed to get a few knees or foreheads alone, LOL. Needless to say...none of my "streetphotos" came out any good. Which is a pity since it was really fun taking peoples photos. Ive always felt insecure about most things though, so this doesnt come as a surprise to me. I even have a hard time showing people (thats NOT into photography no less) my "regular" photos...bad past experience i suppose. But its still stupid cause i know i should be more concerned what you folks, that know what youre talking about, have to say about my photos than some random familymember that has never held a camera even. LOL. Well well well....how about you end this reply Andreas and let someone else, with much more important things to say, have a go....sigh. Gollum Gollum....bla bla...#:OP

NOW I know who you remind me of...LOL...it's Gollum :pp Just kidding :p And yawp, I can relate to that. I had some really bad experiences in LA with this and decided from there on to leave the camera at home. I've always been a bad tourist because of this. The last time I took some neat piccies on my travels I was 16 and it was down in Tunisia. Since then it's been very sparse and after LA I feel like I'm holding a gun instead of a camera in the streets. It's a shame because Robin (or Greywulf here) have some stunning street photo's of people and I would love to try it out a bit more than I already have. People around here (in England) are probably the most polite people I've ever met, but I still feel like I'm invading their privacy. Maybe this comes from being a bit camera shy myself, I dunno. Whenever Robin is pointing his camera at me I feel like he's breaking through my personal limits...which is silly since I'm sharing everything else with him on a much more intimate level than that. Ok...now I'm turning into a rambling fool. Enuf about that :pp Christa

Ramble on my friend....thats just a sign of you being healthy.....and swedish, LOL.

You make much sense in what youre saying. Im also very camera shy and there is nothing i hate more than having my picture taken. So maybe thats why i feel so uncomfortable taking other peoples shots as well...i dont want to put them through the agony.....ooooh oooooh i think were getting somewhere Dr Phil, LOL.

Message edited on: 11/30/2005 05:45

Healthy...Swedish...or insane? :pp C - who's trying to get out of her white jacket with long sleaves :pp

Ooooh i have one of those too...with matching pants...always thought it was our "folkdrt", LOL!!! Okay okay...im soooooorry Cindy. I wont ruin this thread any further.

Well, apparently people in the States are quite paranoid so it's hard to give advice not knowing how people react up there. Over here, there's no probs and people are actually quite curious when they see someone with a cam! I guess that helps! The only advice I can give is to have a big zoom so u don't have to put the cam in people's faces and u can pretend u're shooting something else while actually focusing on someone quite far away! ;)

I sometimes take candids on the street and other times simply ask if they mind having their picture shot. The problem with asking is subjects want to pose and not be natural. I try not to invade the space of others or be at all rude with a camera. Pascale is right..a zoom does help a bunch and it doesn't have to be a huge zoom at that.

I wouldn't be shy of shoots pics, I am however petrified of my cam getting stolen and my head cracked open for it...

A zoom means that I would have to get a new camera since my Nikon Coolpix wont allow me to switch the lens :(

As for people in the US they might be a bit more reserved than in other places, and especially in big cities. What happened at Venice Beach that day was that I ended up with a gun in my face after pointing the camera towards a guy who stood on the boardwalk. It was his clothing that caught my attention...and his attitude. Lets say that his attitude was very real.

This is a while ago now and I've been tagging along with Robin to Sheffield and other places with the camera...but I panic easily and I'm not sure if there is a zoom good enough for me to feel safe again.

Maybe I should continue roaming around in empty parks and woods instead :p

C.

Message edited on: 11/30/2005 07:10

Croxie, after your extreme experience I can relate better to you feelings! Yikes!

OMG!!!! Im glad youre safe C.

HI Croxie and All You should like Sheffield lots of interesting people to take pics of and very friendly, as well, Cos I live there. I alwys find that if you ask 1st they usually oblige and are alwys comfortable with it and i alwys give them a business card and then take their name and address to send a cd of their pics, its the least I could do. But I always stay away from children for the obvious reasons.

Yeah...I've never had any problems here, it's just me feeling awkward about it. People over here doesn't even blink when you aim the camera at them (not many of them anyways).

I asked our local beach bum if he would mind if I took a photo of him. He narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at me and said it would be okay as long as I wasn't a reporter because he had been well known. I assured him I wasn't working for a paper. After I took one shot, he grinned and told me he is the new pope and hoped nobody would recognise him.It was a lousy photo.

Croxie You ever fancy a walk round some interestin places give us a shout, theres some wonderful stuff hidden away and always glad to show you around....

