Strangers Project

[enzodm]

For those "misguided" by the title... really? I mean, really? What did you want... candids of random people? Or those not so candid when they realize a lens is being pointed at them, and they look at you just before you click and you get these "who's this weirdo taking my picture?" expressions. Is that what you hoped for? lol... sorry to dissapoint.

Not to boast too much, but I'm proud of my project. Its not easty to capture people the way I did. (Whoever thinks it is, go ahead and try). Its not easy to get the lighting you want. Its not easy making strangers look the way you want, and most importantly comfortable and at ease. It's not easy one bit. But hey, haters will hate.

Mmm... if you just prefer wow-style comments, you have some here, extremely useful from that point of view, so let's not loose time in discussion.
If not, please re-read what I wrote. You may recognize that, taken alone each image, it is "just" a (very) good portrait. Let's say, "mainstream" style, according to one of wow-style commenters. Added value is your project behind, which I like: it is a sort of trust-me-I'm-good documented attempt.
I would not like candid shots because clearly it would not be the same effort (there is another thread on candids of nice girls, really a different idea, if any, behind). From this point of view, having all the people smiling or at least posing gives an indication on what you are doing.
What "misguides" me is that the strangers I meet around are of a more varied species, in terms of age at least. So, I would expect smiling, posing, random strangers, not candids (in particular once you explained the project). Part of the portrayed people could easily be models, from their appearance, and this -for me- could weaken such a project.
Said that, since you have tons of other pictures of which we see only a part, are they all young/beautiful people or you tried to convince also elderly or apparently ugly people?
And as a personal curiosity, how many denials do you receive, in general?
Since I'm a visitor of exhibitions and museums more than a photographer, please consider my comments as those of a possible recipient . The final effect I could imagine in visiting an exhibition of this kind could be that there is room for trust, that strangers are not enemies. Not sure if this is your aim.

 

[fortinw]

They are nicely done but after the first 4 or 5 they seem sort of, you know, similar.

Where does the art come into it?

If only he had shots of, oh I dunno.... maybe one that looked like an old lady getting mugged, and pehaps a bunch of bored children sitting on a sidewalk, then he'd be shining, eh? :meh:

 

[The_Traveler]

They are nicely done but after the first 4 or 5 they seem sort of, you know, similar.

Where does the art come into it?

If only he had shots of, oh I dunno.... maybe one that looked like an old lady getting mugged, and pehaps a bunch of bored children sitting on a sidewalk, then he'd be shining, eh? :meh:

I find it interesting that a comment I made in absolute honesty about what I thought is met with such passive aggressiveness.
For those who didn't get the quote, fortinw made the comment about some pictures I posted.

I still think that what was done was executed beautifully, and have said so repeatedly, but my honest reaction to it was as I said.
Others can feel differently and that's everyone's absolute right.

 

[m.shalaby]

I posted these photo's on another forum I visit - fredmiranda.com. Lots of questions and interest there, and I wrote out a lengthy response... figured I'd just copy and paste it to answer any questions others may have:

