Shot some street today

[sashbar]

 

[Fred Berg]

Just the thoughts of a relative novice here but in the last two you seem to be intruding on the scene and affecting it quite negatively. The two girls enjoying a glass of wine look a little peeved at being snapped whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

 

[gsgary]

I'm 98% sure the on waving to you in the last is my partners niece

 

[sashbar]

Just the thoughts of a relative novice here but in the last two you seem to be intruding on the scene and affecting it quite negatively. The two girls enjoying a glass of wine look a little peeved at being snapped whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

Thanks for your comment.
Sometimes I aim my camera and wait for the moment the subject sees me an then I shoot. And yes 90% get annoyed, but there is always another layer in their reaction which is quite fascinating. Imagine they would not have seen me and kept their dinner/drink or whatever. It would be a dull, boring photo. Now, the intrusion creates sudden tension and the way it manifests itself is most intriguing. Most people realise it is just silly to stay annoyed, they need some exit, and the exit they choose tells a lot of themselves and their relations with the guy or the girl they are with atm. And I do not mind them joking at my expense, all I care is a captured moment.

I'm 98% sure the on waving to you in the last is my partners niece

gsgary - It looks like your partner's niece completely owns her man

 

[jovince3000]

whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

What's so bad about that ? xD

I actually like the last one the most, fence on the foreground could be a little straightened though !

Nice shot overall =)

 

[sashbar]

whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

What's so bad about that ? xD

Exactly. When a patient swears at his doctor it is never an offence, but a very positive sign. It is a proof that the patient is still alive.

 

[jovince3000]

I agree, people reacting to you generally do the best street photo in my opinion.

I'm more concerned about the fact that the man in the suit and the girl are walking basically shoulder to shoulder, and that in the reflection in the door, you only see the man.

Either that's a very convenient angle of reflection. Or you just took the very first picture of the existance of a vampire and its pray.

 

[Fred Berg]

whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

What's so bad about that ? xD

I actually like the last one the most, fence on the foreground could be a little straightened though !

Nice shot overall =)

Well, because if this sort of interaction is occurring, then the shot inevitably looks staged, and, if it is not, then it is a simple snapshot (not that there's anything wrong with that, per se).

 

[pip_dog]

I see traces of a smile in the woman in the dress's face, not really being "peeved". I like her expression and the way her outfit brings her to attention against the rest of the frame.

The last is a fun shot, a joke I'd like to be a part of too. I don't see any negativity here.

 

[snowbear]

Nice set.

The last is a fun shot, a joke I'd like to be a part of too. I don't see any negativity here.

Perhaps she is just a friendly sort. I have a habit of waving to traffic cameras (when I'm a passenger, not the driver) as we go passed.

 

[sashbar]

whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

What's so bad about that ? xD

I actually like the last one the most, fence on the foreground could be a little straightened though !

Nice shot overall =)

Well, because if this sort of interaction is occurring, then the shot inevitably looks staged, and, if it is not, then it is a simple snapshot (not that there's anything wrong with that, per se).

All street photography is simple snapshots. All you need to do is to find the right scene and snap it at the right time from the right angle with the right exposure.

 

[Fred Berg]

.

whilst the girl in the last shot (as well as here companion, perhaps) would appear to be having a joke at your expense.

What's so bad about that ? xD

I actually like the last one the most, fence on the foreground could be a little straightened though !

Nice shot overall =)

Well, because if this sort of interaction is occurring, then the shot inevitably looks staged, and, if it is not, then it is a simple snapshot (not that there's anything wrong with that, per se).

All street photography is simple snapshots. All you need to do is to find the right scene and snap it at the right time from the right angle with the right exposure.

And without interfering with or influencing the scene and therefore swaying the outcome? That's interesting since, as I mentioned, I'm only just dipping my toe in with street photography and I was under the impression (perhaps falsely) that this was somehow a guiding principle in the genre.

 

[fjrabon]

And without interfering with or influencing the scene and therefore swaying the outcome? That's interesting since, as I mentioned, I'm only just dipping my toe in with street photography and I was under the impression (perhaps falsely) that this was somehow a guiding principle in the genre.

Not really, just generally specific and dishonest staging is discouraged. Not everything has to be stealthed.

Look at the Magnum Contact Sheets book, like half of the classic images there, it's clear that the subjects are aware they're being photographed. HCB's classic image of the kids through the hole in the wall, nobody debates if that's street, and the children were clearly aware of the camera.

To me the only real requirement is that people don't make a scene that was staged appear to be not staged, and sell the image as candid when it wasn't. The subject being aware of the photographer is just a different dimension, that the photographer can either avoid or exploit, IMHO.

 

[jovince3000]

And without interfering with or influencing the scene and therefore swaying the outcome? That's interesting since, as I mentioned, I'm only just dipping my toe in with street photography and I was under the impression (perhaps falsely) that this was somehow a guiding principle in the genre.

I think the general idea of "not interfering with the scene" in street photography is wrong from the start. When you're out shooting in the street, it mean you're having a physical presence yourself in those said scene. You may not see it in the picture, but you are definitely part of the streets at this moment in time. So when people say that you should capture scene that isn't influenced by your presence, that's not exactly the right way to say it.

Staged and "aware" moment are two different thing. Staging a scene is you, yourself, direct in a very particular way your subject, Aware moment are when people notice you and react to you.

Ideally speaking, you want to capture candid moment where people are unaware, where they didn't noticed you in Street photography, also referred as Candid. But realistically speaking, you having a physical presence at the moment you shoot, some people will react to your presence since you're acting differently from the crowd. I believe that's fine too, you can look at it as leaving your own mark in the scene without showing your likeliness in the stage. Being a die hard Candid is fine, but sometime you get that shot where people will notice you and you will still like it.

Sometime, you get their "revelation" face where they noticed your and snap out of it, I think it's hilarous. When you laugh after you generally get their angry face. That's fine in its own way ^^

 

[Fred Berg]

Hey thanks guys, that's really interesting and useful, but I don't want to derail the thread