taking street photography photos w/ 35mm lens makes subjects mad

[bribrius]

Oh and the walmart incident....

 

[AlanKlein]

Street photography subjects are always friendlier if you have big breasts.

 

[denada]

i've changed my strategy. i shoot and walk. which i see is mentioned in gryphonslair99's post. zero connection with my subject. i don't smile (unless they smile at me, most recent example is a kid that was taking a photo of me with his mom's iphone and the mom though it was hilarious that i whipped a camera out in turn), i don't apologize, i don't explain. my body language is the same as if i'm late for a meeting. no one has accosted me severely since. i've heard a a few "hey, did you just take a picture of me?"s as i walk away, and i either completely ignore it or say "you bet" with a tone of finality -- nothing comes of it.

the blogs that say smile, compliment, and everyone will be nice are nonsense. act like you're in the city because that's where you are. and that's where i spend most of my life, so it's not hard for me to put off a "i'm working; don't talk to me" vibe.

i also don't care about the weird pride thing. 25 percent of my shots are from the hip. gives me a different angle and i'm not trying to prove anything by putting a camera to my face. it does not hide the fact a photo was taken; they can tell when you point a camera at them no matter where you're holding it from. what it does, in addition giving you variation in angels, is give them less chance to make a stupid face because it's faster. plus i've started using 28mm, so it gives me an extra arm's length. when i say "from the hip" that's usually reaching out at them with the camera.

i often ask for shots despite the zealots speaking against it, especially if it's a pretty girl or the marginalized like transgender. street portraits look great.

common sense all the way. i don't shoot dope boys, homeless, or the mentally ill. duh.

reading about street photography before trying it was a huge mistake. photo books of styles you enjoy are all that's of benefit. but i'm happy to have my style started and i'm ready to develop it much further.

if you take street photography that isn't a bunch of shots of old ladies walking away, you will encounter conflict. you gotta decide if it's worth it. i think it is.

one girl i was stuck on the subway with asked, "what thefuck are you doing?" but she was making eyes with me before i started snapping and i needed to use a flash because it was in in the subway, so i know there was going to be conflict. when i replied "taking your photo" like it was a silly question she shrugged and started posing. she smiled and said bye to me as she got off at her stop. another guy pulled out his leica and snapped a shot of me in return. the reactions you get are part of it.

 

[Braineack]

cool story.

 

[Spirit Vision Photography]

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!

I prefer to get up close with wide angle glass. It's rare that someone gets offended by it. And if so, apologize and move on. Remember what Capa said...

 

[terri]

Another zombie thread. Please review start dates before adding to these. It's better to start a new thread if you have something to contribute to the topic.
Closed.