Question for street photographers

How do you do it?  I'm always conscience that people don't want to be photographed without consent so how do you do it?  With a 35mm FOV, you really have to be pretty close to people.

I love the street photography that I see people post but always wondered how they do it.

A bad idea is to get stuck in cliches such as only using WAs for street photography. It's a conservative view that I'm sure the originators of street photography would have laughed at as meaningless orthadoxy. The key is to get people in their environment and it doesn't particularly matter if that's done with a WA or a telephoto as long as you do it. It is often easier with a WA but that doesn't mean it is the only way to do it. But don't use telephoto lenses as a crutch to avoid engagement with subjects. Try to use them in combination with other focal lengths for a more powerful effect.

Another cliche I hate with a passion is homeless people or drunks (or both) giving the camera a thumbs up. They can look impressive on their face but they leave me with a nasty feeling inside.

A really bad idea is to wander around taking photos from the hip - its likely to provoke argument and bad feeling if people realise. That said, in crowds I've used the flippy screen held over my head to get great shots, it does depend on context.

Just try to make it clear you are taking photos (putting the camera to your face to use an EVF usually achieves that) and if people move out of the way or otherwise indicate they aren't happy ("I don't want no photos, Guv" is a clue!) don't take their photo. Be confident and engage with people (smiling really helps if you  can manage it and I'm a moody barsteward). Try to avoid peoples kids if you can unless you have their (parents) permission or they are part of a crowd of disparate ages and it's unavoidable. Try to pay/tip street performers before taking their photos - they will often reciprocate by smiling for the camera.

The best place to get "comfortable" with the idea of street photography is in a location with a lot of people moving slowly and concentrated on multiple things, like a market, exhibition or live event.

--
http://sgoldswoblog.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgoldswo/

One way is to shoot from the hip - prefocus in MF, and click away.   With practice the ratio of keepers will increase.

Try shooting while looking down on the LCD (might appear less obvious).

A longer FL lens is another way, putting distance between you and the subject.  That's more the voyeuristic approach.

The other way is to get over my your shyness and engage people more directly.    I too have a hard time with street work for being sensitive about my own personal space, and for having an aversion to crowds.  But when I manage to get out of my own shell once in a while I find it most rewarding - and I feel like a real photographer [g].

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
/"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't."/ - Little Big Man
.

You just have to go out and do it.  Sometimes it helps if you go with a buddy to keep you company (but who can also put up with your primary goal of taking photos).  Also, it gets better after your first few photos (at least in my experience) so don't quit after a half dozen photos.  Give yourself a goal of taking, say, 3 dozen photos.

Also try finding a location first and then photographing people as they enter that location.  Try to catch interesting poses, gestures and interactions.  Don't just take pictures of people walking; you're looking for a moment, not acting as a surveillance camera.  Oh, and try to avoid the cliche of photographing the homeless, panhandlers and street performers.

Tain yourself to shoot from the hip, without looking at the finder. Shooting wide in hyperfocal helps.

More generally be ready to shoot the very moment when people don't notice you.

Am.

--
Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amalric

I can't answer your question, but I just want to be sure that you know that in some countries publishing photos of people is forbidden (unless you have written consent)

That's a fair point - in some places/countries people have a right to privacy under law. In addition in some locations people may have a commercial persona or image rights (usually celebrities and the like) which entitles them to income (or a share thereof) derived from their image and a say in how their image is used.

In the UK the general rule is if you are in a public place you are fair game for photography. However, a little bit of "do unto others as you would have them do to you" doesn't go astray.

--
http://sgoldswoblog.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgoldswo/

"Street photography" is a specific photographic genre characterized by the use of wide-angle lenses (in order to isolate the subject from his/her environment), shots usually in black & white, and with a lot of contrast (with very deep shadows). In many cases, it seems to be a tribute to great photographers of the past who just had B&W films and poor resolution lenses...

But like any style, is is renewed by innovative people (like sgoldswo) who think that these "rules" should be broken.

But since your question seems to be addressed to people who take candid photos on the street (rather than people doing "Street photography), I'll try to answer your question.

During my vacations, I like to do "Documentary photography". Among my shots, some will testify how people are dressed, what they eat, how they behave on the street, etc.

In certain Countries (in Québec and in France) it's illegal to take photos without the explicit consent of the people appearing in your shots. In other Countries, it's not illegal but people are more and more reluctant to be photographed. Lastly, in countries like China, most people don't mind or are flattered to be photographed.

