Street photography without pissing people off?

[slackercrurster]

You have to be good at candid work plain and simple. You can't keep shooting people and stay candid unless you are doing it across the street with a telephoto. The ability to keep moving is the key to candid work.

My specialty is superwide, in your face candid photography and working very fast. I'm one of the best in the world. Seldom get caught...but every so often there is a ruckus.

No matter how great you are or think you are...no one is perfect and you will get caught.

What does it mean to be one of the best in the world at candid work?

Last month I shot 2 books worth of pix...about 500+ at the Marriage Bureau in NYC. I spent 3 days shooting 2 hours a day for a total of 6 hours. I was caught 3 or 4 times out of 500+ pix. The last time I was caught the pissed lesbian got a hard-on for me and started to get physical with me. At that point it was time to move on, so called it a day. I possibly would not have been caught at all, except you can't keep working candid, producing large numbers of photos in confined areas for hours on end. I had a time limit for the books, so had to produce within those limits.

In this day and age you had better be ready for a fight if you want to do in your face candid work...

People are pissed, esp the young ones. They also have a delusional idea that you need permission to shoot in public. If confrontations are not up your alley...stick with sunsets and flowers.

...I was in my 60's when I shot all these.

 

[slackercrurster]

Now...Weegee gives the answer in this interview about what it takes for street work.

https://archive.org/details/WeegeeTellsHow

The formula for great street photography is:

1. The ability to be a good asshole.
2. Having a great eye.
3. The skill and ability to record what you see with candid photography.

You can see if you are missing any one of these components, you wont cut it in the world of museum quality street photography. You can be the greatest asshole in the world, but if you lack an eye, the vision and technical skill to record what you see in any lighting condition, that very instant…then you are just a untalented asshole.

Don't want to be an asshole?

Don't shoot without permission or shoot from a block away with your long lens hiding behind a car. But the majority of this type of photo forum street work I see smacks of…‘Hey look at me, I just shot a mishmash of strangers on the street that don’t mean a anything to anyone.’ These photos usually only hold interest to the photog that took them and maybe the people in the photo.

That type of work is what I try to avoid…and I avoid it by getting personal with my subjects. And getting personal with strangers is where the need to be an asshole comes in.

 

[darkosaric]

Photoshop face swap with an individual who’s granted permission.

Or you can photoshop yourself instead (google images of "Aphex Twin windowlicker")

 

[NB23]

Thing is, I LOVE to piss off people.

I raise my camera and then a guy tells me I’m not allowed. I was waitig for that moment.

He then starts explaining me how blabla this and that and I’m like “yeah blabla, and oh by the way you can feqkoff too”. And I move on with a smile.

 

[oneANT]

Now...

I know nearly all those photographs you posted, I remember them, where did I see them? You showed them somewhere but they were smaller ..and omg how large are they here

cant stop staring at them ...am stuck, someone pry me off
omg awesome
ant

 

[oneANT]

I said to a guy once that his photo was good, next day he bought the drunk a bottle and they both took the train and he took some more photos while the drunk abused the passengers, I always talk about street online as if some idiot with a drunk was listening.
There was a post on line recently about an anti-street mob forming, I do not know if it was true but in some places safety is a problem and another time I was talking to a guy that lived in a dangerous place, he want to do documentary and do it quietly...we exchanged ideas for a few days, then he tells me, he and his wife have just had a baby.

Did any of you ever see that guy that used to do in a way so he got punched ..and he would photograph that. (lol)
I shouldn't have come on strong about the candid, but I know a lot of kids with spectrum problems, and one of them would like to make himself a bit too famous ...and he wants to borrow my camera and lens

 

[darkosaric]

My specialty is superwide, in your face candid photography and working very fast. I'm one of the best in the world

Not very humble , but I know your photos from before - I must admit that those are best fisheye candid street photos that I have seen.

 

[slackercrurster]

One of the problems with candid photography nowadays is that cameras are dummied down, esp the lenses. Manual controls are hard to access or non existent. While Weegee said there are no candid cameras, only candid photogs. Some cams are more conducive to candid work than others.

If you cannot do good candid work try infrared flash in the dark.

Candid...

You still need candid skills - you are not invisible, but the darkness can be a help with keeping you undercover for photogs that are scared to confront people with their cam.

 

[slackercrurster]

Not very humble , but I know your photos from before - I must admit that those are best fisheye candid street photos that I have seen.

