How to Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography (Gulf Photo Plus 2014)

How to Overcome Your Fear of Shooting Street

Photography

Eric Kim

Introduction

What is street photography to

you?

What fears do you have when it comes to

shooting street photography?

The Psychology of Fear in Street Photography

The Fears I used to Have in Street Photography

“If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” - Robert

Capa

Street Photography GoPro POV

• Beverly Hills POV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLIdKA9LZ94&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLE5DD74991A61FF7F

Tips to Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street

Photography

1. Smile and say: “Thank You”

2. Realize you’re not doing anything wrong

3. Think about the worst-case scenario

4. When in doubt, “click”

5. Ask for permission

6. Talk with people afterwards“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt“

7. Shoot with a friend

8. Compliment people (or explain why you took the photo)

9. Show them the photo (and offer to email it to them/business

card)

10. Don’t photograph their face

How to Be Invisible When Shooting on the

Streets

1. Pretend you are taking a photo of something behind them

2. The “Video Camera” technique

3. The “Lost Tourist” technique

4. Click, hold, then move

5. Use a small camera

6. Zone focus

6. Zone focus• Example settings:

• Aperture-priority mode (or manual)

• Aperture: f/8-f/16

• ISO: 400-3200

• Distance: ~1.2 meters

• Shutter speed: Minimum 250th/sec (not blurry)

7. Use a wide-angle prime lens

8. Thoughts on “Shooting from the Hip”

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Q&A

Assignment Ideas1. 5 yes’ & 5 no’s

2. .7 meter challenge (Satoki Nagata)

3. 100 stranger portrait series (Danny Santos)

4. Shoot people through windows

5. Tourist in your own city