When it's not illegal, I like to take one day at the beginning of my trip to take candid shots, in order to avoid shots in which people are smiling doing a "V" with their fingers.

To do that, my favorite lens is the M.Zuiko 12mm (but the new M.Zuiko 17mm can also do the job). I put the manual/automatic mode-switching ring to "manual", put the distance scale to 6 feet and hold the camera at waist level; by experience, the shot will be clear from a minimal distance between 3,8 to 4,7 feet and a maximum distance of 8,2 to 14,9 feet. That's enough to isolate the subject from its environment which is never totally blurred with that lens (just not perfectly sharp).

For example. these are 15 shots at the end of the following article (in French) done this way:
http://jpmartel.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/voyage-a-la-havane-deuxieme-jour/

Stellar advice.  I've never been comfortable taking clandestine photos of people.  Whenever people talk about silent shutters, ultra telephotos, and using tilt screens so that people don't know you're taking their picture, it just seems icky.

That said, I don't feel like you need to ask permission, either, in a public place.  Just be forthright that you're there taking pictures, and that some of those pictures include people.  Smiling, tipping performers, and generally not being a tool work wonders.  Being a creep who does it on the sly is asking for trouble, IMO.

I use a bunch of different manual lenses: 12mm, 25mm, 35mm and a 75mm. Sometimes a 50mm.

With my GH2 I swing out the LCD and pre-focus, then quickly compose and fire with my right thumb. Sometimes I'll cover the camera with something or rest it on a lumbar pack swung around in front.

I shoot on the subway too, but learned from my days of drawing to shoot people who are diagonally across from me, NOT directly in front… unless they're asleep or otherwise involved.

Those photogs are the kind of people who don't care if those they are taking pics of like it or not.  Maybe the photog is surreptitious about it, maybe they're blatant as heck, they're gonna get that person's pic dammit!

Me, my "street" photography is not about people but the street, buildings, alleys, the physical side of a city.  I find no joy whatsoever in capturing someone else's image without their permission.  My people photography is headshots for a person's portfolio, models who are just starting out and wanting practice and they all indeed have given me permission.

You are probably writing the opposite of what you meant. You don't use a wide angle to isolate people from their environment. On the contrary, you use wide angle to portrait people in their environment using a wider angle of view and a deeper DOF. When you want to single people out of a crowd or of their background, you use a longer lens with a narrower angle of view and a shallower DOF.

While I agree that there is a renewed interest in B&W street photography, I don't think that we are seeing so much innovative ways of seeing in that genre since Philip-Lorca Dicorcia and his aggressive use of flash, or since Martin Parr's unique colored vision. What we see is at best a good imitation of the past masters. Be they  showing pictures in colors or in B&W. The same is also valid for travel photography and documentary photography.

I see more interesting approaches among those I've seen named the "new landscapists", aka people concentrating on the environment as it is modified by man (forgotten, or unremarkable urban spaces and the like), instead of sunsets at the seashore or sunrises in the mountains, or rural landscapes under the snow.

You don't have the right to publish these pictures without consent. I don't think it means that you don't have the right to photograph. The problems arise with the web : is it considered a publication if you put such a photo in the DPreview gallery ? Also, if you make out money from the pictures, you can be sued to share the royalties you got from the picture. If you take a picture of someone and use it in an ad campaign stigmatizing drugs or whatever negative behaviour you could also be sued for diffamation, because that person could falsely been associated with a bad behaviour.

--
rrr_hhh

who has difficulty photographing people, so my 'street photography' consists mainly of storefronts, architectural details and the like.

Asking permission isn't really an option if you want a candid shot.  You can always delete a shot if someone objects.

Windows and mirrors can be your friends. you can take a candid shot w/o facing your subject, and other reflections/distortions/backgrounds can add depth to the shot.

But note that some people can get more bent out of shape if they think you're taking a picture of their car (shooting a reflection in the window) than if you take a pic of their kids.

Definitely easier to shoot 'street' during a parade as another guy w a camera won't stand out and you will be less self-conscious.  Take a longer lens and look for interesting people/situations across the street if you have trouble getting in someone's face.

But mostly, it's a matter of being out there regularly and making the attempt... not being able to get the shot is more about what goes on in your own head then what someone in the crowd thinks of you.

Now I need to follow my own advice!