Well, you are right. Not very humble. But it is what is needed for my style of street work. You have to have an attitude that you put getting the photo above all.

The legendary Samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi would advise his students to ‘think only of cutting’ when in battle. This same strategy is what I do when shooting on the street….I think only of getting the shot.

As I've said in my blogs, you have to be a little off your rocker to shove your camera in a strangers face at 2 am. And if you stick your cam in the holy water bowl in St. Patrick's...that makes you an asshole.

Here is a quote from my blog on this subject...

There is a high chance the hardcore street photog is going to have a different attitude, personality and ego than an anal landscaper or startrail photog. The street photog may not be as anal as the tripod photog when it comes to technical aspects, but their nature shows a different anal aspect when it comes to their personality.

The street photog may have to work outside of normally accepted societal conventions if they want to get the shot. As such, that special ‘anal aspect’ the street photog must posses can be summed up in the vernacular thusly…success on the street sometimes involves being an asshole.

If you don't want to be an asshole, then beside the aforementioned telephoto street work, you can do 'artistic' shadow work or juxtapositions, etc. You can stay a distance from your subject and not bother them as they walk in and out of shadows or walk by funny signs and ads. But my goal is not to bother people. My goal is to get the shot candid, as close as is needed.

Now, I do try to inject a little humility in my statements. It is easy to get a big head. So I say I'm one of the best and not the best. And really no one can say who is the best since we do not know everything and every photographer's work that is under the sun.

Also, having a strong belief in your own work also helps with the inevitable soul crushing rejection you will most likely receive from curators if you aspire to put your work in museums, which is what I do. So I know I'm good, even if the curators treat me like a homeless man offering them a sack of shit.

As far as fisheyes?

I specialize in circular fisheye photography as well as infrared flash photography. Whenever I read about an genre that is poo-pooed by the photo forums I take it up to see what can be done with it. That was how I got into circular fisheyes. I also like working close to people and you have to be 2 to 3 feet from a person to fill the frame with a circular fisheye.

Take this photo...

'Pinky' The Grove, L.A.

You have to make due with the lighting as it is if you want to shoot candid. If you don't want the subject looking at the camera you don't have a lot of tries to get the shot. You have to do it in 1, maybe 2 tries, especially since you are very close to them. Now, luck is always a factor. This was shot from the hip. Sometimes the photo turns out good, sometimes not.

This last photo is candid. Just walked through the crowd on the beach shooting people.

The problem with fisheyes is: you have to be close (sometimes I just can't get close) and they get too much in the photo. They also get the sun in the photo a lot of times. And then you have your feet in the photo too!

 

[Arthurwg]

I personally dislike fisheyes, finding the format rather ugly. When I shoot wide in the street it's with my SWC, often shot from the waste or the chest rather than with the viewfinder. Zone focus works well with the SWC. My advice? Work quickly. With 35m I use auto-focus. I do ask permission on many occasinns.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I never cared for the fisheye and have passed up several opportunities to get it for the Hasselblad. I like the SWC much more and use it.

 

[darkosaric]

I have only fisheye Lomo - always wanted to get Nikkor fisheye, but I know I would not use it a lot, cannot justify the investment. But Lomo is fun enough for me - from time to time .

 

[NB23]

Shooting candid close fisheye is actually extremely forgiving and doesn’t call for special skills, I’m sorry to say.

I’ve done it before:
The extreme closeness to people always makes them think that you’re shooting past them.
Also, they don’t compute that the shot you took 12 inch from them will reveal anything.

It’s hands down the easiest form of “in your face” photography. Still, sometimes a few striking shots can be achieved, thanks to the dynamic of the fov.

 

[oneANT]

Well, you are right. Not very humble. But it is what is needed for my style of street work. You have to have an attitude that you put getting the photo above all.!

I like what you said, you backed it up too mate.
Respect.

ant

 

[cliveh]

What I don't like about fisheye is that it is not how we see with normal angle of our eye, even taking account of peripheral vision.

 

[slackercrurster]

An important question to ask yourself and be honest with is; do you have what it takes to do great street work? (Now don't discriminate between outside street candids with indoor candids when they are both called 'street'...same tools, same skills, same balls. And inside may even be tougher. Whether inside or outside, they are all candid street or doc work to me and I work the 2 genre seamlessly.)

If you will never have what it takes to do great street work, there is no use wasting your time. Either you have a natural disposition and talent for street work or not. So why not work on what you can do great and be the best you can?

