rate your street shooting confidence/aggressiveness

[350D_user]

Somewhere between 2 and 3.

 

[gns]

I've never had a problem photographing people in public. Once in a while I've gotten a dirty look from someone but mostly people don't pay much attention. I think it is mostly a matter of your demeanor. If you look like you are having fun and doing nothing wrong, people are generally fine with that. I am always out in the open and up front about it. I do not shoot from the hip or try in other ways to be sneaky about it. If someone looks like they really don't want their picture taken, I usually give them a nod that says, "Ok, I won't bother you" and move on. As in many things, a sense of humor can be helpful.

Having said all that, I would agree that times/society have changed over the years and people seem a little more suspicious than they were 30 years ago. Sad. Take a look at the picture in my gallery of the swimming pool (taken in the seventies). I imagine it could be a little easier to get into trouble these days shooting pictures through the fence of kids at a public swimming pool.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[PetarDima]

somewhere betwen 1 & 4😛
I'm not joking.

BESSA R2M, Rokkor 4o mm

 

[Bobfrance]

I voted 3. But like most others it varies wildly.
You sometimes you just get a feeling whether you should shoot or not.

Today I missed a really good potential shot because I was hesitant approaching a couple of people (I couldn't be quick or subtle, there was just muself and them in the middle of a field). I felt I had let myself down and this steeled my will - I later got a shot of a couple in a confined space that I think should be pretty good, which I may not have taken otherwise.

And after all that internal turmoil I don't think they even noticed.
It just goes to show!

 

[back alley]

99% of what i shoot i consider to be 'street' or 'urban black & white'.

99% of the time i just shoot without regard or concern for my subject.
i don't try to hide the camera or my actions. if someone waves me off or indicates they prefer not to be photographed then i back off - this is a hobby and i want all my limbs intact so i can continue to enjoy myself.

i never/rarely shoot kids anymore, not worth the potential hassle for a 'cute' shot.

somedays i go out with the goal of practicing hip shots or just doing buildings/shapes/shadows...non people shots.

and some days i never take the camera out of the bag as it's just not happening for me.

joe

 

[hammerman]

i was always a 4. but in 1979 i was in new Orleans being a No 4, spotted a wild and wonderful looking older woman, shot her in rapid fire mode on an M3 and she came straight at me screaming in Creole. i did reel back but kept shooting until i got away. a local tradesman who saw the event took me aside and told me i had just had a spell cast on me, that she was a voodoo woman. since then, for whatever reason, i am a convicted 3. sometimes 3.5, but i take a bit more care now.

 

[Doug]

Well, I'm not afraid to hold up my camera and take someone's picture. Most of the time I do hold it long enough to let the person knows what I'm doing, or I simply ask for a permission to do so. Sometimes I will get rejected, sometimes I will get a friendly smile and take some pictures. It's nice to be able to "interact" (e.g. a little chat) with the person you want to snap so know some history about her/him beside the image. And it makes the image more meaningful.

I am not big, but I look friendly, harmless, and a bit aged. “I am invincible” would be overstating it but not by much, and yet sometimes courage escapes me and I’m back to square one as a wuss. I rarely do a hip shot, preferring at least tacit acknowlegement from my victim. I like to go wide and get close. Agree with Nevin’s approach.

 

[reagan]

...being at an event and acting like a tourist makes it easier for me to take photos of the public.

That's usually me. Fairs, open markets and the like, no problem - get the shot. In cafés, businesses or every.day sidewalks I'd rather have some interaction first and that isn't always so warm, so I pass. Like others, I have no intention or desire to tick someone off over my hobby. My "big" has gone to my middle-aged backside and my knees are too shot to run. 😱 So, invincible? No. Patient? That's better.

 

[MartinL]

Here is my most successful street shot (nudity warning):

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=13389

It was at an event. (Fri.13th, Port Dover, biker meeting) This gal knew I was there, knew I had a camera, and she went ahead and did this.

Some people in public act in a public capacity. That is, they expect to be seen. These are people who bare their boobs, who play a musical instrument, who march, or who, in any respect, might expect others to notice them. I have no qualms about photographing these people. Others----someone who doses off on a subway, someone who's talking on a cellphone (fully 30% of all street candid street shots?🙂), someone who is sipping espresso in a cafe, someone who has taken no affirmative action to be public, but is only "pretty" or has a craggy face---these people are legally fodder for my images, but I don't even want their photo unless they are engaged in some action or context that tells a fuller story (apologies for "going on" about this theme).
Martin

 

[cellison]

&uotI'm new to street shooting but from the bit I've done I find that I don't get too freaked out when people confront me. After taking a picture a woman came running over to me and said "What are you taking pictures of?" to which I replied "Everything". She then says "Did you take my picture? I want $20!" I could tell she wasn't kidding so I said "Actually, I'm taking pictures of everything except you". and turned away. She stood there for a few seconds then turned and walked away.

Later that same day after shooting a picture of a general street scene with many people in the frame a woman comes up behind me and says "Taking sneaky pictures I see." in a very disapproving tone to which I replied "Not sneaky at all... just capturing what I see". She say "No one knew you took their picture so that's sneaky." I replied "No one is supposed to notice... that's the point." I turned away and she went on her way.

I'm trying not to hide the fact that I'm shooting and if someone gives me "the look" I won't shoot.

