Tell me about your stealth street shooting technique

[Neare]

The 300mm f2 looks ... 😀

 

[israel_alanis]

I found Cartier Bresson video, these are the links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqsOYsZlPX4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjjGiBUaf4s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnunLXYTzyQ&feature=related

Regards.

 

[tanel]

What camera you use and when and how you pull out the camera doesn't matter as much as what happens just moments before and moments after the shot.
People around here are not that used to street photographers and I can't really say I know many people who do shoot street that much.
So, observing when it's right to make eye contact and how to act after the shot makes all the difference.

 

[Lilserenity]

-Second method is use my TLR's in which case no special technique is needed since everyone assumes you are some sap fiddling with a dumb old antique.

That sounds about right, you can do all sorts with a TLR...

Bile Air by Vicky Lamburn, on Flickr

I'll fetch the suitcase from the van by Vicky Lamburn, on Flickr

It's surprisingly a good discrete way to take pics is a TLR!

Vicky

 

[Arjay]

Great photos Gregory!

The thing about using telephoto's for street shooting is you have to be looking ahead and be aware that swinging a large lens up from your side can draw unwanted attention from your subject. So I try to make my motions smooth and measured.

I think this also applies to shorter senses. It occured to me in the recent days while shooting on the Oktoberfest that any sudden movement I make is actually drawing my subjects' attention.

When I watched Gary Winogrand taking street pictures (great video & link btw), I saw he is constantly keeping his camera near to his face, so he can pull it up to his eyes covering just a small distance in a clearly unhurried move, definitely not jerking it up all of a sudden.

I'll have to explore that point some more ...

 

[surfer dude]

Israel, thank you very much for the links to the HCB documentaries - they are very instructive!

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Thanks Arjay. I really appreciate it.

 

[ederek]

on Pre-Focusing for static subjects (relative to shooter):
1) Imagine a sphere, with the camera at the center and the subject distance determining the radius.
2) Identify another object that sits on the imaginary sphere surface (the same distance away as the subject).
3) Bring rangefinder (or other camera having focus-lock) to eye and focus on the alternate object
4) Bring rangefinder to eye, compose with final subject and press shutter (<1 second). OR, can also point camera and frame without using viewfinder for the shot. Self timer can also be used instead of directly pressing shutter.

This allows fairly accurate pre-focusing without pointing the camera in the subjects' direction until the final moment the shot is taken.

When determining exposure, use a similar method but point to an area with similar lighting as subject, versus distance.

Done in the fiddling style of GW, it can be very effective without being 'stealthy' and hiding.

 

[maenju]

thanks for the thread -- as a newbie RF guy interested in shooting on the streets more often, it has been very informative indeed.

the first and so far only time I used my RF for street shooting I was following the "being stealthy by not being stealthy approach" -- since being stealthy as a tall white guy in Manila is impossible anyway 😉 so of course I was being noticed, and I actually made a lot of eye contact, smiling and saying Hi occasionally, and I found that no one really objected to my photo taking...
I found zone focusing to be very effective and easy to learn, though I still need to get a grip for the right distances, f-stops and exposure times. anyway, a few first attempts...

 

[yanidel]

Shooting from the hip is giving up the balance between content and composition. It just leads to plain bad pictures in my opinion, unless you get very lucky.

 

[dansanphoto]

Tell me about your stealth street shooting technique

Well, I have sometimes shot 'from the hip' or a bit above after calculating aperture, lens, etc. I have come up with very interesting shots, although is always not as precise as if I am looking through the viewfinder.

Here is a photo I keep among my favorites. Shot with my FM2 and 20mm. (I'm even holding a bag on the left and you can see the lens).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansanphoto/5012624956/in/set-72157624881420655/

Shooting from the hip is giving up the balance between content and composition. It just leads to plain bad pictures in my opinion, unless you get very lucky.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Very nice shots, Vicky. I've really been missing my Rollei twins quite a lot these days. I agree that looking down into the Rollei really disarms subjects on the street.

