This week it was Street photography again. A review of the masters of street photographers and some personal research to find work we like. I like Zach Arias and Steve McCurry. We shared tips on street shooting and Laura went through Gary Winogrand’s top 10 tips see below and http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/08/20/10-things-garry-winogrand-can-teach-you-about-street-photography/
Garry Winogrand’s top tips for Street Photography:
- Shoot, a lot.
- Don’t hesitate and follow your gut.
- Smile when shooting on the streets.
- Don’t shoot from the hip.
- Don’t crop.
- Emotionally detach yourself from your photographs
- Look at great photographs
- Focus on form and content
- Become inspired by things outside of photography
- Love life
- Don’t call yourself a street photographer
Five top tips for street:
- Pre-focus
- 35mm
- Manual 1/125 – 1/250 at f8 & auto ISO
- Shoot a sequence
- pre-frame and wait for subject to enter
Other Street Photography tips:
- Patience
- tell a story
- interact
- look for juxtaposition
- be quick / make sure camera can react quick – slow focussing will kit street!
- ask permission when it can help to get a better shot
- keep watching and be ready to shoot or the moment will pass
We discussed the ethics and aspects of consent relevant to the genre
- difference between legal and ethical – just because its legal doesn’t make it ethical; homeless or drunk persons
- Confrontation – avoid or diffuse; walk away
- permission / consent; when is it necessary or not? do not need permission to take anyone’s picture with a normal camera so long as in a public place and you have permission to be in it.
- Trespassing isn’t legal. Just because property is open to the public doesn’t mean its public property.
Then it was picturing time! This time though we had to shoot from the hip, no looking through the viewfinder and no looking at the LCD screen. As if!
A bunch of students with cameras wandering round the grounds all trying to be covert worked well… not!
Anyway, here are my shots!