Good morning all.
Wow – thanks for the overwhelming positive response to my project. Thanks a lot guys!
I read all the post and I’m hoping I hit every question with this post:
All shots taken with the 135mm f2.0… all of them wide open as well. The 135L is just an outstanding lens. – All shots taken in landscape on purpose as well. My reasoning behind this was I wanted to capture the environment as much as possible. I wanted this to look like what it truly is, street photograph. Portrait style would yield less environment.
My approach? – I explain “I’m taking on an artistic portraiture project called 100 Strangers” (I’m currently at 75 I think), “and I’m trying to capture just completely random strangers on the street. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind taking part of my project and allowing me to take your photograph?”. That’s basically it. If I just went up to people and said “hey, can I take your picture?!” – I wouldn’t have much success. A little explanation and honesty did the trick.
What I find most importantly is HOW I approached them. Being extra super kind, unassuming, humble, - smiling when you talk to them helps, being positive and upbeat, but humble at the same time… all that stuff. Just be chill, honest and super nice and kind worked well. (Sometimes I would go out, and for whatever reason I wasn’t in a good mood that day, and I found it reflected in my approach…. That’s when I knew to hang it up for the day and try again another day).
Success rate? - You have to read body language of people. Are they busy? Are they in a rush, shopping or something? Are they busy on the phone texting, etc…?
I look for people who looked like they were just out, having a leisurely walk. From this, I would say I had an 85% “Yes” rate. Just about everyone agreed. Of course, you had some people who just weren’t interested, but I was actually quite surprised myself at how many responded positively.
Person Selection? – I went for photogenic people. Let’s be honest – if I took photographs of overweight middle aged women (not to insult anyone), this project wouldn’t be all that cool. But not only that - I’m an aspiring fashion photographer… so sometimes wardrobe would help make my selection (notice all the hats, scarf’s, coat’s, etc…?) That stuff caught my eye too and helped with selection as well.
Post Processing? - I kind of developed my own style so its hard to explain the eintire workflow but its LR3 - PS3. Brighten to make pop, ad a bit of contrast, but selective sharpening is what I did most with these. Sharpening of everything (garments, eyes, etc...) but masked out their skin to keep smooth. Also did some minor blemish retouching. Want them to look good, right!
Other little things and fun facts? - depending on how much I could “work” with someone… I would position them in a spot that worked best for the shot. (as much as I could, again these are strangers and your working on the street, so I had to make quick decisions). I would try to look for colors and backgrounds to put them in front of so the bokeh would gel with the photo. Sometimes I would wait for a crowd of people to pass and take the shot. Sometimes I would wait for a crowd of people to walk by and capture them in the background to get that “street” vibe. So little things like that went into my composition processing as well.
I hope that answers all your questions. Thanks for the interest in my project!

 

[m.shalaby]

And I'm getting the impression some don't like my stranger selection becuase of how photogenic they are? Because they could pass off as models? lol... you want some more random and 'ugly' people? Wow!! Okay....

Well, here's some 'characters' I also shot - but I cannot post my entire collection of strangers.
Its a diverse crowd, but yes, I picked mostly photogenic (and fashionable (see what they are wearing) individuals. Lets face it. If these were all ugly, overweight middle aged women, this project would have MUCH less appeal. Sorry my selection of people isn't what you wanted it to be. And I'm sorry the bigger picture of this project went straight over your head. Instead, nitpicked on the individuals I choose? From such a short stay at this forum, I can already tell it will be a short stay indeed.

There - make you feel better?

 

[Granddad]

Hey! I'm a wierdo - I LIKE the whole concept of your project and the way you've carried it out.
That was a nice photo of the inside of a clothes dryer too but .... shots like that bore me. It's an individual thing - I like pizza, some people don't. Not everyone can be an Andy Warhol and not everyone has the desire to be Andy Warhol. I can enjoy looking at 20 photos of people but 20 arty shots of objects will leave me cold. I also like shooting people in landscape if there's something in the background other than a piece of white muslin and photogenic people are OK with me - I see enough old and ugly when I look in the mirror. :thumbup:

 

[enzodm]

There - make you feel better?

no, make your project more interesting. But since you are an aspiring fashion photographer, I may understand the bias.

Anyway, thanks for having pasted the long explanation, it makes things more clear.

 

[spacefuzz]

Im impresssed you get an 85% hit rate, thats impressive! Not easy to talk to strangers on the street.

 

[m.shalaby]

Not easy to talk to strangers on the street.

No... no its not at all. Its very intimidating. And I'm not an extravert.

It really took me a lot to muster up courage to do this project. I got very anxious each and every time I went out. After the first few shots it got a little easier, but stopping a complete stranger going about their day, with a big SLR in your hands and asking them to take their shot isn’t easy, and something I will ever get used to. Some could say that that's an ‘art’ in and of itself. Lol…sorry, had to add that.

It seems that entire aspect of this project, the hardest part of it all, and on top of that, to capture the expressions I did– all of it was completely undermined.

Where’s the art? Why not such a diverse crowd of people? Too “repetitive”.

This forum is unique to say the least.

