It never fails that someone always catches you taking their picture. Very seldom have I ran into any negative reactions. One time I was approached by this lady who asked if I just took her picture. I pointed to the direction behind her and told her I was shooting a building. When I told her I was shooting film she said, “Oh!” She then smiled and went on her way. The resulting picture looked like she was giving me the evil eye. Check out the shot here. Probably the most negative reaction to date was a woman at the bus terminal who told me to delete the picture. I just smiled and kept walking. You can see that shot here. Getting caught comes with the territory of street photography. There a many tips and tricks to getting that candid shot. You just have to come up with a style that you feel comfortable executing. Whatever you do, don’t be the creepy guy with the large telephoto lens shooting people from across the street. In my humble opinion, long telephoto street shots don’t have the intimacy of being close to your subjects.
Thankfully, there are no negative reactions in this post. Maybe a few concerned looks, but nothing serious. I thought this first gentleman had a very suspicious look about him that I found interesting. I was the only person walking by so I knew he was going to see me. I got as close as I felt comfortable and I pretended to be taking a picture of the cityscape along the sidewalk.
Olympus OM1 / 50mm f1.8 / Kodak TRI-X 400 / The FINDLab
I always find the patrons of the restaurants along the sidewalks interesting. They are usually oblivious to their surrounding as they are into their conversations, meals and cell phones. However, sometimes someone spots you.
Olympus OM1 / 50mm f1.8 / Kodak TRI-X 400 / The FINDLab
I did not realize I was caught on this next shot until I got my scans back. Everyone on the bus is looking at whatever the bus driver is pointing to with the exception of one lady. I found her look to be kind of spooky. It’s as if she knows something I don’t.
Olympus OM1 / 50mm f1.8 / Kodak TRI-X 400 / The FINDLab
Sometimes children are more aware of their surroundings than we adults. The next couple of shots are two of my favorites. The kids caught me in the act.
Olympus OM1 / 50mm f1.8 / Kodak TRI-X 400 / The FINDLab
I spotted the dad in this next shot just ahead of me as I walked down the sidewalk. I was immediately drawn to him holding the hands of his little girls as they walked. I wanted to capture his hands holding his daughter’s little hands. He was a good distance ahead of me so I had to walk a little faster to catch up to him. When he changed directions, I figured out where he was going. Based on their clothes and their direction, they were headed to a church on the corner. I had to do some jaywalking to get into position. Just before I caught up to them, the dad stopped and picked both girls up into his arms. I couldn’t tell whether the little girl on the right was disgruntled with me or dad.
Olympus OM1 / 50mm f1.8 / Kodak TRI-X 400 / The FINDLab
As always I had a great time shooting the streets. I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos and story. I have some random shots coming up next, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading!
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3 Responses
Nice article!
With a smaller camera is it easier to shoot people on the street. If someone responds to my photography, I usually ask them to where I can send copies. Only a young couple have so far wanted to get photo copies. Later on, when I met the man outdoors I asked if his wife liked the pictures. “She immediately went out to buy salve against wrinkles” he replied. 🙂
Funny story! I agree. Smaller cameras are less intrusive and they are less likely to be noticed. I also believe in today’s world, with cameras on our phones, we have become more acclimated to people taking pictures wherever we go. If you are using your phone or a camera that’s NOT a huge DSLR type camera, then people tend to not mind as much. I don’t know why, because a picture is still a picture no matter what you use to get it. Maybe we have it in our heads that it’s not a serious picture if you don’t have gear that looks serious. Thanks for the comment!
[…] I caught this dad and his girls heading to church in downtown Nashville (Davidson County), Tennessee. The little girl on the right is not a happy camper. You can see more images from that morning at Shuttering Thru Life. […]