What is your favourite subject to photograph?

W

wierdcollector

Guest
Just curious as to what everyone's favourite subjects to photograph might be. For myself, when I shoot black and white, I prefer old buildings and classic cars. With colour film, I prefer wildlife, flowers and landscapes. With the occasional car race or airshow photo thrown in for good measure. I'm not too keen on photographing people, only because I guess I feel too self conscious and am not blessed with the gift of gab to put them at ease. Some of my favourite people shots are classic black and white photos from the Depression era, just wish I were that talented. There is something magical about a close up of gnarled hands from a life of hard work or a wizened old face remembering a time that used to be.
 
If I have to choose a favorite I think it's pretty clear, people, people and... people.

When I check some of my albums from time to time, the pictures I like the most, have, in a 90%, and in some way or another, people involved. Unfortunately, I can't find models as easy as I'd like :(

The best pictures usually come when they start to ignore you, after half an hour pointing here and there with your camera... they start thinking you're part of the furniture ;) I love taking pictures of people talking or doing their common tasks, and not looking at the camera as if they were waiting me to say "cheese" :p

and yes, B&W for people's faces, I love it.
 
Like Taffer, I prefer much more to photograph people. Flowers are fascinating, and so are insects, but they bore me quickly. People, in contrast, are always fascinating subjects.

Well, I must admit to have a certain soft spot for my cat. But, all in all, people win. If I could make a living out of this hobby, I'd like to shoot portraits. Yousuf Karsh was my hero!
 
most of my pictures involve my family (kids, wife, dog), photographed in some sort of activity or at an event. my biggest problem is that they are sick of always having a lens pointed at them, so they are not photo friendly subjects. the rest of my pictures are sports related, usually either tennis or karate. i am starting to play around with macro photography but i'm finding that it's not as easy as it looks (much like a hooters waitress). i need alot more patience to try to prefect this type of photography.
 
Solares, Yousuf Karsh was many people's hero in portrait photography - including mine.

Has it already been a year since he passed away?

Amazing eye...

His photography is also a direct reason for me looking into LF portrait photography (and Nixon, Mann, etc).
 
My son, my son and my son are my favorite subject. I get a lot of very good thousand word shots of him, and some, "yeah that is ok" ones too. I just feel like I have been able to capture my thoughts of him in those good images.
 
My favorite subjects are people, particularly in social and political interactions and conflicts. I enjoy street photography as an art and a game. Even my landscapes usually feature evidence of humanity somewhere. As a compulsive snapper I have a bejillion pix of friends, family, pets and their accessories. I have tried my hand at darn near everything with more or less success and liked it all, but always return to folks.
 
I'm with taffer... In going back over years of pictures, the ones that hold the most interest involve people... or mannikins that appear to be people, or even people pretending to be mannikins. :)

I took this on head-first recently, beginning a project to poke my camera in people's faces as I would normally be hesitant/reluctant to do. I do not like to impose. So I'm starting off easy on myself by choosing townspeople who I deal with in a business way... pinned down at their place of business, up close with a fairly wide lens on an RF!

I think this is gradually building skills for photographically approaching strangers with confidence and pleasantness.
 
I tend to enjoy photographing subjects that don't move very fast... like tombstones. :) Seriously, although I've taken a few good people pictures in my time, it's not my strong point. I like to take my time, work a subject, look for color contrasts, shapes, shadows, etc.

Recently, I've started to give myself assignments. The one I'm working on now I call "City Dock Morning" - I go into Annapolis (about 6 miles from my house) early weekend mornings and try for shots that say "Annapolis" and have a "morning-ness" about them. You can see the first batch of photos at www.geocities.com/srosenbach/citydockmorning.html -- but in the service of full disclosure, I took these with a Canon A40 (2MP) digital camera.

If you go back to www.geocities.com/srosenbach and follow the links to "Soviet photography" and "Pictures from the '70's...", you'll see real *rangefinder* photos. The B&W photos from the 70's were taken with a Leica IIIc, the "Soviet" ones indicate which type of camera was used.

Best regards,
SteveR
 
Old decrepit buildings and run-down areas

Old decrepit buildings and run-down areas

My absolute favorites:

http://www.growlery.com/westbottoms/page_01.htm

The "West Bottoms" area of Kansas City. Wow!

