Street photography: how to make people smile instead of looking away

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What's your method for photographing people on the street so that it's clear to those who see your images that your subjects were "willing victims"?

Normally I find it easy to connect with random strangers, but many people react sort of hostile to me when I show up with a camera ready for shooting.

It has occured to me that the more "pro" my gear looks the more people tenses up, looks away etc. A SLR with a 50 mm from the 70'ties has so far been the least threateting camera I have tried, but the same SLR with a 200 or 135 mm aparently makes many people nervous. If I have a camera bag on my schoulder I can mostly forget about street photography.

Maybe what I really ought to use is a M6 or Hexar and try to look like a knapsack tourist with daddy's old camera (I'm 23) ?

Have you got some similar expierences, any advice for how to look as a non-threatening photographer?

-- Kristian Elof Sxrensen (elof@image.dk), January 18, 1999

Answers

I don't shoot this style of photography, but I can pass on the best advice I had ever heard for street work. If you have a 35mm that has a removeable finder, then remove it. Look through it like you would a 2 1/4 camera (use that too if you have it), try to pre focus and predict what will happen next. I don't think that most people will think that you are taking a photograph when you use this technique, and possibly they will soon forget that you have a camera if they don't think that you intend to use it. To me this is the best way to do street work, in a way that does not influence the subjects.

Mark

-- mark lindsey (lindseygraves@msn.com), January 18, 1999.


Mark's advice seems to be the opposite of what Kristian is after. For it to be obvious that the subjects were willing victims, they should be reacting to the camera.

Yes, the least 'pro-looking', the better. I sometimes have fun with a Box-Brownie, but of course the quality isn't wonderful. The advantage is that people assume I am crazy but no kind of threat. I also use a home-made box camera with an excellent lens, with similar advantages but decent quality.

Some long SLR lenses don't look long (e.g. the Nikon Series E 100mm), so isn't as threatening.

I'm going to try out my father's Balda rangefinder, which I recall as having a good lens, for this very purpose.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), January 18, 1999.


Well if you stand 10 to 20 feet away with a cannon (not a typo) you are not going to get many "willing" looks. I do a fair amount of street shooting, I use an ultra-wide and stand a foot or two from subjects. I use a medium format camera but the size of the camera never seems to bother people because I am close and make it clear what I am doing. I then wait for them to stop smiling at the camera.

It's not clear what you are looking for - is it people looking directly into the camera and smiling, or is it just "natural" expressions?

-- Jeff Spirer (jeffs@hyperreal.org), January 18, 1999.


Hi Kristian,

I'd definitely stay away from telephoto lenses because a) they're big and bulky, b) they are more prone to shake, which is something you want to avoid because more than likely you'll be shooting hand-held in a constantly-changing situation and c) they make you stand out in a crowd. A wide angle allows you to get close enough to someone to have a conversation...which may not be such a bad idea!

A Leica M or Hexar is great because most folks don't know these are serious cameras, and will relax more than if you use a pro setup.

You have a great advantage if you have the ability to connect with strangers and IMHO you should use this skill when shooting on the street. The ultimate would be if you could simultaneously connect with a stranger while taking their pictures! It can be done.

The best way to show subjects are willing to be in your photos is to get them to pose--or sign model releases (not practical for street photography). But this goes to the issue others have brought up--what are you trying to accomplish?

The best advice I can give is to just go out there, shoot a lot of film, treat your camera as a sketchpad, and be curious. Look at great street photography. Learn from your contact sheets. Enjoy every step of the process.

Good luck!

Mason

-- Mason Resnick (bwworld@mindspring.com), January 18, 1999.


how to make people smile

The photographer Arthur Fellig started off using a pet pony named Hypo, perhaps you might want to try something like that.

-- gerald whyte (gwhyte@ibm.net), January 18, 1999.


4 answers within the same day I posted the question - not bad ;-)

I think a focal length around 35 mm is the best for my kind of street photography. It allows me to take pictures from within greeting/chatting distance, without giving too many annoying distorsions of faces etc, and I can get good background and foreground if I wish to.

I sure want to talk or at least make friendly eye contact with those I photograp on the street. If I wanted to take pictures without being observed I would apply for a job in her Majesty's Secret Service ;-) It's no fun for me to be an outside observer, I want to be part of the life I'm making pictures of.

But I would really like to carry a protrait tele as well, for distorsion free head shots and for non-people pictures. A 35 mm when put close to someone's face does not give a nice image of the face. Alan I'l be on the lookout for those E-series lenses you mention. I'm now carrying extra film etc. in the pockets of my jacket, maybe a small 85/100 mm would fit in a pocket too.

But all this equipment talk is the easy part of the game, those beings called humans are far more difficult to tame than a box of metal and electronics. Apart from carrying a non-pro looking camera what else can be done to make random people on the street feel at ease while being photographed?

-- Kristian Elof Sxrensen (elof@image.dk), January 18, 1999.


> 4 answers within the same day I posted the question - not bad ;-)

And a fifth while writing the answer, THANKS.

-- Kristian Elof Sxrensen (elof@image.dk), January 18, 1999.


