Street Shooting Technique

[Trigeek]

Hello All,
Was looking for some tips for street shooting. I have started doing some street work and would like to get better at it. Last weekend I headed down to NYC and spent the day walking around the city learning this craft. One thing that I found was taking the time to focus and check exposure creates a lot of missed opportunities, I was wondering how others do it.

My take is the key is to preset exposure and focus so that the act of taking the image is instantaneous. When walking around, this does not seem an easy task. Is the key to 1) use depth of field to your advantage and shoot, say at f5.6 or above to maintain a range of in focus area, thus not needing to refocus? 2) As long as you are in an given area, set the exposure once then not worry about small fluctuations as the latitude of the film is forgiving?

I'm trying to learn to gauge distance w/o focusing to be able to quickly dial in the in focus area (allowing for DOF).

Does this sound reasonable? Are there other techniques that you use to shoot street?
Thanks in advance,
Jim

P.S. My camera is fully manual. no auto exposure or auto-focus.

 

[JayM]

I generally shoot at f/8-f/16. 400 - 1600 speed film. Sometimes shutter speed gets down to 1/60th in the shadows but that's part of the fun.

When I get somewhere I try to identify at least 3 or 4 general lighting environments that I'll be photographing in and get meter readings for those when convenient. Every once and a while when things are moving slowly I'll recheck them but unless the sun is doing weird things I find that I can pretty much use those readings from about 3pm - 5 or so pm. Maybe around 6 or 7 here the direct sun gets about one stop less bright. It's pretty obvious if you remember to be aware of it.

On a clear day the lighting behaves consistently enough that you don't really need the meter as long as you remember your 3 or 4 outdoor conditions.

Zone focus is a good idea. I try to visualize a couple different kinds of interaction I might want to photograph. Then, perhaps using a real person or situation as a guide, get and idea of camera to subject distance for your approximate preferred framing. I find that even when using something as long as 35mm I really only have two "zones" that I use. That being "very close to about a body length" and "pretty close to infinity(ish)."

Strategize!

 

[williams473]

I would add to that by encouraging you in more of a conceptual direction - it is quite possible to work rather deliberately on the street. Every street image doesn't have to be a quick "grab shot." You can take ample time to focus and compose - in fact it can be preferable. Grab shots are fine if that’s what you want, but in my opinion this kind of work is often a cop out of sorts for us when we do not wish to fully engage our subject, or we lack the fortitude to accept the responsibility for our actions. At our best, we see an image we want to make and we make it, despite who is looking or who we might offend. We’re not as sneaky as we think we are anyway – chances are when you think you’re on the down-low, several other people are watching you try to be sneaky… but I digress…

I agree that with a fully manual camera it's best to do your metering ahead of time, but it can be even easier - just load some 400 speed film, meter a gray card in whatever light you're shooting, set your lens to F8 and and just start shooting. And as far as focus goes, at F8 a wide angle lens like a 28 or 35 will have so much depth of field you won’t have to worry about being dead on. You can be pretty quick if you aren't fiddling with fstops and focus, leaving you an extra moment or two to frame and wait for the RIGHT moment, which is what's going to make your photograph work or not.

All that said, as you work on your technique also try and develop your sense of the conceptual -- try and sort out what's behind the images you are making. Why are you shooting what/who you are shooting? Why does this subject interest you? Challenge yourself - work a single city block for a while instead of always moving... Work when you’re bored… shoot where it feels uncomfortable. But in these challenges, know why you’re doing it. Even if the reason is “to get better at _____ technique” just know why you’re doing what you’re doing. All kinds of fun things to mull around that will help develop your photo-mind. Technique will only get us so far, although it is requisite to further development as a complete photographer.

 

[segedi]

Bill Cunningham is more known in the fashion world instead of street. But most of his photos are taken on the streets of NYC. And he's pretty bold, he doesn't mind you knowing that he is taking your photo. And he uses an old manual camera and shoots film!

I saw a documentary on him and it was very good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqiLJBXbss

He also does a video series http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/07/22/fashion/100000000961473/on-the-street-blue-chip.html

He has a highly focused subject, fashion. But his work does speak to my as a street shooter too.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Jim,

Read Derrière l'Objectif de Willy Ronis where he provides a selection of brilliant 'worked examples': the picture, and how it was taken. Zone focusing and guessed exposures are not obligatory. They can be useful, but are only actually needed if you don't have time or are too lazy/stupid to focus and set the exposure.

