my tips from my experince:
1) for me it looks better to use an old camera and look seriouse not like a loud tourist?...if youre confident people seem less worried and an old camera sometimes creates this aura of a professional at work, an Nikon F1 is perfect because its 35mm and you can remove the top and use it like a rolleiflex for candid images
2) Yes looking at the buildings etc is good...i always look beyond the person im photographing..if they notice me and never directly at them after ive taken the picture..this has allowed me to get quite close sometimes..because most people dont belive youre photographing them or why you would?Also it depnds on the country youre in as well, i think..i found Prague easy because people are not really confrontational and it has a history of street photgraphy and great poetic photographers..Japan i guess should be easier becasue of all the cameras?....UK i think is a bit harder becasue people ask you what are you photographing and why? their aware of image and its use subversive use now more in our society
3) Choose a busy part of the day..early morning when people start work or early evening when people return from work...their often too busy to worry or too preoccupied to notice you..also the same for Bus and train stations and plenty of human interaction there
4) Dont look smart,dont look timid and dont look approchable......it helps that i already look like a tramp with a broken nose!....
its hard anyway to expect magicial moments when you have quick assignment, 2 rolls f film min etc mostly yo u could roam the streets for three months, get to know the place and still only have three good images..but sometimes thats enough or you get lucky in one day!Its a different approach...you have to float around the street and when youre in the zone it feels good....take basic quiet camera with 28mm / 35mm lens and enjoy for this the best tools are youre eye and soul and of course luck
(sorry if it all sounds cliche or pompouse..my street work isnt amazing but ive had some lucky moments..i'll post some old stuff on my blog and on my page)
1) for me it looks better to use an old camera and look seriouse not like a loud tourist?...if youre confident people seem less worried and an old camera sometimes creates this aura of a professional at work, an Nikon F1 is perfect because its 35mm and you can remove the top and use it like a rolleiflex for candid images
2) Yes looking at the buildings etc is good...i always look beyond the person im photographing..if they notice me and never directly at them after ive taken the picture..this has allowed me to get quite close sometimes..because most people dont belive youre photographing them or why you would?Also it depnds on the country youre in as well, i think..i found Prague easy because people are not really confrontational and it has a history of street photgraphy and great poetic photographers..Japan i guess should be easier becasue of all the cameras?....UK i think is a bit harder becasue people ask you what are you photographing and why? their aware of image and its use subversive use now more in our society
3) Choose a busy part of the day..early morning when people start work or early evening when people return from work...their often too busy to worry or too preoccupied to notice you..also the same for Bus and train stations and plenty of human interaction there
4) Dont look smart,dont look timid and dont look approchable......it helps that i already look like a tramp with a broken nose!....
its hard anyway to expect magicial moments when you have quick assignment, 2 rolls f film min etc mostly yo u could roam the streets for three months, get to know the place and still only have three good images..but sometimes thats enough or you get lucky in one day!Its a different approach...you have to float around the street and when youre in the zone it feels good....take basic quiet camera with 28mm / 35mm lens and enjoy for this the best tools are youre eye and soul and of course luck
(sorry if it all sounds cliche or pompouse..my street work isnt amazing but ive had some lucky moments..i'll post some old stuff on my blog and on my page)
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