Street photography can be intimidating, especially if you're worried about confrontation. Learning how to approach it with confidence and ease is crucial. This video provides valuable insights to make your street photography less stressful and more enjoyable.
Coming to you from Mark Wiemels, this insightful video addresses one of the biggest fears new street photographers face: confrontation. Wiemels emphasizes that most people don't mind being photographed in public. In a world filled with CCTV and smartphones, people are accustomed to being on camera. He advises that while cameras may draw attention, it's not necessarily negative attention. His first tip is to use a longer focal length. This allows for more distance from your subject, providing a buffer and making the experience more comfortable. Wiemels explains that longer lenses also offer a narrower field of view, which helps in creating cleaner images with fewer distractions. He highlights that for new photographers, this can simplify the process of framing shots.
Another practical tip from Wiemels is to use the camera's screen rather than the viewfinder for framing your shots. Holding the camera at waist level makes you less conspicuous, reducing the chance of drawing attention. This method allows you to blend in more naturally, as people are less likely to notice you taking their photo. He also suggests using your thumb to trigger the shutter instead of your finger to further decrease the chances of being noticed.
Wiemels advises against looking directly at your subject after taking a photo. Instead, look beyond them and start walking in their direction. This creates the illusion that you were photographing something else. This tactic can prevent potential confrontations, as people are less likely to realize they were the subject of your photo. He recommends finding a good framing and waiting for the right person to walk through the scene. This method allows you to capture candid moments without following your subjects, making the process feel more natural and less intrusive. Additionally, he discusses the "lonely figure" style of street photography, where you capture a single person in a well-built environment. This style is low-risk and allows the subject to remain anonymous.
However, Wiemels also provides advice on how to handle situations where someone does approach you. He suggests being honest and offering to delete the photo if the person is uncomfortable. Most of the time, people are more curious and interested in your camera than upset about being photographed. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Wiemels.
Not a street photographer, but I'd like to try and your tips were very helpful.
I do a bit of street photography and actually do follow all of these tips. The only issue with shooting from hip height is the change you get in perspective, so that one I only use some of the time.
As someone who has done street photography several times a week, for 15 years, let me list the "suggestions" that immediately make me realize the person giving advice is bad at street photography (if you want to avoid anxiety, confrontation, and a reputation as a problematic photographer).
For additional context, im clinically diagnosed autistic. If i am capable of figuring out how to avoid being a cringy menace when i do street photography, then yall have absolutely zero excuse for behaving antisocially when you go out with your camera.
1. Attempting to hide that youre taking photos. This is #1 on the terrible advice list, because its extremely unlikely youre going to succeed. I use an 85mm lens for the majority of my recent street portraiture/photography. To fill the frame with a subject gives me avout 25ft of space. It is EXTREMELY obvious youre pointing a camera at them from that distance (lenses are extremely reflective, and most cameras light up the lens with a glow when the metering is activated). If youre using a smaller focal length, even more obvious.
If youre going to photograph people, interacting with people and putting them at ease (at least at ease enough to take their photo) is part of the deal. By attempting to hide what youre doing, youre intentionally antagonizing them, and absolutely deserve to get yelled at for being a creepy little gremlin.
2. Smaller cameras/lenses are better. Are you doing street portraits? Then whatever the best setup you own for portraits is the best setup. Architectural? Then whatever works best for landscape/architectural, or the specific photos youre looking for. But going out with a micro 4/3 camera, kit lens, and flash is typically the worst setup. Youre so drastically limited by the feeble low light performance, you may as well just use your cell phone. I use a D810, 85mm 1.4 ai-s typically. I do keep a 50mm 1.8 af-d, and a 135mm f2 ais in my shoulderbag though.
If theres a group of people i want to take a photo of, and i dont have time to at least have a passing word with them. I will usually show them the photo afterwards and ask them if they want a copy sent to them. It takes 30 seconds, it makes you look way less creepy, and if youre taking good photos, itll earn you jobs/customers/etc. If you are somehow less socially capable than an autistic person and feel unable to do this... well theres always mountains, trees, and birds to photograph.
Also, youre welcome to check my reciepts if you would like/assume im just a blowhard.
Instagram: @lastminutepanic
The majority of the "posed" photos i take, are because im *hyper-visible*. I use a DSLR, i usually keep it against my shoulder when i walk around, pointed up, because its awkward as hell to have people who are sensitive to having their photos taken (homeless, people having a bad time, police officers, peoples kids, etc) dont have to worry. But because the camera is very visible, and im not acting like a menace, im approachable, AND laypeople have no clue what the difference is between a nikon D70 from 2005, a nikon d810 from 2014, or a fujiilm gfx100. Infact, theyre more likely to take you seriously with a full size camera body/large aperture lens, than some cell phone sized mirrorless camera. Those look like the point and shoots they had in 2007, dslr's look like real cameras.
Once ive taken a few semi-posed photos, and they see what im creating, a half hour later when i walk down that street again and get a candid photo of them, theyre not suspicious, and the biggest value (to me at least) is i can likely share that wonderful bit of art with them since i already swapped instagram accounts to send the original photos to them. See how easy it is when you start the entire process as a collaborative one. Youre not a private eye, and just thinking about how limited the options are for framing when being hidden is a primary concern, would make street photography worthless to me. And surely degrades the end product of anyone following the generic (and uniformly terrible) advice doled out online.
I think it is fine to have a different opinion than the writer, but the way you express it matters as much as what you express. Maybe don't start off by saying the author is a bad photographer just because you approach it differently. You are a different person.