Maenju, excellent first efforts. You really nailed the focus and composition with your interesting subjects. You're going to be great with the rangefinder -- keep going.

Dansan, I really like that shot. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
















Summilux 35 1.4/50 1.0 Noctilux on Leica MP/M7 on 160 ASA film.

 

[dansanphoto]

Thanks Nikkor AIS! I wiil be soon shooting with a new M9.

 

[Arjay]

Shooting from the hip is giving up the balance between content and composition. It just leads to plain bad pictures in my opinion, unless you get very lucky.

I agree with you that it's very difficult to visualize camera FOV if you're literally holding the camera at the hip. However, the closer the camera is to your face, the easier it gets.

I found using the method I described (holding the camera just below my chin, looking sideways), it's fairly easy after just a little practice. Of course it helps to get really close, because the difference between what you see and what your camera will be capturing is not that great.

 

[dmr]

Do you shoot "from the hip" (even if you don't hold your camera at hip height)?

More like waist height, arm at about a 90 degree angle, that's more comfortable for me.

How do you hold your camera (if you don't hold your camera at hip height)?

When I don't want it to be obvious that I'm taking a photo, I'll hold the camera with one hand, usually the right, and guess on angle and level. See example below.

How do you make sure you have a good camera-to-eye coordination if you're not using the viewfinder?

I don't. 🙂 It's a guess. 🙂

What are your recommendation for a rule for the longest viable shutter speed (considering how you hold your camera)?

I'm sure I shot the below example at 1/30 or 1/60. It depends. I would use a faster shutter speed in the day.

What camera do you use (RF or SLR)?

RF or P&S. I would never use a SLR for discreet shooting. (>>>KA-WACK!<<<)

Zone focus or autofocus?

Zone focus (guess focus) on the RF, auto on the P&S as there's really no choice.

On the example below I saw an officer questioning the driver of a car with the front end jacked up high, and I thought it might be an interesting shot. (Actually so-so, but it's when I did not want to be obvious.)

I guessed on the focus, held the camera at waist height, turned sideways and pretended to be paying attention to something else, and took the shot.

 

[israel_alanis]

Here is a photo I keep among my favorites. Shot with my FM2 and 20mm. (I'm even holding a bag on the left and you can see the lens).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dansanphoto/5012624956/in/set-72157624881420655/

It is a great shot indeed Dan.

About hip I hold my camera up to my stomach or my shoulder to move a little up, left or right my hand (no hip style indeed), with zone focus and with wide lens is rare you loose your shot, but of course, nothing as view trough viewfinder.

I have luck to hip some shots for example.
This shot was side

this one over the shoulder to my back

and this was over head to back

These are how I hold my camera for each one respectively.

I do not trying to say these are the best shots, just to show how it can gives centered, focus and nice composition.

Regards.

 

[dantes]

I found Cartier Bresson video, these are the links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqsOYsZlPX4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjjGiBUaf4s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnunLXYTzyQ&feature=related

Regards.

This video is amazing. Though I wish there was an English subtitle version somewhere.

The glimpses of HCG taking street photos with a 35mm were great. Seems he is great at composing the image without the camera - and then quickly looks through the viewfinder and snaps a photo within seconds.

 

[ebino]

In that Video you never see his face properly. That's how serious he was about his privacy and anonymity.

 

[rbsinto]

When I'm out on the street, I'm schlepping three cameras when I'm going SLR or four when I'm in a rangefinder frame of mind. I'm always wearing a vest so there is really nothing stealthy about me. I'm big as life and ugly as sin.
I shoot from eyelevel looking through the view finder, or from the chest, or the waist, at arms length with the camera down low or above my head, all depending on the circumstances and whether I need not to appear to be taking a shot or not.
Using hyper focus, and wide lenses of course works best for the "shooting from the hip".
From the chest:

from down low at arms length:

from above my head at arms length:

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Nice shooting, Rbisnto.

Like me, you're too big to hide 😉. Thanks for showing some excellent examples of your work.