The Myths of Streetshooting - explained and mostly busted

[pixmedic31]

I usually do not need an articulated screen as I do not want to conceal the fact that I am shooting either, simply because I do not feel I am doing something wrong. But there were rare occasions when I simply had no nerve to shoot openly, looking through the viewfinder - like with this girl. We were sitting on the opposite benches quite close, and I admit - I used the articulated LCD pretending that I am just checking and deleting my files. Was this shot worth it? I do not think so, even though I have somehow kept it..

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I guess this is why i could never do any serious street photography. If I was too embarrassed to be honest about taking a picture, I simply would not take it.
I find it to be an odd compulsion, this "ninja" photography, as it were. I suppose I simply lack the understanding of a street photographers mindset, and the pleasures gained from sneaking pictures of people. (that arent naked) I only know that it is not my cup of tea.

why did you not think the picture was worth it? If you thought as much, why did you keep it? Do you keep it to remind you of a successful photograph taken under the guise of "deleting photos"? A clever ruse, yet one bearing fruit.

 

[The_Traveler]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

 

[sashbar]

I usually do not need an articulated screen as I do not want to conceal the fact that I am shooting either, simply because I do not feel I am doing something wrong. But there were rare occasions when I simply had no nerve to shoot openly, looking through the viewfinder - like with this girl. We were sitting on the opposite benches quite close, and I admit - I used the articulated LCD pretending that I am just checking and deleting my files. Was this shot worth it? I do not think so, even though I have somehow kept it..

View attachment 56360

I guess this is why i could never do any serious street photography. If I was too embarrassed to be honest about taking a picture, I simply would not take it.
I find it to be an odd compulsion, this "ninja" photography, as it were. I suppose I simply lack the understanding of a street photographers mindset, and the pleasures gained from sneaking pictures of people. (that arent naked) I only know that it is not my cup of tea.

why did you not think the picture was worth it? If you thought as much, why did you keep it? Do you keep it to remind you of a successful photograph taken under the guise of "deleting photos"? A clever ruse, yet one bearing fruit.

Yes, that's why I never conceal the fact that I am taking a picture. There is nothing sneaking about my pics at all. That picture, as I said, was a rare exception, and probably you are right, that's why I keep it. I would not call it a succesful photograph though, because the success is not about how you made the shot, but the end result. And I do not understand why are you judging the street photorgaphy as a genre by a shot that, being an exception, does not represent it at all...
To understand the street photographers mindset you need to think broader than that. Some say that there are more and more pictures these days that do not reprpesent real life at all and are as far away from reality as Photoshop is far away from a mirror. And I agree with that, the world of photorgaphy is polluted with an "art for art sake" stuff, the only thing - it is not art. And then there is this "glamour" stuff that The Traveller has mentioned... Street photographers doing an important job in this respect, they bring us back to reality. If you feel sneaky this is your problem, not a problem of street photography.

 

[gsgary]

This is a 28mm on a Leica M4-P, not too close

 

[DanOstergren31 5]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

Not offensive, but completely false.

 

[pixmedic31]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

not sure where you are getting the "offensive" vibe from. certainly not from me.
but, if you find glamor shots to be offensive, then it is certainly your perogative not to shoot them. as it is your perogative to feel however you wish about them.
im not particularly offended by anything. don't mistake my lack of understanding for a particular style or not wishing to partake of it for being offended by it.

 

[dsiglin]

I guess this is why i could never do any serious street photography. If I was too embarrassed to be honest about taking a picture, I simply would not take it.​

Heh, somehow I missed out on the embarrassment gene. No, it's that sometimes I want to merely observe and not influence what is playing out in front of me. This is particular true when documenting very "human" moments like the elderly man. Then there are times when I engage my subject. Here are two instances. Both of these people I talked to for at least ten minutes (make that thirty for the accordion player) and both gave their permission to be photographed. Sadly I completely futzed up the focus on the first one. :/

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[limr8 6]

Those are beautiful.

I'm far too shy to engage people for the most part to do a more interactive kind of street photography, but I have always liked to observe. Even long before I had any interest in street photography, I would notice odd little things about people or their behavior. My boyfriend laughs at me whenever I get a certain thousand-yard stare look on my face; apparently, this is my 'observation and analysis' face I'm sure that's what made me interested in street photography, though to be honest, I didn't realize this when I first started trying it out. It was not a decision to try street photography; it was a realization that this is what I'd been doing.

 

[dsiglin]

Thank you. That accordion player was amazingly good and quite the character. He also recommended a local pub that ended up having the best seafood I've ever tasted.

 

[limr8 6]

I tend to take shots from farther away - not only the shyness, but I prefer a bit more context for 'the moment'. Plus, my preferred camera at the moment is my K1000 just because I know her so well, but she's got a loud mirror slap, which isn't great for that unobtrusive style of street photography I seem to be fond of. I need to start getting more familiar with a quieter rangefinder

Here's some that are more typical of my 'style' (if I even have one! )

Closest I've gotten to an accordion player:



These three I was pleased with because I felt successful at anticipating a moment and being ready to catch it:

 

[The_Traveler]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

Not offensive, but completely false.

The point I was trying to make was that using negative generalizations - like 'sneaky' in describing street photography - is more than vaguely insulting to those who do it with good and honorable intentions.

 

[sashbar]

BTW why there is no sepatare "Street Photography" section in Photo Galleries ?

 

[terri69 3]

BTW why there is no sepatare "Street Photography" section in Photo Galleries ?

Nothing deliberate - the thought has been that TPF has enough Galleries to cover the many categories. "People", "Photojournalism", even "Cityscapes" can fit the bill depending on the dominance of the image's particular subject.

 

[amolitor]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

Well, there's glamour, and then there's "glamour" and then there's "nudge nudge wink wink glamor eh, eh?" and somewhere in there it gets pretty perverted, if you're doing it right.

 

[DanOstergren31 5]

If I said that I thought anyone doing glamour shots was really perverted and totally disrespectful of females, would that be offensive?

Not offensive, but completely false.

The point I was trying to make was that using negative generalizations - like 'sneaky' in describing street photography - is more than vaguely insulting to those who do it with good and honorable intentions.

"Sneaky" isn't really a great comparison to "perverted and disrespectful to females" in my opinion. If you could, what word would you replace "sneaky" with in order to describe street photography where the subject doesn't know they're being photographed? Perhaps discreet?