As a curator I see this all the time with artists. Some are natural geniuses, others struggle to be mediocre. The mediocre ones may have taken lots of classes and have advanced art degrees. The genius has never been to art school. The mediocre artist will never approach the genius no matter how hard they try...they are always struggling to just produce mediocre work. For the genius it is like breathing...effortless production of masterpieces.

Back when I started out in the early 70's I wanted to be a fashion / studio photog. I could not afford to go to Art Center in L.A., so I would hang around students going there to try and pick up some ideas. Sometimes they would even let me sit in on classes. I would see the same talent range with the photog students at Art Center. Some students came in with class assignments fair, others produced great photos almost all the time.

After trying studio for a few years one day it finally sunk in I don't have the talent, disposition or nature to be a great studio / fashion photog. So, I decided to try street / social doc work and took to it like a fat kid eating pizza...and I never looked back. If I had stuck with my dream of fashion / studio work I would have never amounted to anything with my photography.

So, you will have to determine if there some little missing link that is holding you back from doing great street work. Or are you a lost hope and had better decide to move on to a different genre to shoot? And I stress great, because in this day and age, with 2 billion cell phone cams at large, you must be great to get even a piddely amount of attention.

Now, if you don't care about getting your work out there, getting shows, getting into museums or selling your work through galleries, then none of this matters. You can use your street photos, no matter how crappy they are, the way many artists do...to pass time as a hobby or to try and make sense of their world. But for those that aspire to do more and are failing at it, you had better have an honest conversation with your photographer about their realistic talents and abilities or you will never be happy.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Street photography is not for me. If I see something I may photograph it, but I am not going to wander around searching for it. If one wants to do street photography, or any other type of photography, they have to expend time, effort and money to product good consistent work.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Tell me how do you take photos of complete strangers on the street without pissing people off, or how to blend in a way that they don't even notice you.

It requires more work than any other type of photography.
That's why it has such value.

 

[Russ - SVP]

It requires more work than any other type of photography.
That's why it has such value.

Very true.

 

[JLeichtPhoto]

I try to stick to downtown areas if I want to stay hidden. Made the mistake of wandering into a more residential area a few years back with a couple friends, and almost got an axe thrown at us after taking a picture of the dude's Buddha statue on his porch from the street. You'll end up with more text in the backgrounds of your photos, but people won't have their fireplace shotgun at hand to threaten you with.

Something I do when I'm out is to frame a building, and spend some time fiddling with focus until the person in frame thinks they're not either in focus or in frame. I tend to work my way up to getting more confrontational images throughout the day I'm out, and a busier street definitely helps with getting more eyes and faces in frame than the backs of heads. The street you photograph on is just as important as how small/quiet your camera is. I'd wager you could take the Pentax 67 out into NYC and shoot just as unseen as someone with their Rollei 35 or Leica M6.

 

[Arthurwg]

Wide angle lens, autofocus plus programed exposure. And shoot from the hip or chest.

 

[gone]

The street you photograph on is just as important as how small/quiet your camera is.

Very true. Big cities are usually easier to shoot in too. I'm not gonna confront anyone on the streets to get a shot, that sounds crazy (because a lot of people these days on the streets ARE crazy. And stupid, which is a lethal combination).

I favor the "invisible photographer" approach. You have to practice this, but I swear it works. Having at least a 90 lens w/ 35mm cameras helps, but it's just a mindset and attitude that you have to get into. It has nothing to do w/ technique or gear, you simply blend in and work quickly w/ a smile.

I often make candid 1 minute pen and ink sketches of people in cafes and coffee houses, so that keeps me in practice. Honestly, if you have to think about any of this, you're screwed, it has to happen by instinct. Keep your eyes open, be aware of your surroundings, get the shot, smile, and move on. If you have to think about any of this, it will fail. Thinking kills the whole enterprise.

 

[NB23]

Funny, I often beat myself for NOT thinking enough while shooting on the street... thinking with a SHARP and CRITICAL mind is definitely what gives the edge to otherwise bland photography.

I understand what you say for not thinking too much, clicking the shutter has to happen in a flash moment with no interference. But the thinking part is absolutely omni-present. Whenever I see Brilliant street photography I always believe it has to come from a very smart person, how could it not?

 

[MattKing]

The version of Street Photography I prefer includes engagement between me and my subject.
I've done a little bit of the other type - more when I was younger - but I'm not particularly good at it.
Does "dockside" photography count?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I've done street photography, but never target people. All the misanthropes out there will catch my drift....