Lens for "unaware" people and street photography

[mrraz]

Shot with a Nikon F with a 28mm on it using Tri-X. I sat down on a bench as I was passing and took a quick shot of this family.<div></div>

[Brad_]

>>> I'd like to start grabbing shots of us all and I'm looking for the right lens and technique to grab the shots I want. I'm thinking wide

angle. If I have the camera over my shoulder on a strap and it looks like I'm just holding it next to my torso, people assume I'm not

taking pictures and they act normal.

 

I think the best thing you could do, is to somehow change your attitude about taking photos. ie, there's nothing wrong by being direct,

putting the camera to your eye at the right moment, and then clicking the shutter. If you're "discovered," nod your head, smile, and

move on.

 

The problem with hip shots, is they all kind of look the same and ultimately not very interesting and boring.

 

Try going forward with the view that taking pictures is what you do - rather than trying to hide that by sneaking around. A 17-50 or 10-

22 would probably work well for being moderately close. Much longer than a 50 on a crop camera and your stalking.

[roger krueger]

It's not the lack dof markings that are the problem per se, it's the lack of useful distance marking that really make life tough.

But yeah, there are a ton of old manual focus lenses out there that have great markings. I bought my Leica 19/2.8 for the

image quality, but it turned out what I actually liked the most was the great distance/dof scale.

 

You'd be amazed how good you can get at guessing distances after a while, especially with the DOF of a wide. I've hip-shot my

24/1.4 wide open scale focused and gotten ~30% in focus, with decent lighting/reasonable apertures you should be able to

do a lot better.

 

Sneaky photography with strangers is one thing, but it's not really something you want to do to people you're around all the

time. One shot you can almost always get away with done right, but targeting the same people over and over someone's

going to catch on sooner or later. Having people you'll never see again thinking you're creepy or a jerk is trivial, having

people you need to continue interacting with feel this way about you is massively bad news.

 

If you do end up going sneaky, get a remote release, or a camera with a built-in intervalometer (like Ricoh P&Ss). The finger

on the button is the deadest giveaway.

[photo_galleries]

A lot of good general street photography advice here, but the replies seem to suit "general street photgraphy" where the subjects are complete strangers. If I read the OP correctly, you're basically talking about taking candids of 70 people with whom yoiur interact for about 8 hours per day.

 

So, you have the advantage of actually having insight to your classmates' daily routines. That being said:

 

1) Anticipation of their actions would be your primary advantage.

 

2) Shooting AE priority, preset the aperture to f8, if possible.

 

3) Use 24mm

 

4) Use an ISO of at least 400.

 

5) Preset the focus to a distance of 10 feet.

 

With the above, everything from about 4 and a half feet to infinity will be in focus. To try out other combinations, check out one of the many DOF calculators out there.

[eric_arnold]

another good technique is to have one person "in on it" and the rest blissfully unaware.

so, for instance, you ask someone to pose in front of a high-traffic area and you take a long exposure.

result is your main subject is in focus and properly composed, and you get interesting background movement. this

has been done in subways, i'd think it could also work in schools.

[Allen Herbert]

This dude had this discussion sussed Aesop (620�560 BC), a mere slave to those of greater minds.

 

Do your own thing and what works for you is the thought that comes to mind.

 

Work it out..

 

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Aesop/Aesops_Fables/The_Man_the_Boy_and_the_Donkey_p1.html

[richirich]

i'm working my way up to a dslr via using a canon s5is, the one advantage is that it has a manouverable screen, which can be angled and used at waist level.

[mark liddell]

Young people are always taking pictures of each other with p&s cameras and mobile phones (or at least my friends do!). If you get out an 'old' looking camera on an slr it will attract attention. I'd look into a p&s camera - getting the shots is more important than the quality. The lcd also means you don't even have to raise it to your eye to shoot.

[warren_goff]

<p>I've been using my Digital camera with a mirror in my hand next to the lcd. I can angle the camera while looking down and away and be unnoticed. I've also disabled any sound and flashing lights/flash to afford more stealth. It doesn't work with my DSLR and the right angle lens is difficult for me to master. If one wants "candid" shots, then by definition one must be "spying". The solutions described above, such as telephoto, wide angle, props and the like are just as sneaky as right angle photography. Openly photographing people and controlling the situation insinuates you into the moment. IMO, this will not be candid.</p>

[don_bloom1]

<p>I have been using a Panasonic tz-5 (28-200) p and s on the streets of NY for about a year now. Most of my shots have been candids of people who did not know they were being photographed. (Children and minors are off limits). I was told by a "professional" photographer friend that I need to get to the next level, where the subject knows that they are being photographed. I guess it makes sense, when you have a face looking into the camera, a subjects EYES make all the difference, imho. I have found my self pulling away from some shots when they figure out i am about to take a shot of them. <br>

I also have a 20D with 17-85 walkaround lens, that i found it diffiult to shoot without getting so close to my subject that they get distracted before i can shoot.</p>

<p>I just bought a 70-200 2.8 IL IS lens the other day. It is a VERY visible lens, but allows one to be far enough away in an urban ie (near Grand Central in NYC) environment that the subject probably won't know that they are being photographed. Now some of you call that stalking. What is the difference between shooting from afar and say , 10 or 25 feet away if the subject is unaware of the shooter in any case?</p>

<p>I bought this lens for sports, portrait, and nature phtography, but can anyone out there tell me if they use it for street photography?</p>