Shooting from the hip feels especially uncomfortable to me. I'd rather just be up front about what I'm doing. Also I don't want to leave the framing to random chance. 🙂

Chris

 

[Ducky]

I'll shoot at a fair oe event if there are other peoplr with cameras.

She was a vendor selling her art.
This has been getting the most hits on my pbase galleries for almost a year.

 

[back alley]

This has been getting the most hits on my pbase galleries for almost a year...

must be the, ah, art work 😉

 

[vodid]

i was always a 4. but in 1979 i was in new Orleans being a No 4, spotted a wild and wonderful looking older woman, shot her in rapid fire mode on an M3 and she came straight at me screaming in Creole. i did reel back but kept shooting until i got away. a local tradesman who saw the event took me aside and told me i had just had a spell cast on me, that she was a voodoo woman. since then, for whatever reason, i am a convicted 3. sometimes 3.5, but i take a bit more care now.

Wow Hammerman, you most likely took a photo of the infamous Bead Lady. She was probably dressed almost all in black, and everyone around here always knew enough to give her a wide bearth. Sometimes I explain to people that New Orleans celebrates eccentricity to a fault...we've got people that are yes, eccentric, but also troubled and problematic and someone to avoid. That said, I did feel sad when I heard that she had died. Everybody around here has stories about her, me included. Are the photos of her posted online anywhere? I'd be nice to see them. Me personally? I've never had the nerve to raise my camera in front of the Bead Lady. Luckily, you were naive and did not know what you were doing, and therefore, you've got a rare photo of one of the "non-photographables" in my little corner of the world. Let's see it!

 

[gb hill]

Wow Hammerman, you most likely took a photo of the infamous Bead Lady. She was probably dressed almost all in black, and everyone around here always knew enough to give her a wide bearth. Sometimes I explain to people that New Orleans celebrates eccentricity to a fault...we've got people that are yes, eccentric, but also troubled and problematic and someone to avoid. That said, I did feel sad when I heard that she had died. Everybody around here has stories about her, me included. Are the photos of her posted online anywhere? I'd be nice to see them. Me personally? I've never had the nerve to raise my camera in front of the Bead Lady. Luckily, you were naive and did not know what you were doing, and therefore, you've got a rare photo of one of the "non-photographables" in my little corner of the world. Let's see it!

You never thought of taking a #2 of the infamous bead lady. Or were you too afraid of her spells?😀 I have always liked the song, House of the Rising Sun. I always heard it was a brothel in New Orleans, Is it real or fictional. I would like to see pictures of it if it's real. I would like to see the bead lady too.

 

[thomasw_]

an undefined three. i try to ride the line between being a rude, 'get the shot without regard to the people' and a timid, confident-less shooter. i see myself as disciplined, patient and sneaky in my street shooting. my no.1 method is to appear to be shooting something else than the scene i will eventually turn and shoot. the rf is perfect for this both eyes wide-open "crooked-eye" method because one eye is always free from the vf and no one can tell for sure which eye the shooter is concentrating on.

 

[Avotius]

Two days ago I was at the chengdu train station, there were 5-6 people sitting next to the ticket office on the ground shooting heroin. Needles, chemicals, reptile like skin, and everything in plain sight. I snapped one photo then a few moments later a police man walked over and looked at them then walked off, I snapped a second photo of the police man walking away from the drug users within 2 meters of the police man and the users in the same frame. The drug users were still there later on when I came to catch my train.

 

[JimG]

Is this aggressive? Or is it inappropriate? Does it speak for itself or does it require explanation? I'm posting it because it's provocative.

 

[Keith]

I think aggressive is a misleading term and shouldn't be associated with street photography ... I'm not out there to pick a fight or prove anything! 😛

Assertive would be a better description of the frame of mind needed to stick your camera in someone's face ... so to speak. I have trouble with it and I'm only a little guy ... so I do feel vulnerable at times. If I was six feet four and 120 kilos it would make me less liable to get done over ... but I'd feel no less uncomfortable about invading someone's space!

I guess it's like spiders and snakes ... when I came to Oz I was paranoid about them ... now I pay them no heed and I'm not frightened of them. De-sensitizing is a lengthy process and the only way to achieve it is constant exposure to the source of the fear! 🙂

 

[payasam]

Agree with Keith. Friendliness is likely to go much farther than aggression. Sometimes, though, one must defend one's right to take pictures without harassing others.

 

[hammerman]

vodid and gb hill, i will look out the negs of that day. they are buried in boxes as would be much the same for many of us. it was a memorable day but not unlike my former job. i had just left seven years in germany as a civilian "independent" photographer for the mixed allied forces, often finding myself in places "independent photographers" weren't supposed to be. that was a "2" job with the adrenalin of a "4." but i was young and unbreakable. so having a spell cast on me seemed an equal risk to being shot, i reckon. today, i live in a sleepy part of australia where no one believes my stories...just as well. i will look out the negs and see if i can get a scan. that is another thread i have started here...scanning problems... stay tuned, as they say... dj

right, i have just looked out the negs...sat'dy night here and got no life... i found two images which show her displeasure at my attention to her...i will scan them in the next days and return to this post with images as well as in my gallery if they are printable. to be honest, never printed them so this will be an exciting journey. looking at my other landscape negs of that trip across the US in 1979 i must have thought i was ansel adams... never mind. we'll see what comes up, eh? she had black clothes, a hard face and thick gray long hair...sound right?