 

[Trever1t]

I never said too repetative...I just saw a pattern and said so. THe less attractive people really have more character but that's my opinion.

I do like the shots and would doubtful have the courage to approach total strangers in this manner (unless required for job). Question, how many refused?

 

[mc1979]

THe less attractive people really have more character but that's my opinion.

This

 

[enzodm]

Not easy to talk to strangers on the street.

No... no its not at all. Its very intimidating. And I'm not an extravert.
...
It seems that entire aspect of this project, the hardest part of it all, and on top of that, to capture the expressions I did– all of it was completely undermined.

Where’s the art? Why not such a diverse crowd of people? Too “repetitive”.

This forum is unique to say the least.

just because you read only the critical parts, which are not the only content you can find in my posts. Honestly, I like the idea very much (but I already written this a couple of times), and 85% is really impressive. I would never have the courage of doing something like this -too shy to shoot even candids, although sometimes I do. And of course not with these technical results, not only due to the equipment, which of course helps too.
If I were on the other side (in some times you could have stopped me too, although not often well dressed ), I do not know if I would say yes or no. I tried to figure the approach, and I suppose it depends on how serious the project would seem - perhaps I would have asked you to show some other picture to understand their quality before letting you shoot me. With these pictures, I would say yes from quality point of view.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Had a minute to check in....I was thinking this morning on my hour drive to my destination, what an effort to get so many people to be so comfortable that their expressions appear so effortless. I wondered what it was that you did or did not do to be able to achieve this sort of interpersonal success for these captures. Thank you for your notes, you beat my to my questions. When I get home tonight I am going to re-review this and take away what I can so that I can use this in my efforts.

Thanks too for the notes on your camera, lens and settings. I want the FF, I do, I do, I do.

My last question is where were this taken? I believe you are from the Tri-State? Were these on a campus? In Manhattan? It appears from their outerwear it was someplace cooler, so timing?

 

[c.cloudwalker]

^ No worries mate - I'm taking all the negative bla about project and title with a grain of salt.

For those "misguided" by the title... really? I mean, really? What did you want... candids of random people? Or those not so candid when they realize a lens is being pointed at them, and they look at you just before you click and you get these "who's this weirdo taking my picture?" expressions. Is that what you hoped for? lol... sorry to dissapoint.

Not to boast too much, but I'm proud of my project. Its not easty to capture people the way I did. (Whoever thinks it is, go ahead and try). Its not easy to get the lighting you want. Its not easy making strangers look the way you want, and most importantly comfortable and at ease. It's not easy one bit. But hey, haters will hate.

You want art? Here - here's some "art". Its a shot I took of the inside of a laundry dryer:

Nice pattern, right! Art, right! *sigh*

I'll tell you one thing - I'm more proud of my Strangers Project than this shot I took, lol...

This is just too beautiful. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: One thumb up just wasn't enough.


I personally liked the series better than the individual shots, before knowing what it was all about. The shots are nice, well done but nothing to write home about individually. As a whole and now knowing the story (one reason I like contemporaries is they can tell their story,) I like it even better. I can just imagine a gallery full (floor to ceiling) of those images and spending hours looking at them.

Then again I'm a fan of Yoko Ono, Steve Reich and other lesser artists, so who am I to say anuthing

 

[The_Traveler]

No... no its not at all. Its very intimidating. And I'm not an extravert.

It really took me a lot to muster up courage to do this project. I got very anxious each and every time I went out. After the first few shots it got a little easier, but stopping a complete stranger going about their day, with a big SLR in your hands and asking them to take their shot isn’t easy, and something I will ever get used to. Some could say that that's an ‘art’ in and of itself. Lol…sorry, had to add that.

It seems that entire aspect of this project, the hardest part of it all, and on top of that, to capture the expressions I did– all of it was completely undermined.

Where’s the art? Why not such a diverse crowd of people? Too “repetitive”.

This forum is unique to say the least.

Neither the fact that you have a studio, that everyone on other forums loved the project or the fact that it was difficult for you personally should have any input on anyone's opinion.

'completely undermined' - I am sort of surprised that you are finding it so difficult to accept some negative response.