Street Photography Do's and Don'ts

sleep photography is not that difficult to get into but there are some do's and don'ts to take into mind before you start doing street photography let's go there's a lot of people out today so this is like a street photography bonanza so many subjects to pick from of course you can't just go out snapping away like that first of all you have to have your equipment ready they usually don't take like em but as you know our Leica M is on the maintenance so we've got d700 and a 15 millimeter lens unlike the 50 millimeter focal length and we just got some while I've got some clothes which are kind of a little bit ish feel right at home in this area and we've come to the grittiest side of Hong Kong to take pictures of some of the seediest signs of the city what oh not far from the bright lights of the city this place feels somewhat detached from the more glamorous parts [Music] let's switch the things like the AF assist lamp off because we don't want that going off in somebody's face that's all no beep okay no beep no lights just that focusing lens and in camera one of the first things you think now is to find a place or subject focus on something that you're intrigued about get a sense of directions start looking for that shot one of the first do's is that you should get everything set on your camera not just the beeps and the lights your settings get it so that you're comfortable with the settings I've got an aperture priority and I put the ISO up so I can have f8 f a and B there don't worry about what the troll say about he mode being from wussies it's better you get the shot in P mode and not in M mode of course when you're shooting Street you don't want to spend your time fumbling around in the settings because and you're wasting time in your shot is gone [Music] and I've got it on a center focus point spot metering and I like it sometimes when you're going from light to the shadows you have to change your settings do that before go to get a shot [Music] somebody's granddad looking at porn there [Music] so pardon the dues of street photography there are some things that you shouldn't really do is a don't but it isn't anything such as a street photographers uniform but just don't look like a rapist make sure it's comfortable to wear and will not make you look like soft foam covered in feces on fire well personally I don't like to look photographer is Eva no bright bandage straps for me no velcro corduroy bag definitely no photography vest still better than the probe look the key things you should do is to get in the zone go into the action [Music] he misses him that's why I choose the 50 because you use a longer lens it feels a little disjointed and cold to really get into the zone so that people can when you look at a photo you feel like you're actually there at the scene you can almost smell the street which isn't very pleasant to be honest if you look at some of the most popular street photographers photos you may be able to see that they were most likely taken with a 50 millimeter 35 or even wider this forces you to get quite close up and personal view subject but a shot will look nicer like that now if you're standing really far away from your subject feels like you're a bit of a perv actually if you're dressed like a peeler pole you know I picked a 50 millimeter focal length because what used to it kind of ways I think the fingers gonna be so when you get to your subject it just lays it you know where the framing is kind of it can be as uncomfortable for you to get closer and with a camera as it is for them to have a camera for us towards their face at times it does help to establish some kind of acknowledgment that you are near them at times you need to take the shot as discreetly as possible those mobile phones tiny dollars a pop twenty Hong Kong dollars that's about two and a half US dollars so for ten years stories you can hear Paul phones bargain of the century if they weren't crap phones three things like it would a beautiful lady I feel like you need to rush it to get over sometimes you can spend a little bit of time in that zone with your subjects sometimes you have to let them get comfortable view it's not just the other way around well there are times when it has to be in and out in out in five seconds I like how every man expects a prostate inspection to be like but when you do do that in an hour business just don't scare them away your camera isn't a weapon there's a thing that people don't like having the photo taken by random who could potentially be a pedo a perv if you've least succeeded not dressing like a kiddie villain then your best not to behave in a Yogesh way Oliver you don't need to hunt people down you know when you're right in there in a deep think of it the way up you seen was considering whether your subject is going to bother you I think about what they're gonna do next quite often by the time you press that shot button they're really doing what you thought they wrote we're gonna do [Music] [Music] sometimes you know I swear sometimes you don't have to raise the Cameron to you I just look at what's going on and seeing what's interesting subjects you know in Jonathan I would love to see this spend all that time designing a phone put out on it that's me and it's me in 50 years it's one point to respect your subjects as well not just ones with meat cleavers and hands everyone obviously all this space is public space so you can take pictures of whatever is in that public space of course there's different interpretations of that means boundaries are blurred there's a fine line between being a an artist and an ass sometimes there isn't something happening in front of you for you to take that shot immediately you have to look at the subject and consider the possibilities wait and simple might happen for you to raise your camera and capture that moment or you might go away with nothing well that's how it is however there aren't times when you see something happen you just have to make sure you all setup and ready to quickly grab that shot some people might think that you need to hide to get a street shot without boring your subject but that's going away from Canada Territory and towards the voyeuristic side of things plus if you hide you could get into some serious trouble if someone finds out [Music] sometimes you have to be quite patient though sometimes nothing will appear when it comes just like waiting for bus keep walking and searching the streets of things of intriguing myths things are always changing on the streets there's lots of things happening on the same block within the short period of time look around and there's always a chance that you will see something interesting going on most importantly keep trying you don't always get that shot don't get caught up on there either there's always going to be another great shot out there you just have to be there to get that it's not always easy to go out there and take shots of people on the streets but give it a go and keep practicing oh and get rangefinder like a like go [Music] [Music] it was uh

Channel: DigitalRev TV

Views: 2,332,567

Rating: 4.8010826 out of 5

Keywords: DigitalRev TV, DRTV, Kai, Hong Kong, Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, DSLR, Digital Photography, Tips, Advice, Hint, Candid

Id: In5sR-tUhCM

Length: 10min 44sec (644 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 01 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/Inn-your-endo]

DigitalRev is more of an entertainment show than anything else. It's like Top Gear, Really enjoyable and very funny but take the advise with a pinch of salt. Although all the reviews they do, tend to be second to none. I love drtv.

[u/diamened]

One thing I absolutely disagree is when he says "no strap". I've seen people dropping cameras in many ways. I've seen a camera go down stairs without missing a single step. And people crying.

People: Use a strap!

[u/fdelys]

East Asia is one of the better, if not best, places for street photography. I don't know about Hong Kong, but in mainland China it isn't rude at all to stare at someone. Like, blatantly stare. That makes street photography a cinch there compared to somewhere like East Coast US, where people will often get extremely apprehensive the moment they see you approach with a camera.

I kind of wish he had done this in London- I watch videos of street photographers just to get a sense of how they walk around and interact. Videos of Charlie Kirk and Bruce Gilden are especially fascinating.

[u/Brendanr]

A lot better lesson would be to subscribe for the free 24 hour trial and watch this A Day with Jay Maisel

If you're into street photography this is can't miss IMO.

[u/headband420]

Contrary to what everyone else said, I enjoyed it. It wasn't terribly fascinating but it had some interesting bits, and some interesting photos.

[u/[deleted]]

He missed the most glaring "Don't" which is Don't carry your camera around like a fucking jackass like he did.

[u/[deleted]]

Well, that was a waste of 10 minutes. His "don'ts" should be obvious to anyone with half a brain. His "do's" are probably helpful, though, to someone who doesn't know shit about street photography.

[u/johnneyblaze]

Does anybody know any good Toronto street photographers?

[u/PathologicalUpvoter]

I love alamby!!!