--
Art P
"I am a creature of contrast,
of light and shadow.
I live where the two play together,
I thrive on the conflict"

A number of people in this thread have told you NOT to do a bunch of specific things - if I ever listened to them I wouldn't have any street shots. When someone tells you how to do it,they're just telling you what works for them - it might or might not work for you. I could tell you how I do it but that might mean nothing to you or your ability to get comfortable. I was just attracted to it and started doing it, trying different techniques along the way (long lens, wide lens, at the eye, from the hip, pre-composing, composing on the fly, being obvious, being sneaky - I tried it all. And I found a way of shooting that works for me and almost never upsets the people I'm shooting, some of whom are aware of me, most of whom aren't. And sometimes I still change it up just for a challenge or change of pace.

Bottom line, if you enjoy the process, you'll stay at it and in time you'll grow more comfortable and find what works for you. And if it makes you too uncomfortable to enjoy it, you won't keep doing it and that's OK too - it's not for everyone. It takes a while to get comfortable and longer to get good and you have to really like it in order to put in the time.

-Ray
-------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/collections/72157626204295198/

It is not so easy, but I wrote some about it here:

http://www.bakubo.com/ramblings.html

I have some of my street photography/life photography here:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/index.html

And more here:

http://www.bakubo.com

Good luck with your photography!

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

--
All we need is love http://www.flickr.com/photos/montoablasa1/

How do you know people don't want to be photographed without consent.  Personally i don't care who takes my picture and I have found that there are a lot of people like me especially if you make it obvious what you are doing.

--
My Galleries are at
http://picasaweb.google.com/trevorfcarpenter

I know because I've been told so many times.  How you feel about somebody taking your pic has zero relevance when it comes to how everyone else feels.  My experience is very very few actually want their picture taken by a stranger.  I was shooting the interior of a health food store a few weeks ago (a really big one, they had an area with a fireplace and huge windows and lots of seating).  I was just taking a pic of the crowd, no faces were recognizable and here came somebody I didn't even see.   She goes up to an employee and starts reaming him out for me "taking her picture".  She was livid.  We all tried to calm her down and I promised her that if I could recognize her face in any image I wouldn't use it (checking on the LCD didn't even show her but I wasn't going to delete all of them with her standing there).  She just kept ranting.

Turns out after I reviewed all the pics she wasn't in any of them.  Boy was she mad.

Yeah, if you concentrate on winos and bums on the street, they're so downtrodden they probably won't protest.  But who wants to take their pics anyway?

...

Just like Trevor, I'm perfect happy with people taking my picture and I know plenty take my picture everytime I go out taking "street" style photos around touristy locations (London's like that). I tend to take their picture in a tit for tat exchange which inevitably results in being asked to take their picture (and I gurn as I try and work out the controls of a 4 year old casio P&S...). It all comes down to context and to me whether someone is actively saying no or is unable to say no. I wouldn't want someone thrusting a camera in my face when I was eating a meal in public, but I have no problem with people taking my picture otherwise.

I think everyone has their own point of view about this and I don't like exploitative shots of drunks or homeless people either. But if you are in public you don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy and you are fair game. However, what people should (in my view) apply here (no one has to agree with me) is "do unto others as you would have them do to you" - but that cuts both ways and doesn't default to the lowest common denominator either. But it does mean that in an ideal world street photographers respect the actively expressed wishes of others. I've probably got too philosophical now  !

--
http://sgoldswoblog.wordpress.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgoldswo/

I think this is an important but complex question. Just about my first m4/3rds photo was "street' photography. Of three police officers on bicycles. They didn't see me, and I didn't ask their consent; but now I don't take pictures unless I have asked for consent unless it is a public event where photos might be expected. It means that some candid photos are passed up, but that is the way it goes. I remember an old man in Africa shaking his fist at me because he thought I had taken his picture. I think taking pictures of low income people because they are "picturesque" is exploitative.

I am still grappling with what I am trying to achieve with street photography if at all -  part of the process of becoming a photographer for me is understanding what I really enjoy. Part of it is learning the history of each genre.  I know I don't take photos of "the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and the moon up above," although I admire and enjoy the photos of those who do. Not long ago I was experimenting with the long end of my 14-45mm lens to see what that FL might be like, taking pictures of people on the street after asking their permission. There was a couple who were just engaged who were delighted to have their picture taken, and I was happy to oblige them with a snap shot. There was a sense of community. This I enjoyed.

F.