Shoot or risk a swap ?

[yanidel]

Imagine you are in Paris in front of the town house and suddenly you see a couple starting to kiss (yes ... the Doisneau kiss). This could be the shot of a lifetime yet, bad luck, you have you 90mm lens on ...

What do you do ? Shoot or swap for a 35mm ?

Assumptions :
- the kiss will last between 3 to 10 seconds (you don't know how passionate they are...)
- the most you can include the town house in the shot, the better.

Options :
1) Swap immediately to 35mm, you risk to miss the shot if it lasts 3 seconds.
2) Stay with 90mm, do the best, yet this might not be the shot of a lifetime.
3) Take a quick shot with 90mm, swap to 35mm. If the kiss last less than 5 seconds, you miss it with the 35mm.

The theme behind this thread is obviously, how do you react in case of having to take a quick decison. Stay with what you have or gamble and swap ?

 

[maddoc]

... there is one option missing in the poll, "I raise the second camera, having the 35mm lens mounted, to my eye" 😀😎

 

[MickH]

Personally, I'd avert my eyes 😱 and leave the couple to their canoodling.

 

[ron1945]

do not lose the moment

do not lose the moment

😱 take the shot , i lost a few changing lenses.

 

[nbphoto]

Never walk round with the 90mm mounted. Change to it when the situation requires, then change back to the 35 or 50 after.

 

[Jamie123]

Well you could just change the lens and, if necessary, ask the couple to kiss again.

Personally I'd just keep walking and remember that if I wanted to take photos of kissing couples I could always become a wedding photographer. 🙂

 

[Pherdinand]

i can't believe i am the first one to choose the last option 🙂))

What's wrong with you, dudes?

PS: i would first shoot with the 90, then swap lenses and shoot again, and only then ask the guy 🙂

 

[Colman]

Just zoom out.

What?

 

[kipkeston]

Anyway I assume this applies to any situation you get caught in with the wrong lens. Take the shot with the 90 and learn to never mount such a long lens on the street ever again.

 

[teo]

And option 4: make some steps back? (lose just 1 second...)

 

[yanidel]

And option 4: make some steps back? (lose just 1 second...)

No room behind ... Had Doisneau done that, he would have found himself sitting on someone's lap (restaurant terrasse) or banging against a wall 😉

 

[januaryman]

And option 4: make some steps back? (lose just 1 second...)

Somebody call an ambulance! Some jerk just walked out into the middle of the street. Backwards! The bus driver never saw him. 🙄

 

[teo]

"The bus driver never saw him"
That's why it's called the photo of your life! 😀


Seriously, I'd try option 2, I've got a screw mount!

 

[elude]

That's the reason why I work with one lens at a time, there's no room for such a question in my mind ! 😉

 

[teo]

he would have found himself sitting on someone's lap

That would have been another interesting photo! 😀


(and about Doisneau, I've heard that the kiss photo was staged, it wasn't casual at all 😕)

 

[sojournerphoto]

Avert my eyes and then stage it later with actors

the D'Oisneau way🙂

 

[marke]

Never walk round with the 90mm mounted. Change to it when the situation requires, then change back to the 35 or 50 after.

That's probably the way I would use a 90mm, if I had one. I would never keep that lens on for long, unless I was immersed in a specific scene that I had chosen it for. And then I probably wouldn't have noticed the couple kissing anyway.

Now, if for some reason this situation still would have occured, I would have grabbed one shot with the 90mm, possibly even risking falling in someone's lap if I backed up. After that, I would switch lenses and hope for a second shot.

 

[yanidel]

That would have been another interesting photo! 😀


(and about Doisneau, I've heard that the kiss photo was staged, it wasn't casual at all 😕)

Yes, it was staged. Doisneau joined in and the boyfriend took the shot ... 😀

 

[antiquark]

Eliminate the decision in advance: leave the 90 at home!

 

[BillBingham2]

If I were walking out for a street shoot I would only carry the two lenses and it would take about 3 seconds to pull it out of my pocket and mount it on (dual rear lens caps rock!).

I was thinking of the step back but as it's was squashed (instead of me), I'd go with the switch.

B2 (;->