Street Photography Techniques

I have recently given up street photography after encounters with the police and threats of arrest. I did about 400 good pictures on the street between the late eighties and not long ago. I have gotten older and it just isn't worth the hassle and stress to me anymore. I used film cameras. A Leica M6 and/or M3, sometimes a Hass SWC. A metered body is best. Setting the exposure on automatic will lose a lot of shots, especially the more interesting ones. Predetermine the exposure and set it correctly so that all you have to do is focus and shoot. Then set the focus to a typical distance range. You get more latitude with this with the wider lenses, but your 50mm will do a good job too. Be aware of changes in the light and reset the camera. These procedures will turn a Leica film camera into a point and shoot as far as speed goes, but you get the advantages of film and great lenses. Hold the camera in your hands. You see something you want, grab it fast. It could disappear immediately in the city, or someone could park a truck in front of it. Get lots of practice, expect it to take a year or so if you are an experienced photographer, otherwise longer. For film I used mostly T Max 100 shot at 80. The tonality is not as good as many other films but it blows up to 16x20 nicely. Do not photograph children or on private property or you are looking for problems.

adam,
i too love the idea of street photography but never have been able to pull it off confidently. i have gobe away to busling cisites just to do street photography but shied away from pressing the shutter button. i find this notion of being in the photographic process, as in being observed clicking the shutter release to be rather problematic. my solution to this was to find a street cafe, sit outside with the camera resing on the table and occassionally clicking. being in uk, you can only sit outside two days per year so i had to shoot through clear glass in many a case. since my street camera was a bessa r, a polariser is difficult to pull off. i have thought about doing it with my battered old om4 and a 50mm zuiko lens, but again, this is a bit more noticeable than the bessa and its pancake 35mm lens. i dare not take out the sony a100 dslr and try and do the same.

one of these days, i am going to head to a pub, have a few drinks and then start my street photography project! at least that way, i won't feel shy!

one tip that has been suggested to me is to hang the camera from the neck with a strap and pose just like a tourist and shoot that way with the lens set on a predetermined meter and focus. as bruce says, it is best to use a wide angle for this. the more simple looking the camera is the better your chaces of mingling in. i would even take off hoods and anything else attached to the lens if it gives the impression that this is a serious photographic tool.

>>> AAlthough I have a 70-200 mm telephoto lens, I rarely use it for street photography because it draws too much attention.

Sell it. No use for SP, even *if* it did draw attention (people put far to much energy into that notion)... And your 50mm,if on a crop cam, makes little sense.

>>> If anyone would like to share their own methods, I'd be interested to hear them.

Be direct, rather than try and sneak shots. You'll get FAR better photos.

There have been many posts here from people who have been harassed so it does happen but I've never experienced any other then an occasional shop owner telling I can't take pics in their store. Futhermore, I don't recall reading about any other LA shooters having trouble with the police. Damon, Ray, and Barry never mentioned anything about such things as far as I can recall. So maybe it's just the laid back LA vibe or something.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't worry too much about technique. What works for one person may not work for you. Just work at overcoming your shyness and get out there and shoot. Don't care what people think or that you might get noticed. I often use an RZ67...hardly a camera one thinks of as being discreet. Keep shooting and shoot even more and you will start to notice your own natural technique emerging forth. You will see what interests you and how you approach a scene. If it doesn't look like other peoples shots, who cares? Overcome the shyness, make the work your own, and you will get much more enjoyment out of the activity which is really what it's all about. Good luck.

Since you're just starting out, I'd suggest you pick one focal length and stick to it. Learn how to use it ie: distance from subject, angle of view, etc... this way you can frame the scene before you even look through your viewfinder. Although I've seen some spectacular sp with a telephoto, I personally much prefer the slightly wider view (more of the environment; its setting); it shows the subject in context of the surroundings.
Go out and shoot. It's the only way you'll get a hang of anticipating how a scene will unfold (tough to do this in front of a computer).
I personally enjoy looking at other people's photographs so you might want to give that a try. It teaches you some things like composition, how things interact in the scene, etc... for example, take a look at Trent Parke's use of light...
As was mentioned, don't hide the fact that you're out taking photos. From my experience you'll be better received this way than sneaking shots...

Adam,

I agree and disagree with almost everything that has been written here (and they'll be a lot more). I think that kind of sums up the difficulties of asking for advice on what is a very individual pursuit.

Some people are against so-called "sneaky shots," others suggest that such "candid photography" is the only way to do street photography. Some tend to run into problems all the time, others seem to float through without a hitch. Some suggest you wear your camera round your neck like a tourist, other say hold the camera hidden in your hand. And then, of course, we have the gear question and all the individual likes and dislikes that that throws up.

I suggest you look thru the work of people who post here (as you are asking here) regularly and contact by email those whose work appeals to you. If you get no answer, move on to the next person. After studying their work, ask questions specific to the hurdles you face. Don't be a pain, but at the same time, be honest. Also, because this question has come up numerous times before in this forum, you should look thru previous threads.

And, as Marc above suggests, shoot, shoot and shoot!

I have never been fond of photographing strangers, and my natural reticence has been enhanced as a result of a few people who responded badly. As a consequence, my photos generally include either friends, people who aren’t prominent in the image, or nobody at all. I make a bit of an exception for situations where people are clearly making a display of themselves (in costume, for instance), but generally avoid pointing my lenses at people I don’t know, even in public.

While I recognize the sense of this approach, it does make me feel as though my photos lack something that most street photographers manage to capture: specifically, the various moments that make up city life.

Like the original poster, I am trying to be a bit bolder, in order to get some good results.

Put a semiwide angle lens on whatever camera you are using and just shoot whatever interests you. Since you live in NYC, don't worry about what people might think. Get your technique down so you don't have to think about exposure or focusing. When I bring my camera up to my eye, the exposure is set and the focus is at least close to set. The majority of people I shoot on the street are within 8 ft and often closer. I shoot wide (angle) and tight (close). NYC is the best place to learn street photography. Any fear you have is just a problem between your ears: do it and get over the anxiety. Its great fun!

Lots of good advice above. My 2 cents is use a wide to normal range lens and just shoot confidently. I've been shooting street around the world for about 7 years and generally haven't had a problem unless I was in a situation where I felt a little unsure - people pick up on a lack of confidence a will question you (in my experience). I also refrain from shooting kids and always ask if I want to shoot on private property. Generally it works, but there have been a couple of dicey situations I had to talk myself out of.
I generally use a 28-70 or a 12 - 24 (occasionally an 80-200 for special situations) non of which are discreet. I'm also fairly tall, so I don't fade into the background too well. Streets my favorite though so I plan to keep on shooting.