What do YOU look for when "Street" shooting?

In searching through recent past posts, I think we can agree that

street shooting is multi-faceted and can mean different things to

different people.

 

I'm curious what the individual PN photographers hope to find when

out street shooting. Do you look for people with interesting faces?

Do you look for people doing everyday things? Or do you look for

something out of the ordinary? Is there any particular street shots

that really interest you more than others?

 

Some of you, I think, look for pretty young girls to photograph and

impress with your photo (and other) skills but that's a whole other

subject. LOL

I look for interestng things going on, or some type of event. If I see an interesting person, I will sometimes take the shot, sometimes ask if I can take their portrait. Mostly though, I like to look for the unusual going on.<div></div>

Sometimes faces<div></div>

And, sometimes social commentary<div></div>

I normally don't look for a scene but rather wandering aimlessly and if most of the time I don't even know why I'm taking the photos. Probably because that scene amuse/upsets/confuses me or something related to my emotion at that time. For example, I like this shot because I was suffering from the cold, wet and windy days in winter. To other people, it might be just a snapshot not worth keeping.

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<i>Some of you, I think, look for pretty young girls to photograph and impress with your photo (and other) skills but that's a whole other subject. LOL</i>

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Eh...guilty as charged. But so far they are not impressed (they won't see the photo anyway). Most likely they will think "What a pervert! Taking photos of me without permission!"

I sorta look for something unexpected, kind of idiosyncratic events, that call attention to themselves and interupt what I thought I was looking for beforehand.

 

I always pay attention to what's happening with the light also.

as in all genre's of photography, I look for the light first. Now that could be light that already has the subject in it, or it could be that the way the light falls is right, and I wait for someone to walk into it.

 

...then what catches my eye....in that light.

 

The real answer though is I shoot what I see...if it makes enough of an impression on me, I shoot it. And, honestly, it dont take much at all for me to press the button.

 

But, you have to be open to anything. Everytime your mind asks "should I shoot this".....the answer is YES. Even if the shot fails, figuring out later why it failed is invalualble information for the next time.

Thomas Sullivan says: >>>>But, you have to be open to anything. Everytime your mind asks "should I shoot this".....the answer is YES. Even if the shot fails, figuring out later why it failed is invalualble information for the next time.>>>>

 

Tom - This is just excellent practical advice. Hits home with me. I'd call it "profound," but though I've never met you my sense is you'd cringe at that label.

 

No wonder you excel at this.

I just keep my eyes and mind open and my finger on the shutter. When something trips my brain, the shutter reflex is not immediate, but the decision to shoot is. The decision is entirely intuitive/emotive for me - no morality or hidden motives - I see something that captures my attention, any attention (repulsion, pity, amusement, admiration,...) and I start to maneuver to catch it - sometimes immediately, and sometimes by readying myself while waiting for some moment of interaction, and sometimes by slowing, turning around or moving to get a better angle.

 

Like Tom, light is a big thing I notice, but less frequently do I wait very long for the right actor to appear on the scene. Being more patient is a very good strategy, practiced by some of the greats, but I just don't do it that often - I'm usually impatient to be moving on, looking for the next, different, opportunity.

 

Part of the enjoyment of doing this is getting a great shot, but the greater is the pleasure that accompanies the zen-like state of heightened sensitivity I feel when sauntering about.

One thing I look for is the contextural interaction of one or more persons within a particular location. I enjoy observing people sans camera, learning about their use of locational space, and then anticipating their actions for image capture.

 

I am never concerned about being "ever-ready" for fear of "missing a shot". I miss an infinite number of "shots" while I sleep, while I'm "here" and not "there", and while I type on the PC, so I don't care about what's going on while I'm "not ready" to shoot. However, I do feel disappointment when what I am anticipating to recur doesn't occur. But learning to anticipate behavior is what makes street photography a most rewarding experience.<div></div>

<i> What do YOU look for when "Street" shooting?</i><p>

 

Criminal activity.

i didnt know you shot self portraits jeff.... <img src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons6/19.gif">

I have greatly enjoyed all these answers and the photos that are included with them. Kris, you're shot is great. I love the wet look of the street and empty chairs. The woman with the umbrella is icing on the cake. Did you wait long for her to come by?

 

It seems, to me anyway, that street photography is very personal. More personal than portraits, landscapes or still life. Street photography is about what moves the photographer. What one photographer might see as interesting or unusual can be mundane to another photographer.

 

I live in a mid-sized Southern California community. We have no tall buildings or fire escapes. Few rainy days and, unfortunately, not enough cloudy blue skies either. I guess this is why I'm so taken by street shots of others. What I really need to do is find something that could be considered interesting or unusual on my own streets.

Melissa, the magic of light and shadow is universal, even if not at all times. Although a pretty young girl doesn't hurt this photo, the character of the wall shadow actually beckoned that I wait for just the "right" subject to walk into the "frame". By the way, this was shot within an indoor shopping mall, an extension of "street" that is probably available to you, too...<div></div>

kris, would you mind letting us know what camera/ film combination your picture was taken with, ive just spent a good 5 minutes staring at the texture and sharpness of those chairs! my b&w doesnt seem to end up like that. has the image been altered at all in photoshop? sorry to bug you and sorry for going off topic but im trying to learn all i can at the moment. thanks again all

From what I see on here you just need people, outside of their homes. They don't have to be doing anything but just as long as they are outside of their homes then it's probably street photography. If you can have a sidewalk and the wall of a building as the background all the better. It's more 'street' with concrete. As you can see above it's also helpful to have a prop or some other noticeable object to juxtapose with that person. Or, the easiest way is to find a suitable background...like a wall with posters, and just let the people walk past and photograph them that way. You have them sharp or with motion blur. If you can superimpose them with a poster that shows irony, such as a homeless person and a Guess ad then you add social commentary to the photo. No longer is it just a photo of a person but now it brings the question of a class system to the forefront of everyone's mind.

 

However, personally I prefer photos of pretty girls. If you are going to photograph people doing nothing they might as well be young, pretty and hopefully wearing low riders :)

i agree with andy

Grant: pffff!

"on here" is what gives andy away. writing styles don't change with the names ;)

I do what some people call non-photo. It's a style of street photography that goes

against any rules in photography. It's pretty simple but you must need a manual

camera. You can't focus, you can't use meters, and you can't use your view finder.

All you use is the shutter release and your eyes to see the image. Set the camera at a

set focal length and walk to and away of the shot to estimate the focus. And that's

all. Snap away and you'll be amazed at the out come.

lets see some amazing examples

Faces and backgrounds.<BR>

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For me it's all of the above. The worst thing I think is to limit oneself to a particular theme. Why limit yourself? You may miss out on something else while your mind is planted in a narrow field. I think the more a person shoots in the street, the better they become i.e. the better eyes they develop. I've been doing street for years, but mainly with a camera that had auto everything. All I had to do was press a little on the shutter release and the camera did everything else. This was a good way for me to learn what kind of shots I go for. For the most part, I like getting close and keeping my focus on a individual. Rarely does my street shots include more then several people. I think the most important factor in street shooting is to really know your camera. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I had a real winner of a shot as I pressed the shutter release only to print up my contact sheets and see my shot lost due to freshman mistakes like over/under exposure, camera shake ect. So make sure you have a handle on photography in general or you'll be kicking yourself like I am over all the should-have-been great shots that of course you'll probably never be able to take again.

Cheers,

Marc

Andy who?

can someone show me how to post images so i could show some samples of non-

photo?