Spring Is For Street Shooting

vintagesnaps · Apr 10, 2014

It's about the timing and learning how to frame shots while things are happening. I've done events/sports and it takes practice; I've gotten pretty efficient over time at being able to frame a shot quickly.

These have things cropped off or parts of things in the picture (stroller wheels, reflections, people's feet, etc.) which can distract the viewer instead of seeing what you want someone else to see. I feel like something either needs to be in the frame, or if you don't want it in the picture then think about framing so it's not in the photo.

Sometimes part of an object in the frame can work but the little things are what I think can be distractions, it can make the scene too busy. I didn't even see Spiderman, you almost have two pictures there - could have been one maybe vertical of the bus and the guy and bench, and another of him and the ice cream wall - all of it seems too much to take in, too much going on in one photo I think.

Gavjenks · Apr 10, 2014

As for isolating the main focus - I know what you mean, but I am currently moving in an opposite direction. I do not feel satisfied with these closed/zoomed street shots, it is the easiest way of shooting the street, but it does not give you the street atmosphere, perspective and "being there" feeling.

Okay, well then that's still possible, but much more difficult, as you would need to seek out more neutral surroundings. Like, a wall is fine. A wall full of unrelated vibrant ice cream cones is less fine, etc.

bribrius · Apr 10, 2014

that is hard! always easier to photo a single house than a block, and trying to do a block in a perspective where the viewer can add up five things on the block to come out with a result becomes HARD. Ive tried it and i think I ended up with responses like "whats the subject?" "what do you want the viewer to be looking at?" and "its too busy" because people are generally accustomed to looking at and concentrating on solitary objects. And people generally take photos of solitary isolated objects to draw more attention to one single focal point.
Did I mention that Is hard? That level of complexity......

like moving from highschool to doctorate level

sashbar · Apr 10, 2014

vintagesnaps said:
It's about the timing and learning how to frame shots while things are happening. I've done events/sports and it takes practice; I've gotten pretty efficient over time at being able to frame a shot quickly.

These have things cropped off or parts of things in the picture (stroller wheels, reflections, people's feet, etc.) which can distract the viewer instead of seeing what you want someone else to see. I feel like something either needs to be in the frame, or if you don't want it in the picture then think about framing so it's not in the photo.

Sometimes part of an object in the frame can work but the little things are what I think can be distractions, it can make the scene too busy. I didn't even see Spiderman, you almost have two pictures there - could have been one maybe vertical of the bus and the guy and bench, and another of him and the ice cream wall - all of it seems too much to take in, too much going on in one photo I think.

This all sounds great in theory, but it is slightly different in practice. Things WILL get into frame in the street, and if you start cropping them you lose the balance and the composition. And even if not, it often makes an image look sterile. The street photography has its own aesthetics and it often needs "unrelated" things in the frame to complement the main story.

Regarding the timing you are right, but here we have another thing - unlike sports shooting you can not stare at your target at an arm length through the viewfinder waiting for the right moment. People often do not like it and react. You need to develop a sort of a flowing rhythm of shooting, when you raise you camera for just one moment, and this moment must be perfect.

sashbar · Apr 10, 2014

bribrius said:
that is hard! always easier to photo a single house than a block, and trying to do a block in a perspective where the viewer can add up five things on the block to come out with a result becomes HARD. Ive tried it and i think I ended up with responses like "whats the subject?" "what do you want the viewer to be looking at?" and "its too busy" because people are generally accustomed to looking at and concentrating on solitary objects. And people generally take photos of solitary isolated objects to draw more attention to one single focal point.
Did I mention that Is hard? That level of complexity......

like moving from highschool to doctorate level

Yes. And it is always better to start with close ups and tight frames and then when you feel confident, to try to go wider.

sashbar · Apr 10, 2014

vintagesnaps said:
I didn't even see Spiderman, you almost have two pictures there - could have been one maybe vertical of the bus and the guy and bench, and another of him and the ice cream wall - all of it seems too much to take in, too much going on in one photo I think.

What bench?

There is no bench in the frame. And this is the main point of the whole image. OLD man. No bench.

shaylou · Apr 10, 2014

Gavjenks said:
I don't know how intentional everything is, but there's something amusing about most of them. Like the girl with headphones on when live music is right next to her. Or the person showing an uneven hand gesture while the frame tips. They would be much stronger images though if the cool or funny things were more isolated. Fill your frame with the subject, and draw the eye to the important parts. If it weren't for one of the other posters saying to look at them large, I would have rolled my eyes and left without every glancing further, probably. For instance, if the headphones was intentional, you could crop half the rest of the shot out and move to the left more to reduce negative space between them. Or that huge ice cream cone wall has nothing to do with spiderman and is more visually luring, etc.

I totally agree. To each is own but I think most street shots are stopped down to much in efforts to show the surroundings that a lot of the time have no significance to the shot and even clutter the subject to the point they are lost. IMO I think it's the photographers duty to put the viewers eyes right where they want them to look. If that means sacrificing a bit of the surroundings by isolating the subject with a shallower dof then so be it. But once again it's just my opinion and I am in no way trying to open any type of debate here.

vintagesnaps · Apr 10, 2014

My mistake, bike rack he's perched on, bench was in another photo... Whether at events or being out and about I think it takes observing and learning how to be part of the surroundings as much as possible so people don't pay so much attention to you and go about their business.

I think it's up to the photographer to decide how to frame shots and what goes into the composition, how much of the background or surroundings goes into your pictures. But maybe it's preference, I like a clean composition and think that can more effectively bring the viewer in to what you want them to see.

sashbar · Apr 10, 2014

vintagesnaps said:
Whether at events or being out and about I think it takes observing and learning how to be part of the surroundings as much as possible so people don't pay so much attention to you and go about their business.

I agree, if you shoot with a zoom (like you probably shoot sports) from some distance, you can attract very little attention, but zoom shots are flat and do not draw a viewer into the picture. To have a good perspective and a 3D feel you must use a wide lense. But shooting from a distance with a 28 mm or so is a no-no. You have to be close, and I mean 2-3 feet close, sometimes the closer the better. And people WILL pay attention and will react, because you are shooting in their faces. Nobody likes it. This is what stoips me way too often from taking a great shot.

jenko · Apr 11, 2014

I actually quite like the framing in all of these. It has movement, spontaneity. The viewer feels like they are on the street. It imitates how one would actually see scenes while walking, in these little flashes, if that makes sense. It adds to the realism of the shots.

My favorite is the last.