I don't think a wide angle is bad for people shots close up, you just need to change how you look at things. See this one, taken with a 43mm lens on a 6x7 camera (equivalent of 21mm): http://www.hyperreal.org/~jeffs/images/mark.jpg. It's not direct into the face, but it works anyway.

I don't think the camera matters. Although there are bigger cameras than the Mamiya 7, with the 43mm with hood on and the finder it is rather imposing. But people are more comfortable because they know exactly what I am doing. There's no anger about a surprise shot.

My usual way of relaxing people is to hang around and become part of the scene. I get the camera out and make it obvious, look for good backgrounds, and then wait. I have been to the street from the above photograph numerous times and have photographs of some of the people that live in the area (which this person is not.) They don't pay any attention to me anymore, so the expressions are not reactions to me. I can't even speak to some of them - it is a Spanish-speaking area and my Spanish is quite limited - but this doesn't matter. They nod to me as they walk or bicycle by. If I snap, they keep on walking or talking, or whatever they were doing.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeffs@hyperreal.org), January 18, 1999.


I think Mark Lindsey has a point about using a waist level finder. It may not be so much that people don't think you are taking a picture, but that you aren't hiding your face behind the SLR. Many people have an almost automatic emotional distrust of other people hiding their face. This has been demonstrated in cultural anthropology studies, and may well be a factor here.

-- Richard Newman (rnewman@snip.net), January 20, 1999.

I find that it's usually not that hard to disarm your subject with a little talking and joking around before and during your shooting. Sometimes you want a natural reaction, but it's also nice to get the subject to interact with you once in a while.

http://sunrise.scu.edu/photo/postings/981103-10:08:55-bschmett.html

-- Barry Schmetter (bschmett@my-dejanews.com), January 21, 1999.



I agree with most but mostly with Barry. Joke around with them some before, then continue the conversation during the shoot. Also, be honest with them about what the photos are being used for. I don't think people are threatened by your camera equipment as much as they're threatened by what you might be using their faces for. I always start off by telling them the truth of my interest in them; it could be the multiple piecings or the clothes they're wearing. I mean, obviously there was something about them that caught your eye. People have these interesting features for a reason; although not apparent at first, but they love getting the attention. I once got a nervous subject to relax by telling them I wanted a picture of their feet! It worked! Got a good laugh and conversation out of it, and they let their guard down. I also make it a point to use their names and commit it to memory. Their names are the most important thing to remember and to use. Don't over use it, though. You don't want to sound like an annoying insurance saleperson. *G* Anyhow, honesty and using their names with a bit of humor has always worked for me. Best of luck!

-- Leslie Ratliff (leslie@carteret.com), January 21, 1999.

Sneaky never works if you want smiles. Sneaky works if you want hard eyes . Just walk up, ask for a favor, explain what the favor is, tell them why you want the favor, and then shoot no less than 8 frames. Thank them. Few people saw no (depite what you think very few say "no"). People are basically good so long as you present yourself in a humble non thteatening manner. Don't expect them to pose though, they will wait for YOU to tell THEM what to do. It helps a lot if you say you are a photography student. It's not a lie. We are all learning our craft.

-- Peter Thoshinsky (camerabug1@msn.com), February 18, 1999.

Sorry, should have read "few people say no, not few people "saw no"

-- Peter Thoshinsky (camerabug1@msn.com), February 18, 1999.

I can't remember of any camera for which people want to pose with pleasure so much as an old twin Rolleiflex. I think it's because it's nostalgic for them, gives them the feeling of 'the real thing'.

-- Lot (lotw@wxs.nl), February 18, 1999.

Try a TLR. They look less threatening and most of the time they don't even know you're taking an image of them!

John

-- John W (zaphod1@hotmail.com), June 01, 1999.



Kristian, I had a photo professor, Wallace Wilson, who used a small point & shoot, kept it held in his hand and would shoot never lifting the camera to his eye. He would turn the camera to approx. where the subject was, shoot, and see his results when he got the film back. There were very subject to random acts, sometimes crooked, etc. Something to consider.

-- renee (nefrua@yahoo.com), August 23, 1999.

I think it all depends on your personality and whether you are people oriented or not. When I worked in public access, I walked around town with the big Panasonic 455 Reporter perched on my shoulder and had little to no problems getting people to talk to me about almost anything. This really amazed the folks at TCI whom were in charge of public access at the time. All I can attribute the candor people had with me in view of one of the howitzers of photography being right there, big lense, red light and all, was that I was honest and forthright(a point presented in an earlier reply), looked like a professional having a lot of fun plus a geniune interest in the people kind enough to chat with me "on camera". Moving into still photography, I have yielded the same results on a more rewarding scale. I still have the greatest respect for those who trust me to take their picture and I think they can see that in both my approach and subsequent behavior. Basically, don't be a phony because people are smart and they will see right through it. Why waste time with deception when the beauty of photography appeals to such a broad range of people. Someone says "no" to you, move on to the next and have a great time being creative.

-- Robert Kevin Lowe (b059@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002.

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