A shot at street photography
Recently, I realised that while I do an awful lot of writing about photography, I’m not actually spending all that much time actually taking pictures myself anymore.
A sad state of affairs – especially as I recently bought a gorgeous Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. (I could rant about prime lenses for hours, but I’ve done so in a previous post, which (if I may nest my parantheses and be so bold as to recommend one of my own articles) is well worth a read), and I have a fabulous city right on my doorstep.
Anyway, so I have never really done that much street photography before, but I figured it’d be a crying shame not to have a go at it…
For someone who hasn’t done much (read: any) street photography before, I think I did pretty well – these are some of my favourites:
Mean Fiddler
This photo, Mean Fiddler by Photocritic.org on Flickr, was a lucky one indeed. Shot from the hip just as he was finishing playing a song, the colours came out magnificently, and I got quite lucky with the focussing as well – Seeing as how I was shooting from the hip at f/1.4, it wasn’t as if I had a lot of leeway with my depth of field.
Technical Details: Canon EOS 450D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. 1/320 second at f/1.4 and ISO 100, metered in Aperture-priority AE with a -2/3 stop EV bias. More tech info here.
"Is he taking a picture of me?"
This photo, "Is he taking a picture of me?" by Photocritic.org on Flickr, was taken in the midst of a St Patrick’s day parade on Trafalgar square. She was hanging out with some of her friends in front of a fountain, and the light kept catching her, so I figured I’d try and capture that. The back-lighting was quite tricky (and, considering that all of these photos were taken on a single attempt, with one shot at getting it right, I think I got lucky), and I’m happy that I was shooting this in RAW, because I needed to do a few adjustments to make the photo come out well.
Technical Details: Canon EOS 450D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. 1/1250 second at f/1.4 and ISO 100, metered in Aperture-priority AE with a -2/3 stop EV bias. More tech info here.
Dreaming over Coffee
This particular shot, Dreaming over Coffee by Photocritic.org on Flickr, came about right at the beginning of the walkabout in London – I was in line for the queue at Nero coffee, and spotted this girl, who was sitting there, enjoying her coffee, and being rather blase about checking out the cute guys walking by – what is more summerly than that? When the moment came, I simply lifted the camera to my face, snapped the shot, and paid for my coffee. Simples.
Technical Details: Canon EOS 450D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. 1/200 second at f/1.4 and ISO 100, metered in Aperture-priority AE without EV bias. More tech info here.
Me too, brother. Me too.
This one, Me to, brother. Me too. by Photocritic.org on Flickr, was taken immediately after the girl above. We were sitting on the statue in the middle of Seven Sisters, and were watching the world go by. This fellow just showed up, stopped right next to me, and stared at the sky for a bit – His T-shirt made me laugh, so I couldn’t not take the shot.
Technical Details: Canon EOS 450D with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. 1/200 second at f/2.8 and ISO 100, metered in Program-mode AE with a -2/3 stop EV bias. More tech info here.
MOAR!
If you want to se more, you can see the whole set on Flickr.
Also, if you haven’t seen many updates from me recently, it’s because I’m out of the country for a while, doing a load of photography and eating a lot of lovely food while visiting my parents in Mumbai, to be precise. When I come back, I’m finally moving back to London again – if I can find myself a place to stay, that is.
My day job, if it can be called that, is being a writer. I've got one book out there so far and it's awesome, so go ahead and buy a copy! It's available from 
In front of you, five hyperactive men with guitars, drums, and microphones. Behind you, five thousand fans. In your hands, a camera... You're going to need more than just a little bit of good luck to pull this one off. That's where this book comes in.
Take a Canon EOS 450D. Attach a Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Hit the streets of London. See what happens.
Insights, suggestions and comments
I’m curious why the super-shallow depth-of-field when you were shooting from the hip. Seems awful risky.
My favorite is the Dreaming girl. Besides the fact that you capture the dreamy mood perfectly, and the composition is so good, nobody is identifiable. That’s a personal problem I have with street photography, especially of children. People like the fiddler, who are there to be looked at, are one thing; others, I feel like I have invaded their privacy. I got a great shot last week and find myself completely unable to do anything with him for that reason. I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
Virginia
I seriously like the photos you make. On an unrelated note, did you do a lot of post-processing on it? (Added texture on the background of °2 for example?)
Gotta love those prime lenses!
You’re off to a great start in street photography! If you’re interested in really getting into it, I teach “Street Photography: Finding Order in Chaos” online at the Perfect Picture School of Photography.
As a fellow scribbler who supports his street shooting through his writing, I encourage you to go out and shoot.
Hey! Re post-processing, I only did some desaturation – the full details are on Flickr :)
We’ve touched on the shooting in public privacy issue a little bit before. I’m in agreement with Virginia- it’s an issue for me too. I’ve seen a lot of great people shots but haven’t taken them because it felt somehow invasive. Even with a long lens. I’d feel uncomfortable if I was out with my kid somewhere and saw somebody take a snap of us.
Could someone post additional information about when model releases are required for “street photography”? And then tip for how to get model releases when needed?
For instance, I think you don’t need releases for the shots above since you are using them to explain technique, but you would if you wanted to sell one of them. Plus, any of those subjects could sue you for any number of reasons.
Thanks!
Great shots, but with such a short lens, I wonder how close you must have been to these people??
I was a little surprised at your “Shot from the hip just as he was finishing playing a song” comment.
Why is it that photographers generally feel that they have to sneak about shooting from the hip..? What are you affraid of?
Street photography like any other session should be up front and honest. I just get asked which paper I’m working for whenever I’m out and about with my dSLR. Shooting from the hip makes out your some sort of spy… Or worst still – Rambo!
Enjoyed your photos and write-up tremendously. This street photography thing is something I admire and I want to try my hand at it myself. Your shots are going to serve as an inspiration…
The colors (a bit desaturated) on these make them really pop!
Very nice shots. I know this has been covered in pervious posts but the public privacy / permission issue still puts me off doing more street photography. Mainly as i’m never sure if i should ask the person for permission before taking the picture or take and then ask. Obviously sometimes this would mean missing the best shot.
How have you/others approached this in street photography?
Your shots are really nice..I love it! I wish someday I can do like these shots. I have just started learning photography and there are lots of things I need to learn..LoL!
Very nice shots!
Woow all this with ISO 100 great!
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