Stolen Portraits - A photo project looking for a critique!

Hi all,

I've been working on an idea for a photo project - I'm calling it Stolen Portraits - Times Square.  The idea is to capture the spirit of the place: the frenetic energy, the violent intrusion of images and advertising and the voyeurism inherent to being in that space.  My ideas aside, would love some feedback on the images and idea!

These shots are catchy! Leave spaces between shots. Good capture. 

I personally don't like street shots done with flash. I think it's rude and invasive but to each their own.

I do broadly agree with you Shadowfixer1. I wouldn't make these pictures anywhere other than in Times Square where using flash is relatively muted by the whole scene - flashing lights everywhere!

I was experimenting with Bruce Gilden's working style which - honestly - was an emotionally trying to exercise. This is a case where I like the images above, but I don't necessarily enjoy the process of creating them - struggling with the very reason you've put out there.

Thanks Alyssa! New to the forum and still learning how to format things properly on here Glad you enjoyed the photos!

I like the concept.
I can imagine flash-in-the-face can be intrusive. 
I also find the flash harsh.
Is there no way to go without flash, or soften it somewhat?
Love the 2nd pic. Great catch!

I like the concept.

Thank you!

I can imagine flash-in-the-face can be intrusive.

It is - this isn't a technique I would practice outside of the environment of Times Square or a similar place where the intrusion of flash is relatively muted by all the lights and bodies moving through the space. I choose to blame Bruce Gilden for the intrusive technique!

I also find the flash harsh.
Is there no way to go without flash, or soften it somewhat?

This was done with a little point-and-shoot using the built in flash. I'd like to say the harshness is a stylistic choice (it is somewhat!) but it was also simply a byproduct of the tool I had available. I wanted movement in the background with the subject frozen by the flash to communicate the energy and frenetic "feel" of Times Square - in some ways I want the viewer to get that feeling of being bombarded by lights and people and communicate the anxiety that creates. Flash was a needed component to realize this idea. I'd really like to explore using an external flash with a small softbox to create similar images, but I need to do some soul-searching if I choose to do this style again with candid subjects - I'm super pleased with the experiment but creating the images was emotionally draining.

How long did you spend searching for shots to come up with these?
I’m trying to figure out how long it will take to get a body of work together.

These shots were the product of one afternoon where I was in the area for an interview and had some time to kill. These were all created in the span of about 3 hours doing laps of the square.

Conceptually - I had gone to my local library and was studying other photographers for inspiration - Bruce Gilden, Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange etc. and have been unabashedly imitating their work while still putting my own fingerprint on it. I knew I wanted to create images that in their style communicated the emotion and feel of a space - and this is what I came up with to communicate my experience of Times Square.

Technically, I wanted as much depth of field as possible to get the environment and street signs - so set at f11 but I still wanted "blur" to pull the eye to the subject - hence 1/30th or thereabout using motion blur instead of bokeh to draw the eye and give the photo energy - I also brought the background down about between 0.5 and 1 stop so that the face in the near field is brightest. These were all shot wide angle since I also wanted the environment - 28mm equivalent FF. I used a first generation Sony RX100 (pretty cheap these days) which has enough manual controls to be able to do this and is super small and discrete.

Long story short the idea developed over many months and I had the images already in mind when I set out. The execution was done relatively quickly, but a lot of thought went in first. I live in Virginia so NYC isn't readily accessible!

If I had the chance to go back up there, I'd probably keep exploring this idea and further develop it (if I can set aside moral concerns about the method of creating these images).

Do you have any concepts you're developing or images that excite you that you want to explore further?

Also had a look at your landscapes! That's a whole style of work I've never mastered! They're beautiful.

So, this has been done. And while I'm not a fan of Bruce Gilden, I don't see anything being added here. Unless you consider making people look singularly unattractive a "plus".

I think firing off a flash in someone's face could lead to getting punched, or worse. I would find it quite annoying and intrusive.

Sorry, not a fan of either the idea or your images above.

Thank you for the honest critique. I certainly do not conduct myself this way for any other images! As mentioned in earlier comments it was a response to a very specific place and trying to visually capture how it felt to be in that space. Getting yours and others feedback is really helpful to understand whether it succeeds in that.

While taking these images, it did not feel "good" and was emotionally draining which perhaps is indication enough!

I don't think I'll be pursuing this concept in this form any further, but did want to share and learn from the product of a (maybe misguided) experiment.

Thanks again!

"Do you have any concepts you're developing or images that excite you that you want to explore further?”
I had a favourite bench on the roadside shooting towards the prominade where I lived. Always the three pillars with the broken one on the left. Camera on a tripod with a jacket over it. 135mm on FF.
I waited then for photos to happen in my space. Imagine the frustration when ir happened just outside of my space.

           

I love these! My first impulse would have been to "untether" the camera from the tripod, but spending a little time with them I think having the same frame for all the photos is really powerful! It'd be a waiting game for sure to get images to come together in your frame. The ones that really stand out to me are.

Man with sailboat,
Man with Gull
Woman with two dogs

The guy leaning back with the husky is just...ahhh...his body language is great! If his foot was just in frame this'd be my favorite!

The runner encountering the group of children is also such a sweet moment but I wish the whole group was in frame.

Overall I love this idea - actually inspired to give this concept a shot here!

Unasked for ideas, but what I would explore is a couple things. Finding a permanent built element that stands out more so it's really obvious that you've used the same frame for every picture. That's already there, but something that more easily catches the eye!

I like the distant telephoto look - it gives the images the feeling of being an outside objective observer, but I wonder if setting up the camera closer to the promenade with a wider angle lens such as a 35mm or even canon's 24mm pancake lens and seeing how a more intimate approach would feel and if your subjects would stay natural since you're just there still on a tripod. Super cool! Thanks for sharing and if you don't mind, I may give this a try in my hometown and see what comes of it!

I would have loved being closer, but I did not want to be noticed. Some did.

I started this project in the eighties, film days. I shot on b&w. I will have to search for the few negs that I scanned in. I’ll post it here for you later.

Tip: This was a long term shoot, I do not know how many mornings I spent there over how many years, but what you need is TRAFFIC! Lots of it! Otherwise you will get so bored, that you will forget to look up from playing a game on your phone. As you can see, the prominade is a place where hundreds of people walk or run every day. 

I like the people cut off at the ends of the frame. Make people more aware that the camera was static, but the people moved through the space. That way, in an exhibition, you will not get bored of centered or one third compositions, but hopefully say: “You made good use of your little space."

The guy running was not looking where he was going and nearly ran into this group of kids.