hip or eye %

[david_higginbottom1]

hi all,

 

A quick and dirty question. What percentage or your shots are

shot "from the Hip" and what are "through the viewfinder by eye". For

me its about 75% hip 25% eye. I'm trying to reverse this to 100% eye.

It looks to me like the majority of the "greats" shot by the "eye".

Is that what makes them great?

 

thanks

 

Dave

[bruno]

Do you have a camera with waist-level finder or do you shoot without seeing? Sometimes, see what you take on picture turns out useful. I shot only twice in my life from hip (and I mean, two photos), and they were shit.

[andrew_lee2]

<i>It looks to me like the majority of the "greats" shot by the "eye". Is that what makes them great?</i> <p>

No, what makes them great are things like editing and vision, which have nothing to do with using a viewfinder. With practice, you can visualize what you'll get on film even shooting from the hip. Ken Heyman's 'Hipshot' portfolio is one famous example: <p>

<a href="http://www.kenheyman.com/results.tpl?command=Search&db=photos.db&eqcategorydata=Hipshot%20B%20%26%20W&max=6&rank=off&catVar=Hipshot%20B%20%26%20W" >link</a> <p>

<a href="http://www.kenheyman.com/results.tpl?command=Search&db=photos.db&eqcategorydata=Hipshot%20Color&max=6&rank=off&catVar=Hipshot%20Color" >link</a> <p>

[Spearhead]

I shoot about 50/50 and just take it as it comes. This is one of my favorite hip shots:<p>

 

<Center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/images/sfsmokersq.jpg"><br><i>

SF Smoker, Copyright 2002 Jeff Spirer</i></center>

[Spearhead]

Sometimes I prefer that eye level gets a reaction to me...<P>

 

<center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/spain/people/images/sleepingvendor.jpg"><br><i>Market Vendor, Copyright 2005 Jeff Spirer</i></center>

[david_higginbottom1]

Hi,

 

Well a succinct answer from Bruno ?I shot only twice in my life from hip (and I mean, two photos), and they were shit.? Top rate comment..

 

I agree with you Andrew ?you can visualize what you'll get on film even shooting from the hip? and I do carry out this in practice, but, generally, my shots have more in common with Bruno?s, this stems from a mainly technical point of view, focus, missing heads, etc.

 

Dave

[m_.]

i suspect a lot of "great" shots in this forum are hip shots, though i don't practice much myself. it is less fun and little chanllenging for me. but others can argue otherwise.

[jenna_g]

I mainly shoot with a big freaking DSLR--no waist level finder here. I'm experimenting with different techniques, but I would say at least 95% are shot at eye level. Maybe 1-2% are shot from the hip. Maybe 1-2% are shot at chest level with my camera resting on my...well boobs! I think there are times when eye level may not be the best choice, but I'm not yet good at judging distance and anticipating my framing unless it's eye level. I don't think I've posted a hip shot yet and only one chest shot.

 

I have noticed I've been more in-your-face the past two weeks. In the past when I sensed someone saw what I was doing I would either walk away, or pretend I was looking elsewhere. Now I've been getting closer without caring as much which has lead to a few recent confrontations. 99% of my shots are still candid, but because of my approach more seem to notice me right after the shot.

[jenna_g]

Yep I'll crawl on the ground sometimes too. By shooting mostly at eye level that doesn't mean I'm always standing. I'm usually on the move (walking) but sometimes I get to an area where I like to observe. I'll sit on a bench or on the ground and then shoot things around me as they happen. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to shoot in the street.

[thomas_sullivan]

I have no idea what my ratio is. I do have the camera, be it the small hexar or digicam or film/digital SLR, attached to me via a wrist strap.............so it is always at hip level just walking around. Even with the Mamiya TLR anymore, I use it with the hand grip and rarely around the neck.

 

I would say, though, that the probability of being raised to the eye increases as the focal length goes up...........little tough to hip shoot with a 100mm lens (even on a film cam, let alone a 1.6x digital)........although it has been done.

 

I find a 35mm lens on film cams or a 20mm lens on 1.6x DSLRs the easiest to shoot from the hip with. The width (long dimension) of coverage is the same as distance from me to subject.......a neat little trick to remember for eye balling things. I can pretty much even get the frame edges right anymore.

 

I do agree with Jeff on the cam to eye thing with getting noticed.....if I want eye contact in a shot, raising the camera to the eye right in front of somebody is sure to capture it. Perhaps a little verbal abuse too.......but, actually more of the time a nice little smile can happen...

[bruno]

I don't know... I realize that I sound a little bit stupid whit that comment, but I don't see any reason for shooting "blindly" (yes, you can visualize, but it's more like a lotto) from the hip.

