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"Street Photography"
One way to kill time while waiting for an annoyingly late metro train is to just enjoy the moment and admire the beauty of the dark surroundings of the MetroRail. This was taken handheld, at 17mm in aperture priority, F/3.2. I needed to boost the ISO to 1600 because of the limited light availability.
This photograph was converted to black and white using Adobe Lightroom 3.41. You can download the lightroom preset for free below.
Software I use to create and process this photograph:
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
– I used Lightroom to manage and organized my photographs.
- Download the Lightroom Preset “B&W Illuminate Structure” Here.
Gear:
This candid street photo a man using his mobile device was taken in the crowded streets of Chinatown in Washington D.C. This is what I love about street photography, the expressions on peoples faces are really priceless, let’s take for example that smile in his face, it tells a lot, he looks really happy maybe because he is looking at a photo sent to him by a friend or a family or maybe a funny text message, who knows?
This photograph was converted to black and white creamtone using Adobe Lightroom 3.41. You can download the lightroom preset for free below. Taken @17mm, ISO:200, aperture of F/6.3, and a shutter speed of 1/200.
Software I use to create and process this photograph:
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3
- Download the Lightroom Preset “Simply Light Creamtone” Here.
Gear:
As some of you may have known, I love to get close when I do candid street photography. Not just close, but sometimes, very close. I seldom use a telephoto simply because I want to capture a photograph of the subject in it’s environment. My favorite lens to use is a wide angle lens, in the 10-22mm or a 17-55mm range on a crop sensor body. Lately most of my candid street shots where taken with the Canon EF-S 10-22mm Ultra Wide Angle Lens
One thing to remember when using a wide angle lens is, you have to be really really close to your subject to capture interesting candids. And because you’re so close and within his / her space, you will surely get some amazing reaction from people which will make the photograph more realistic, captivating and alive.
A Man Talking On Cellphone – Washington DC Chinatown. EF-s 10-22mm @ 17mm
Download Hi-Res | Buy Print
By getting close to your subject you became part of the story, part of the scene, and not just a distant, observer.Those reactions that you get from their faces the moment they react makes your photograph alive and timeless.
Gear:
- Canon Rebel. I prefer the Canon Rebels, without the battery grips because they are small and light.
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Ultra Wide Lens
or
- Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC
“How To Take a Photograph of a Complete Stranger?” Yeah, how do I do this? This is a common question every photographer asks, especially those starting or those into street photography, and like what i’ve mentioned in my previous post on Taking Street Portraits of Randon People the problem is, it’s awkward and uncommon to others.
So should we asks for permission when taking a photograph of a complete stranger we see in the streets? For me, it depends on what type of photograph you want, if you want to stage the shot and you need someone to pose for you, then, it’s just right to ask for permission, but if you want to photograph a moment, that you see while you’re in the streets, then I would say no, you are loosing spontaneity and that precious moment that you wanted to freeze is gone.
If you are worried about legal rights, there is no legal right to privacy when you are in public space / domain, and we don’t have legal obligation to ask for permission as long as we don’t use the photograph in any commercial purposes.
How do I do it? In a busy, crowded environment, like an event or a busy city street, most of the time, I just smile, raised my camera, to signal that I want to take his/her photograph, if they smile and didn’t turn their back on you, then it means, they agree. I think it’s really a matter of how you present yourself in public.
The photo above was taken in Georgetown in DC during the Georgetown Merriment.
Camera Gear :
I hope you found this little tip helpful. If you have any street photography tip, I would be happy to hear them, or if you have questions or any other suggestions, Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email at.
The Stutter Step, frequently used by many street photographers, is a simple technique doing a momentary pause or stop giving you just enough time to press the shutter and continue walking on as if nothing happen.
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Taken at 23mm using a 17-50mm lens, 1/60sec, F/5.6, ISO 100
Today I’ll give a few tips on doing some straight shooting or what we call Candid Street Photography or Candid Street shots. In candid street photography you have to be as close as possible to your subject without being notice that you are taking photos. You have to be stealthy enough to accomplish the task at hand. Here’s a few tips.
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BP Oil Spill Demonstration Sept. 5, 2010 Washington DC
Local events such as festivals, parades, rally, demonstrations are some of the best way to practice and hone our skills as photographers, whether you are a an amateur, hobbyist, or a professional. Events are fun, exciting and can provide wonderful picture-taking opportunities.
BP Oil Spill Demonstration Sept. 5, 2010 Washington DC
BP Oil Spill Demonstration Sept. 5, 2010 Washington DC
Here are some helpful tips in photographing local events :
- Do a Research : My number one resource? Guess what? Google, just search for something like “September 5, 2010 Washington DC” and you’ll find some of the events that are scheduled for that day. Second is of course local newspapers, magazines, local tv news.
- Prepare your gear : Making sure your gear is ready is a priority. In events I usually bring two camera bodies and two lenses, a wide angle lens and a telephoto lens. Check your batteries and make sure they are fully charged, make sure your memory cards are all formatted and in proper working condition.
- Ideal Equipment : I always shoot with two camera bodies, one with a wide angle lens (tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC) and one with a telephoto lens (EF 70-200mm F/4 IS), and I always use an external flash to fill in the shadows, also there are times I bring a monopod with me but not all the time.
- DDay : Once you get to the event, just blend in, let everyone know that you are taking photograph. Now, to tell the story, you need to be observant, focus on participants, look for facial expressions, details, colors. You also need to learn to relax and not be overwhelm of the crowd and actions that are happening around you.
Gary Sinise – Center at the 2010 Memorial Day Parade In Washington DC
Camera Gear :
- Canon Rebel XS
- Canon EOS 20D
- Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC
- Canon EF 70-200mm F/4 IS USM
- Canon 430 EX II Flash
- Manfrotto 680b Monopod
Restoring Honor Rally
I hope you found this little tip helpful. If you have any street photography tip, I would be happy to hear them. Feel free to leave a comment below.
Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8, a Versatile Lens for Street Photography
To bring out the best of the drama that is happening around us, we need to be close, we need to be in the scene, and for us to do that we have to be involved. We have to shoot candidly in the open. In my street photography, I don’t use telephoto lens, I used to, but not anymore. I love to shoot from wide to medium telephoto, in the range of 28mm to 8omm(full framed format) or 17-50mm(crop format). I actually have three favorite street photography lens. The first two, I love the most.
- Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC – Great for low light, Versatile can go from wide to portrait at 50mm, sharp. Great for candid. Disadvantage, heavy
- Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 – Great for low light, great for creativity, slows you down a bit and makes you think of what you are doing, sharp, great for candids. Cons, none.
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One problem that a lot of people have is the ability to speak up and ask for permission if they can take a photograph of a stranger, mainly because it’s awkward and a little bit uncommon. Here’s how I do it?
When you get to a place, just relax, get your gear ready, start shooting some random subjects just to get the hang of it. Let the people around you know that you are doing photography, blend in, smile and be friendly and most of all don’t shoot and hide. Most of the time, I try to chat with the people around, have a conversation if I can, and later, I’ll try to ask if it would be alright if I can take a picture of them, and most of the time it works.
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Beautiful Witch – Halloween 2010
It was an awesome Halloween night, lot’s of people dress in their favorite scary costumes. I was really excited, tons of opportunity to have fun and make some pictures. Armed with my eos 20d, Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC, Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flas
There were some recognizable figures like John McCain and Sarah Palin, giving out candies, photo below. There were also lot’s monsters and witches walking around, I had a chance to photograph one of them(first photo above).
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