On the other hand, I'm trying very hard to learn to take street shots of people. It's harder than I thought - I apparently lack courage!

Anyone have any tips to offer?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Bill, you might start by shooting people you know; those outside your circle of friends and family but whom you encounter in your normal activities. The plumber, the barber, the insurance agent, etc. They know who you are and there are reasons for contact other than photos. Ready victims!
 
Ah, here we are... I was trying to recall how to include a photo in the reply...:rolleyes:
 
Doug said:
Bill, you might start by shooting people you know; those outside your circle of friends and family but whom you encounter in your normal activities. The plumber, the barber, the insurance agent, etc. They know who you are and there are reasons for contact other than photos. Ready victims!
Click to expand...

I agree that's a very good idea! My situation is somewhat unique, though. I travel for a living, and I am home only 18 hours per week or so. I fly home on Saturday afternoons, and fly out again on Sunday mornings. There is NO ONE I "know" whom I see, other than my wife, whom I have a bazillion pictures of. I even cut my own hair - no time to see a barber.

Essentially, because of my job, everyone I see is a stranger except my wife, and when I see her, I have, umm, <i>other</i> activities planned.

I agree that for 'normal' people, that's a great suggestion!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
what about lunch hours? grab a quick bite and walk the streets. you can be a tourist and include some people in your shots.
i assume you stay in hotels, that another place to shoot. walks at the end of the day, etc.

joe
 
backalley photo said:
what about lunch hours? grab a quick bite and walk the streets. you can be a tourist and include some people in your shots.
i assume you stay in hotels, that another place to shoot. walks at the end of the day, etc.

joe
Click to expand...

Yes, good ideas! Of course, I'm back to taking pictures of strangers - I need to learn to do that. Hotels are not such a good idea - you have no idea how many people stay at hotels who would prefer <i>not</i> to be photographed! They see a camera, they think I'm a private eye or a cop and scatter. Some get angry.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
sorry bill, guess i lost site of the original messege.
can i ask some questions first?
what is your 'fear' when taking shots of strangers?
do you expect them to act in a certain (negative) way?
how much of this type of shooting have you tried?

some tips-
the invisible method- my belief is that if you stay in one place long enough, you become invisible. i used to stand at busy bus stops and shoot people looking at store windows, people walking by and of course people waiting in line. i never did get on a bus.
in shopping areas, inside & outside, there are often benches to sit on. sit on one and shoot people walking by. you get a different perspective shooting at their waist level.
a great place is any kind of festival or outdoor event. everyone has a camera and you rarely are noticed.

2 other things. i had a hat made up with a logo and the words 'back alley photo' printed on it. no one notices enough for it to interfere with my shooting but if they look upset, i point to the hat. i also printed some cards with my logo and ' back alley photo' on them. i hand them out if someone questions me.
i always remain calm and friendly and tell them i'm just an amateur doing my hobby for myself and that they are welcome to free prints of anything that turns out well.
i have yet to have any trouble. (knock on wood)

hth,
joe
 
backalley photo said:
sorry bill, guess i lost site of the original messege.
can i ask some questions first?
what is your 'fear' when taking shots of strangers?
do you expect them to act in a certain (negative) way?
how much of this type of shooting have you tried?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have to admit it, I have a fear of a negative reaction. I've only tried a few times - that picture I posted was one of them.

some tips-
the invisible method- my belief is that if you stay in one place long enough, you become invisible. i used to stand at busy bus stops and shoot people looking at store windows, people walking by and of course people waiting in line. i never did get on a bus.
in shopping areas, inside & outside, there are often benches to sit on. sit on one and shoot people walking by. you get a different perspective shooting at their waist level.
a great place is any kind of festival or outdoor event. everyone has a camera and you rarely are noticed.
Click to expand...

Those are some good ideas, thanks! I especially like the idea of going to outdoor events - I think that would work great to get started!

2 other things. i had a hat made up with a logo and the words 'back alley photo' printed on it. no one notices enough for it to interfere with my shooting but if they look upset, i point to the hat. i also printed some cards with my logo and ' back alley photo' on them. i hand them out if someone questions me.
i always remain calm and friendly and tell them i'm just an amateur doing my hobby for myself and that they are welcome to free prints of anything that turns out well.
i have yet to have any trouble. (knock on wood)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the tips! I thought of having some business cards made up as well - I may actually do it now, since it seems to work well for you!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
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