Talking about beach bums...I found a formar Vietnam vet who's doing a lot of street photography...and he's got the most amazing portraits of homeless people. He's working in a soup kitchen though and he's been homeless himself so I can imagine that he knows a lot of them already. And thanks...I've been to Sheffield once with the camera when Robin dragged me out one day to do only street photography. We're in Chesterfield so I've seen a bit of Sheffield already, but not that often with the camera around. I'll give you a holler if I feel brave some day :p

I suppose this is one of those topics where everyone must follow their own feelings. I personally do not think it is right to use long telephoto lenses to take candids of people in public places without the persons knowledge. If it is done then the photographer should go to the person, explain, show them the photograph and ask if they want it deleted. To take under-cover shots can only increase peoples paranoia of the camera and who can blame them. There is a long tradition of street photography with Cartier-Bresson leading the way with his shots taken by shop windows etc. but times are different now, though he used a 50mm lens he did conceal the camera at times. To use a long lens would make me feel like I was sneaking about doing something I shouldn't. My opinion is ask first, preferably, if not before then definitely after the shot. With children I would say a definite must ask the parent before. There are plenty of subjects who will be only to willing to have their photographs taken in the street/public places. Usually people who are doing something eg skateboarding, kiting etc. will be only to happy to have their picture taken especially if you offer to send them a copy. Failing that hire a model send him/her out shopping, in the park, etc. and you can take all the candids you want. Only my personal opinion, not what the law says, or what anyone else has to think.

Oooops...this photo isnt again TOS or anything is it?

Onslow...I agree about the telephoto lens. That would make me feel like paparazzi...haha...like someone sneaking around. And that's not really what I want to do. Just for the heckovit, we're going into Meadowhall in Sheffield later tonight around 9pm with the cameras. For those of you who doesn't know, it's a big mall. Most shops close at 10pm and then it's pretty much empty. I believe they close the doors around midnight, if they close them at all. That's a mild kind of street photography...indoors...and without the huge crowd of people. I think I will have to start there with maybe a few ppl around before I go back on the streets with my camera again.

I think we just posted at the same time, Andreas...lol That's a shot I would never dare to take. I wouldn't even dare to show my camera around those guys...

I figured they couldnt be all that nasty. You see those 2 sweet old ladies walking along side them? They werent intimidated by them...so why should i be, lol. I might have been a little too careless though, cause i dont have a great zoom on my cam....so i probably looked rather obvious walking up to them to take their picture...especially since i couldnt pretend to shoot a nearby monument this time, LOL.

Christa

Just one point you may want to consider before tonight.

Meadowhall shopping centre will be privately owned therefore technically you are not on public property. No problem with that other than they may have a policy regarding photography. It really would be best to ask so you can avoid any embarrassing hiccups with security telling you to delete the pics or whatever.

I would give the centre manager a call on the telephone and check that way you can relax and enjoy trouble free shooting.

Best of luck - would love to see some of your shots :)

Richard.

Message edited on: 11/30/2005 11:09

Oops...didn't realize that. We've been there before late at night (a bit more than a year ago now) and no one seemed to care. But I agree...might be better to call the manager and ask first. Thanks for the information, Richard. C.

I just looked at their website and it says ok if you do not use a tripod. Still worth a call though because then you know no over officius security person will question it.

The piccie above is one of the few I have left from the last visit we did at Meadowhall. It's the only way I like to do window shopping too ;)

Attached Link: http://www.alternativephotography.com/process_lithprint.html

Message edited on: 11/30/2005 11:53

..to take one's photo is stealing their soul! o.O!.. muuuhahaha

geez C. that would traumatize me for life!
yeah.. i usually ask or smile insanely can't take pics at the mall anymore here, guess security thought i was mad bomber

& that reminds me of the streets in some of the small towns near here kort

Message edited on: 11/30/2005 12:13

....to even have streets....sigh.

Sheesh....do they clear the streets when you arrive with the camera, TwoPynts? LOL And yawp, it has to be a conspiracy ;) There are worse things that can traumatize you, cynlee...heck, he could've pulled the trigger...THAT would've been worse. Hmm...I wonder where the limit is for when the camera turns into a weapon instead of just a camera...hehe...I mean as for security guards'n'stuff. And Andreas...you HAVE to have some town around where you live too...even if it sounds as if you're in the middle of nowhere...:p

Attached Link: http://johnsrolleionlypage.homestead.com/files/Raderkanone__1912_.jpg

hahahaha.. hey, watch where you're pointing that Canon! ;]

Interesting thread.I don't have a big zoom either.So it's really obvious when I'm taking a crowd pic.But I'm not uncomfortable about it unless the subject is really close.Even then,I haven't encountered any problems,only that I lose the 'candidness' of the shot. Asking in advance has totally ruined every shot,so I try to take it and then ask if it's alright afterwards.But LOL only if they've spotted me. Croxie,I can understand your trepidation especially after your experience.Talk about being 'gun-shy'!I would be,too! The biggest problem of all for me,personally,is getting the shot in focus fast enough to not lose that candid aspect. Okay that's my two cents worth of experience,lol.

lol....I would probably have other problems if I carried one of those cams around :p And yeah, things happens very fast out in the open...especially when there's a lot of ppl around.

One technique is shooting from the hip...hit and miss really as you really are not sure at what you are actually framing...put the cam on auto focus...wait for the beep, fire...no one knows!

Hmm...that's true. I think I'd still prefer to ask though...if I can come up with enough curage that is ;) We never made it to Meadowhall last night btw. By the time it was late enough to go, we were both exhausted...lol Today we're taking off to Lincoln to roam around among the old walls of the cathedral. The piccies I took the last time when we went there vanished when Windows recovery disk erased all my partions (and all my latest piccies on them), and right now it should be a gorgeous sight since it's closing up on Christmas. I'll be back with some new piccies ;) Maybe even some street piccies :D