Having said this, if you don't play, you can't win, and there are several tricks that can make it easier to work quickly. Focusing tabs (or nubs, as on many ZI lenses) allow you to focus by touch, and familiarity with different lighting conditions, combined with an awareness of your shutter speed/aperture settings, will likewise allow you to change exposure to an appropriate level almost instinctively.

Wide-angle lenses give you more d-o-f but can also make it all too easy to have a lot of irrelevant rubbish around your chosen subject. This is why do many (but far from all) great street shooters used 50mm lenses

Of course, absolute familiarity with your camera helps: just shoot 'nothing' pictures of stationary subjects such as trees from time to time, to see whether you can focus and set exposure. Remember too that the penalties for overexposure (bigger grain, reduced sharpness) are far lower than the penalties for underexposure (empty shadows, poor tonality), so always err on the side of overexposure if possible.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Trigeek]

Hello all,
I just wanted to post a quick reply thanking everyone for the responses. While I do not have time to reflect on all that you have written now (my wife is calling me that we have to leave for an appointment) I will respond later in the day. I just want to point out that I am not asking this question in order to do "grab shots" or out of laziness, but mainly to give me more time to focus on the environment rather than the camera.
Thanks for all of the great advice, I very much appreciate it.
Jim

 

[ironhorse]

Roger..... is there an english translation of the Willy Ronis book available? I can only find the original french language version. Thanks.

 

[Turtle]

Keep doing what you are doing when it works and think about new solutions when it doesn't. I use a mixture of pre-focus (zone focus) but will focus properly if I get the chance. I set exposure on my manual camera and keep tweaking it as I move through changing light. Once again, if I can I will set the exposure specifically for the scene I am shooting, but sometimes there is no time.

The internet is wonderful and there are loads of articles out there on street technique, but ultimately one finds one's own way. I'm still learning a great deal. Every time I go out shooting I learn something new or improve what I already know.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

I do what ever is needed to get my shot. That might be zone focusing. But I always use AE.
As said not every street shot is split second. Stay longer on one place and try to anticipate on what will happen. Then you have more time to focus en set exposure.
It all boils down to practice and more practice.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger..... is there an english translation of the Willy Ronis book available? I can only find the original french language version. Thanks.

Alas, I do not know of one.But given it's a subject you already know, it can be surprisingly easy to revive school French.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Keep doing what you are doing when it works and think about new solutions when it doesn't. I use a mixture of pre-focus (zone focus) but will focus properly if I get the chance. I set exposure on my manual camera and keep tweaking it as I move through changing light. Once again, if I can I will set the exposure specifically for the scene I am shooting, but sometimes there is no time.

The internet is wonderful and there are loads of articles out there on street technique, but ultimately one finds one's own way. I'm still learning a great deal. Every time I go out shooting I learn something new or improve what I already know.

You have put it better than I. The main reason for my somewhat contrarian posting was just to point out that there is no 'one size fits all'. Listen to others, but don't assume they're necessarily right.

Cheers,

R.

 

[DNG]

I have also have started to try my hand at street photography.
I tend to use zone focusing right now. I have a Contax G1 with a CZ-G 45mm f/2.
I have 2 zones I use... F/11 on MF set at 3.4m on the focus wheel (7' to 25'), and f/16 set at 5m on the focus wheel, (6' to INF).

With the G1, MF is slow w/o zone focus. Plus, there is a slight delay before each exposure because the camera resets the lens to INF after each exposure. So zone focus is faster because I don't have to pre-af then recompose to shoot.

I also use AE MODE. with the G1, I can AE LOCK very easily with the shutter lock switch, when I need to adjust the exposure, I just move the camera to Meter the right areas.

Every camera has it plus's for adjustment.

 

[gdmcclintock]

Years ago I knew a brilliant jazz drummer who explained his improvisational technique as countless attempts to play what he was hearing. At the end of the set he would think about his performance in terms of musical successes and failures. This is how I approach my photography.

 

[bobby_novatron]

These are all really good suggestions. Lots of good info here.

Personally, I try to use F8 or above, if the light permits ... and 400 ISO film or higher. I'm also a believer in AE. For me, it helps quite a bit. It's not that I'm not versed in reading the light or 'Sunny-16' etc., but the AE helps remove one technical step and lets me focus a bit more on composing, etc.

From time-to-time, I'll practice my hyperfocal shooting ... or maybe use a 100% manual camera and practice my Sunny-16 technique. I try to constantly sharpen my (modest) skills.