Shoot From The Hip

[dfoo]

As usual, Al's words of wisdom are right on in this area. And it doesn't always have to be from your "hip". Sometimes I've had the camera on my shoulder against me neck, just as long as its not obvious I'm using the camera...

Actually, these days I probably shoot about 80% with an 'M' without looking through the viewfinder. ...

Its a pity, if you had looked through the viewfinder you could have composed that nice picture better...

 

[funkaoshi]

You can get better with practice, but I find with hip shots you end up with poorly framed photos -- peoples legs or arms chopped off, etc. There are some nice photos above, but you can see where it would have helped for the camera to be tilted down or two the left, etc. Of course, sometimes situations are so awkward you really don't want to snap a photo like a normal person, but I think that ultimately your best bet for good photos is to look through your viewfinder and snap what you want to.

That said, it's not hard to get reasonably good at taking photos like this. You just need to develop an eye for how much of the scene your camera captures. It's easier with a digital camera, in that you can learn as you go.

 

[craygc]

Its a pity, if you had looked through the viewfinder you could have composed that nice picture better...

If I'd looked through the viewfinder I probably wouldn't have got the picture 😀

 

[russianRF]

I do generally prefer taking pictures using the viewfinder, doing 'street' photography by holding the camera up to my chest when I'm not framing through it.

At the same time, I've done a few slightly out-of-focus shots from the hip that would have been nearly impossible to get correctly framed; indeed, it might not have been safe to do so. Safety trumps 'proper' technique. Beyond that, it is an artistic decision.

Finally, though I personally prefer framing by eye, I would like to caution people against too much critique of street photography composition. By definition, street photography is a fluid, spur of the moment activity. Capturing the decisive moment is more important than the decisive framing. I think it's important, then, to look at street photography composition with a more relaxed eye. Conversely, if a street photograph hasn't captured something decisive, something charged with the impulse of the moment, then it's not as compelling. Street photography should give the photographer more compositional latitude, but only because the street photographer has other, more demanding elements to attend to.

 

[amateriat]

Lots of really good work here (marke: that last one is riveting).

Winogrand might wince at all this (he wasn't exactly thrilled about this technique), but while this isn't something in the top of my photographic trick-bag, it has come in handy quite a few times.
Getting exposure and focus right, IMO, isn't that big a deal: with a high-enough ISO rating (film or digital), and doing the hyperfocal thing with a WA lens, you're pretty much set. The two big things to get sorted are (1) composition, and closely related, getting (and keeping) the camera level, except for when you want it not to be. Trix' first example demonstrates putting the camera deliberately off-level can be eye-catching, but that rarely happens by accident. It's related to the old saw about knowing the rules well before you go off and break them.

And, in this realm, I feel, gear does matter: smaller over larger, single focal-length over zoom. Never mind the guy with the motorized Nikon F in Costa-Gavras' film Z (the movie that likely launched an army of shoot-from-the-hip pros and amateurs...hell, as a kid, I sure thought it was cool); you want small, quiet, and, ideally, single-focal-length.


- Barrett

 

[Bob Michaels]

I never hesitate to shoot "from the hip" when I think it will result in a meaningful perspective to a photo. Actually for me it is "from the belt buckle" since I never use a strap. I just hold the camera with both hands.

Stealth just does not seem to be a problem even holding the camera with both hands, winding film, and making multiple shots. People just seem to refuse to acknowledge me photographing them so long as I keep talking to them and never look down at the camera. I recently shot six frames of a guy sitting 3 feet away. He just kept looking right into the lens as I fired away, manually advancing the film. He never said a thing.

 

[sonwolf]

If you practice the "Shoot From the Hip" technique, at what height do you like to hold the camera, relative to your body?

Additionally, do you favor holding the camera in front or to the side of your body?

 

[wallace]

As usual, Al's words of wisdom are right on in this area. And it doesn't always have to be from your "hip". Sometimes I've had the camera on my shoulder against me neck, just as long as its not obvious I'm using the camera...

Actually, these days I probably shoot about 80% with an 'M' without looking through the viewfinder. Its all about practice, practice, practice. I find working with a 35mm lens is fine down to about f/4 and I can adequately judge distances between about 1 ~ 4/5 meters, which is my usual working distance. Every single photo in this collection Guessed Distances was shot with a Nikonos V and a 35mm lens. Every shot had to be distance guessed and really its not that difficult

Have I seen that picture before? If I remember correctly, it was part of an article about scanning, right?

Thomas (wallace)

 

[nightfly]

 

[J. Borger]

I very seldom like the results of this technique because of sloppy/ random compositions.
However...i do hipshots once in a while myself but i feel a coward taking pictures in such a "sneeky" way.
When the results are good they do not satisfy because they feel like "lucky shots" to me.
So in fact there is realy no reason for me to do hipshots. Nonetheless i sometimes do, mostly when i am hopelesly uninspired.

Just my 2 cents.....

 

[craygc]

Have I seen that picture before? If I remember correctly, it was part of an article about scanning, right?

Thomas (wallace)

It amazing how you remember things from different places - yes your are correct. I had even forgotten until you mentioned it 😀

 

[dfoo]

I must admit, I like the perspective of some of the shots. However, it seems to me then shooting from the hip is done basically because the photog is afraid to put the camera to the eye to take the shot.

 

[FA Limited]

takes some intestinal fortitude to do any street photog, usually i don't have it

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

nightfly, that second photo...at first glance I thought "why'd he even keep that one, it sucks," and then about two seconds later I thought "AWESOME!!!!"

I love how the woman in the far background has the wrong foot in the air...which of course is why she's fallen behind!

 

[user237428934]

I think the phrase "shooting from the hip" goes back to the days of cowboy movies and Wild West shows. Yes, there are people who can draw a gun from their holster and shoot a thrown soda can in mid-air without ever sighting down the gun barrel.

Framing a photograph while holding the camera in one hand and not raising it to your eye is about the same thing. You need to get to the point where you what your lens's coverage is, and develop a sense of judging the composition as it will appear when viewed from the camera's viewpoint, not yours.

This isn't something you'll want do with a zoom lens. You'll be lucky to get adept at it with a single focal length, so the zoom is just excess weight and bulk.

In archery there is the traditional style or "instinctive shooting" where you have no aiming device on your bow. You look at the target not on the arrow. This needs a lot of training of hand to eye coordination. This applies also to shooting with a colt from the hip or a camera from the hip. It's just a matter of training.
I think the training effect with a digital camera is better because you directly see if you aimed right.

 

[DougFord]

[FONT=&quot]To me, shooting from the hip means not using the viewfinder and positioning the camera for the desired perspective.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Using a 28mm lens I probably use the vf about 20% of the time, with the 35mm about 40-50% of the time, with the 50mm about 99%.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The wide FOV combined with shooting objects 6 feet away pretty much makes the experience like shooting a sawed-off shotgun. You’re gonna hit what you’re shooting at. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Approximating and projecting the frame lines, out into 3d space, isn’t difficult with repetitive use of one of these focal lengths. This allows you to position the camera for a different perspective, without crouching down or climbing a latter.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I primarily use 28/35 focal lengths because they don’t require me to position my noggin in the same place as the desired perspective.[/FONT]

 

[marke]

Lots of really good work here (marke: that last one is riveting).

- Barrett

Thank you kindly. I had been watching/listening for a minute or two as I stood behind the cop. It's actually wasn't as bad as it might look, as the cop was just turning down his radio to hear the seated man speak. This was during one of Milwaukee's gallery walks and I think someone called in just because they didn't like him hanging around there. I don't think he was actually harming anyone. 🙁