zachlong Posted December 2, 2005 Share Posted December 2, 2005 im thinking abut heading downtown and photographing homeless people etc. ive never done any street photography, how should i go about taking peoples photos? should i just do it and be discreet about it? thanks alot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bljkasfdljkasfdljskfa Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Just do it. Most won't care. If they don't like it, then don't provoke them to get angry, walk away. Some homeless and regular people as well love attention. My and as you'll probably see your biggest problem will be your inhibition, not their reaction. On the other hand, I've gotten close to being hit before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan_auch Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Everyone get close to being hit, but most never do. Just be respectful, and listen to your gut. Take two rolls of film out with you and say 'these two roles I can shoot anyone and anything, and then after I can be timid, but for these two I can shoot anything' and do it. You begin to enjoy the rush, and it turns from fear to something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arond a. Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 What's the attraction with homeless people. They're easy targets. Try rich people. See if it isn't more challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Try the 'Columbo' approach - eccentric, slightly distracted, and by the time they've figured out what you're about you've got the shot. An eccentric hat (e.g.large maroon velvet fedora) also helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kemmerichphoto Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 I shoot them often....try not to flash any cash...sometimes they want something....most all of them smoke....walk and talk like you belong and keep your head up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Why do you want to photograph homeless people? Is there something you have to say about them? Or is it because they seem like monkeys in the zoo, helpless to stop you? Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
over exposure Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 That's a good point, even talked before... Shoot if you're truly honest about it..IF is just show, choose another subject, please.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Jeff's question to you is on point. What is it about homelessness you want to photograph? Not trying to nix your idea but you must have something in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbinner Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 and if you have to shoot them, please don't post the pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 No I want to see the pictures. What they show will have a lot to do with your attitude which is why the question <i>why do you want to shoot the homeless?</i> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachlong Posted December 3, 2005 Author Share Posted December 3, 2005 whats the differnce if i went to some foreign country and photographed some very poor people in a village? why do other people photograph homeless, people going through hard times, people in disasters, etc??? i wanna show emotions, in my photographs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erin.e Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Show some real guts Zach, get closeups of 6'4" 275 lb bikers on the piss, just "Walk right up, sit right down, make sure you bring a joint along!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 <i>iwhats the differnce if i went to some foreign country and photographed some very poor people in a village? </i><p> If you're photographing them like they're in a zoo, it's the same. However, people go and shoot with a purpose. I've shot in very poor Zapotec villages (and other places) to show the similarity in human spirt, the family values and commitments that seem even stronger in the face of adverse living conditions. You haven't expressed anything like that, in fact, the opposite when you say you are "heading downtown and photographing homeless people etc."<p> <i> why do other people photograph homeless, people going through hard times, people in disasters, etc??? </i><p> People don't often just photograph the homeless, but they do shoot hard times and disasters as documentary or news (pj) work, not as a cavalier jaunt downtown.<p> If you are really interested, I'd recommend spending time over a few months working as a volunteer in a soup kitchen and getting to know the people. Then you might be able to take some worthwhile photos. Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lb- Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 to expand on jeff's idea...... how about this as a project. go ahead and head downtown and "take" some photographs of homeless men and women. THEN spend some time working a soup line or outreach program and getting to know some "homeless" as the individuals that they are and take some more pictures. Then compare your images and see what differences there are. that sounds like an interesting project. to see how your own preconceptions and bias changes. "whats the differnce if i went to some foreign country and photographed some very poor people in a village?" that's a question for you to answer. What's the difference between any people anywhere? I want to shoot pictures of rich people (because they pay more). Is there a difference between the rich people here in california and ones I might shoot in Monaco? "i wanna show emotions, in my photographs." poverty and homelessness are not emotions. anger is an emotion. disappointment. Despair. You want to take photographs of these emotions go to Toys R Us and take pictures of the parents who couldn't get whatever this years must have toy is. Exploring the differences in socioeconomic status between various populations is a good thing but it's important to remember that these "populations" are comprised of individuals and it's at the individual level that you find what you're looking for. Just grabbing shots of people who are suffering at the bottom of the ladder (in any given society) for the sake of having some "emotion" in your photos is exploitation. Whose work do you admire? What kind of emotional content do those pictures have that you want to have? do they feel voyeuristic and exploitative? if not why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachlong Posted December 3, 2005 Author Share Posted December 3, 2005 well dang i didnt mean to ruffle everybodys feathers and get some big moral issue going here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent_tolley2 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 <I>If you want to take good pictures of people, like them. Let them know it.</I> --Robert Capa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john falkenstine Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Zach: more than likely you made an honest statement, I recommend you go ahead and photograph homeless people just as you intended. The results will be part of your life experience. Don't worry about the pontification and double standards you're reading about here in this string.("MY PHOTOGRAPHS ARE OK, the ones you're GOING to take are NOT") Having been in basic training in the Marines is probably more sobering than working in a soup kitchen. Remember; YOU take YOUR own pictures YOUR own way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Well if you think treating people like they're zoo animals is fine, I guess we know everything we need to know. Show us some of your photos of the homeless that are worth looking at and maybe there will be another perspective. Or even a half-decent portfolio of street photos. Lots of people talk, nothing to show... Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachlong Posted December 3, 2005 Author Share Posted December 3, 2005 im sorry to offend you, when did i say treating people like animals was fine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanky Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 My problem with photographing homeless people is that it's overdone. I mean my local library has a couple books of nothing but portraits of homeless people both by different photographers. Even my first photography teacher told us not to shoot homeless people unless they were somebody we actually know. How would somebody make such a photo unique? If somebody showed me photos of homeless people taken in New York, LA, Boston, Detroit, and San Francisco I would probably presume they were all taken in the same city. If you really must photograph homeless people then try to find someone that has a unique story that you can somehow translate into the photograph. Regards, Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_elder1 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Hey Jeff, take the edge off, its a little too sharp. In the 80's while at RIT in Rochester I shot the "Open Door Mission". However. before being allowed to shoot, I had to volunteer my services at lunch and dinner in the kitchen for a week. I got to know most of the regulars before I took the first shot. My photo essay was much better for it. Its never a bad idea to ask "why am I taking this picture" regardless of subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted December 3, 2005 Share Posted December 3, 2005 Why not get in touch with a social sevice agency or church group with an outreach program. Offer to shoot some pictures for them. They always need pictures for brochures and newspaper handouts about their programs. Spend some time going around with a social worker or minister. Do it for free and also make up some small prints that they can give to the people in the photos. Even the down and out like pictures of themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmitri_goutnik1 Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 The same old shyt (discussion) over and over again...Zach, just go and shut pix, and think later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceanbound Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 I agree with the person who said, contact a shelter offer your services to take pictures for their brocures...and then just help out too. I am running into the same thing right now, where I feel a little timid just taking pictures when I am out and about. Normally I have a captive group with work, but going out and just taking pictures around town I am shy. If you figure out any neat tricks, let me know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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