denada
No longer a newbie, moving up!
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2016
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- 241
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- 119
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i was reading about street photography this weekend and gave it a try today with my olympus xa. i ask strangers to take their photos often, and it makes me nervous, so i figured this would be a great exercise to make that easier. definitely was. the idea of asking someone for their photo now seems like a relief. it's what i did to rebuild my confidence anytime someone yelled at me. which happened quite a bit. this was downtown cincinnati, where i spend most of my waking life.
walking right up to people and then suddenly taking their photo real close. switched my focus between 2.8 and 4 ft with fll. probably 25 subjects, counting couples and groups as one. half were confused and/or annoyed yet not confrontational. three swore at me and demanded i deleted the photo -- i can't, told them i won't use it and won't -- and one of them swatted at mostly my camera and tried to call the police but his phone ran out of batteries as soon as it connected. i stood my ground when people got confrontational, and i said thanks and kept walking if people just seemed annoyed or confused. the rest of the people, slightly less than half, were genuinely pleasant about it even if a bit confused. sometimes even responding positively to my thanks.
thought i was going to have way better ratio. all the street photographers with blogs say they get the cops called like once a year. i (almost) did on my first day. i'm really good at smiling and being nice. sitting here thinking about it, taking a photo suddenly in someone's face is an attack. that's pretty much why i did it. to get that surprised look. and it worked. even though it was overcast, i bet i got one or two good shots and a few ok. if my first attempt at zone focusing worked, which i did not read about beyond the manual's dof chat. would have been better with a flash. i started with portra 800, and ended with provia 100 and the flash once my confidence was up. only got like six shots with the provia and flash before i was done. one i think is going to be awesome. will share when i get back from the lab.
i don't really mind the confrontation and confusion all that much. it's kinda a rush. it did get exhausting quick. today i included some scary looking people because i was trying to challenge myself, which led to two of the three confrontations. so i can cut those down 66 percent by not poking mean looking dogs. the bigger problem is i want my subjects to be ok with their inclusion. and i want to not be a jerk.
in addition to throwing myself out of my comfort zone, the 35mm lens was to include the subjects in the process. people photography is respecting and connecting with your subjects while exploiting. just the latter feels bad. i smiled, i was confident, i feel i was quick but friendly. people just do not want a camera suddenly in their face. if they see it before you take the shot, the start walking away or smile or make other unwanted movements and faces. i need to figure out my strategy and interpersonal skills or leave this look to other photographers.
so curious about other peoples experiences? any tips?
thanks!
walking right up to people and then suddenly taking their photo real close. switched my focus between 2.8 and 4 ft with fll. probably 25 subjects, counting couples and groups as one. half were confused and/or annoyed yet not confrontational. three swore at me and demanded i deleted the photo -- i can't, told them i won't use it and won't -- and one of them swatted at mostly my camera and tried to call the police but his phone ran out of batteries as soon as it connected. i stood my ground when people got confrontational, and i said thanks and kept walking if people just seemed annoyed or confused. the rest of the people, slightly less than half, were genuinely pleasant about it even if a bit confused. sometimes even responding positively to my thanks.
thought i was going to have way better ratio. all the street photographers with blogs say they get the cops called like once a year. i (almost) did on my first day. i'm really good at smiling and being nice. sitting here thinking about it, taking a photo suddenly in someone's face is an attack. that's pretty much why i did it. to get that surprised look. and it worked. even though it was overcast, i bet i got one or two good shots and a few ok. if my first attempt at zone focusing worked, which i did not read about beyond the manual's dof chat. would have been better with a flash. i started with portra 800, and ended with provia 100 and the flash once my confidence was up. only got like six shots with the provia and flash before i was done. one i think is going to be awesome. will share when i get back from the lab.
i don't really mind the confrontation and confusion all that much. it's kinda a rush. it did get exhausting quick. today i included some scary looking people because i was trying to challenge myself, which led to two of the three confrontations. so i can cut those down 66 percent by not poking mean looking dogs. the bigger problem is i want my subjects to be ok with their inclusion. and i want to not be a jerk.
in addition to throwing myself out of my comfort zone, the 35mm lens was to include the subjects in the process. people photography is respecting and connecting with your subjects while exploiting. just the latter feels bad. i smiled, i was confident, i feel i was quick but friendly. people just do not want a camera suddenly in their face. if they see it before you take the shot, the start walking away or smile or make other unwanted movements and faces. i need to figure out my strategy and interpersonal skills or leave this look to other photographers.
so curious about other peoples experiences? any tips?
thanks!
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