<p>

When I want to get a lower viewpoint, I bend on my knees and take the picture looking through the viewfinder. It's much faster than it sounds, and you have more control over the picture.

<p>

<center>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/3196812-lg.jpg"><br>

<i>I focused and exposed while talking with the guy, then went down on my knees, composed and shot, hop... standing again</i>

</center><p>

Shooting from the hip sounds to me like the 10000 monkeys who want to write a piece from shakespeare. I know that with numbers you can get lucky, but I prefer a higher degree of control, at least I can blame myself when I get bad pictures and not my hip :)

[mike dixon]

<i> I don't see any reason for shooting "blindly" (yes, you can visualize, but it's more like a lotto) from the hip.</i><P>

With a little practice, it can be fairly accurate (though not as precise as using the viewfinder). Much better odds than playing the lotto.

[bacsa]

Null procent hip. Except when i shoot with a TLR :)

[kipling]

Depends on how much time I have. Hip, chest, shoelaces, whatever, all fast alternatives,

otherwise I'd rather get my knees dirty and frame with the viewfinder. <p>

Whatever it takes, as long as you get the shot.

[edmo]

<i>"...yes, you can visualize, but it's more like a lotto..."</i>

<p>

Larry Fink sure does win a lot.

[bruno]

Didn't know Larry Fink, but it looks great... is this a conspiracy to try to convince me to shoot from the hip?

[edmo]

nah, it's not about shooting this way or that way. probably more along the lines of whatever works at the moment. guys like larry fink use the same cam and lens and in most cases with a flash so he knows or sees what he's getting without using the viewfinder.

 

the guy who shot my wedding did the whole thing blind with a pair of m4's with 28's and a vivitar 283 on hp5. shots look great and not one posed shot....

[john_sidlo]

mostly hip (from the neck strap) - mostly with an effective 35mm (24 on the d100). Like Jeff and Tom say, depends on whether you want eye contact, or completely candid. Looking through the viewfinder is a little more accurate, but with practice you can do almost as well "from the hip".

[david_higginbottom1]

Hmmm, I think the answer for me, maybe to try a wider lens, say 35mm, don't really like 28mm or wider, I'm currently only using a 50mm usually shot at F2.8 to f5.6, hence the lost heads, missed focus and all round poor results. I shoot from the hip or lower for the compositional (is that a real word!) aspect of the image, but bobing up and down at this level with your eye at the viewfinder doesn't exactly lead to true candids. I think I'll mark myself down as a "must try harder". A lot of my "hip" shots are the result of shyness really.

 

Dave

[bruno]

I'm curious to see the photos or your wedding, edmo... I'm just wondering if they're on the style of your recent subway shots... that would be the coolest wedding service I've ever seen in my life.

[thomas_sullivan]

wow........Larry Fink has got the "from the hip" down to a fine science.......thanks edmo. I knew some of the pics, but never knew the guys name (VERY bad with names, I am....heh, pics I can remember)

[andrew_sowerby]

I'd say I shoot about 80% eye and 20% hip. NB: By "hip" I don't mean hip-level, just shot without looking through the viewfinder. Most of the time, composing through the viewfinder is a much better choice, but not always. <br><br>

 

Sometimes I go for the hipshot because I can't get my eye to camera and still have the angle I want, like these shots taken with my camera in the air: <br><br>

 

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/andrewsowerby/92230021.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <br><br>

 

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/andrewsowerby/92230018.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <br><br>

 

Sometimes something unexpected happens and you've got to be very quick to get the shot off. If I had taken to the time to compose this shot at eye level I probably would have missed the action. <br><br>

 

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/andrewsowerby/57160019.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> <br><br>

 

I shoot mostly with compact P&S cameras with fairly wide lenses (43, 38, 35, 32) and with some practice I've found that I can "aim" quite well.

[edmo]

Bruno, I sent you a note...

[dg1]

I've been getting more and more into using my A2 like my old TLR. I like visualizing that way. The 1.8" LCD combined with my eyesight, doesn't allow me to dwell on the details as much as the distribution of the composition in the frame. I think for me that helps me shoot faster because I have a tendency to get hung up otherwise.

 

I read that for a while William Eggleston used his Leica with no viewfinder, but I don't know which of the pictures I've seen were the result. It would be interesting to compare the eye vs hip shots from a master like that.

[Uhooru]

This is all pretty interesting. I don't shoot from the hip much, but I want to try that as I do miss shots. When using a 50, I probably wouldn't, but it should work with the 35 for me and I have a decent idea of the frame of the 35 w/o looking. Hmmm report back w/pics:)