Tall photographers

K

Krzys

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Aug 1, 2009
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Do you ever find that you start to get lazy and not bother bending down for a photo.

It seems that whenever I make a day of shooting street I start to shoot from eye level a little too much and every single photograph is from a tall persons perspective :bang: Its fine if there are a couple of shots but not when it starts to become a visible habit.

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Do you bend with your back or kneel down? How do you stop it from interrupting your flow?
 
It just dawned on me that at least when I use a WLF I am high enough that people don't look like giants toppling over backwards in the photographs.
 
I have never even considered the height thing, guess I'm happy to move around until i find the right position to take the shot from.
I'm only 6'5" so maybe not tall enough :) to have that problem
 
At 53 and 6'5" what I really need is a Hasselblad with a waist level finder !

Jolly good idea another excuse for a G.A.S attack :)
 
A Rollei might be nice but I'm holding out for a 'blad

There has to be some advantage to being tall and i will accept Hasselblad ownership if that's what must be done
 
Try IYVF!

Try IYVF!

Being 6'4" myself, this sounds like familiar problem to me.

For this reason, I am practicing what I call IYVF (ignore your viewfinder) photography: I use my Hexar with a 35mm or 28mm lens and hold it at waist level, either in portrait or landscape orientation. I use the camera strap to form a loop around my wrist to secure the camera from accidentally being slapped out of my hand.

This has an added advantage: I can set the loop in such a way that the camera is stabilized by the right strap lug (seen from behind) in portrait orientation, so I can use fairly long exposure times. Also, if the loop is set correctly, my index finder will intuitively rest on the shutter release, so that actually taking the shot is a breeze.

Of course, I first had to practice a bit guessing my camera's field of view and aiming it right, but it's a lot easier than it sounds.

Here's an example of a shot taken in this technique:
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Any advance on 6'6" (1.98m)? Good for crowd scenes but otherwise looks like I'm using a step ladder. I've recently become quite keen on using my Rolleiflex T for making scenes look 'normal'.
 
I have tried shooting from the hip and it takes practice. Honestly in a city like Brisbane things are boring and it is hard to find a person interesting enough to shoot. Most times I'd rather guarantee the shot than practice hip shooting. I still find something interesting every day though. I think of it as training for when I goto Vancouver and Toronto.
 
You know... I never really thought about it but you're right... my street shots from my TLR always look more...natural? than a lot of my shots with an RF, guess I should practice bending more :) Everyone's always told me "oh... you're so lucky you're tall" but really all it means is a can reach the top shelf in the kitchen but I bump my head on doorways, public transit seats are always too small and know I find out it sucks for street shooting too!
 


Taken with a Leica M7 and a 15 Voigtlander on E6, cross-processed in C41.

Even though I'm 6'3, sometimes I wish I had more height:p.
 
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