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Fear in street photography


4 years 2 months ago #675719 by FUNNY-STAR
Hi, I,m a 13 year old photographer, i have photographed like 2 years now. I started street photography some days ago. I live in a city full of people 100 000 and more. My question is how do i overcome fear of photographing people infront of them? 
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4 years 2 months ago #675723 by Nikon Shooter
Well… maybe start with people who would understand your
motivation? …like at school, playground, park, or else. Family
or friends?

I never had that fear myself as I started at 17. I was discrete and
quite big… just to make sure.
Light is free… capturing it is not!
Photo Comments
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4 years 2 months ago #675746 by icepics
Don't stand right in front of them... sit and do some people watching. Search for well known past street photographers and study what they did (like Garry Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, Elliott Erwitt, Saul Leiter). I think many that have been successful spent time in and around neighborhoods so people got used to them being there.

I've done sports and events; it often takes waiting a few moments til people'd look at me, look around wondering what I was photographing!, then realize I'm not that interesting to watch and go about their business.

Trust your instincts, if something is telling you to move on, then go. I did a job doing home visits and always looked around before getting out of the car (I remember a couple of times not even turning off the engine much less getting out of the car!). Particularly in neighborhoods where there are shootings, drug activity, etc. I usually went in the morning, and spring into summer things always get more lively. Be respectful to the people that live there; think about how you'd feel if someone was in your neighborhood shoving a camera in your face. Stay safe out there.
Sharon
Photo Comments
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4 years 2 months ago #675750 by icepics
Links below (Winogrand you should find plenty about in a search).

Many photographers might be considered to have done street photography as well as landscapes (outdoor or urban), portraiture, etc. so may not be strictly just street photographers.

www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/...tz?all/all/all/all/0

www.lensculture.com/articles/saul-leiter...-and-black-and-white

www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/elliott-erwitt/
Sharon
Photo Comments
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4 years 2 months ago #675853 by effron

icepics wrote: Don't stand right in front of them... sit and do some people watching.


That's a fact. If people get comfy with you, you'll get better shots and way less push back.
Why so serious?
Photo Comments
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4 years 2 months ago #675911 by Wendy Walker
The main thing is to start. Go out on the street, as already advised above, watch the people. To make it easier for you, try calling a family member or friend with you. Try shooting them on the street. Of course, they will also need to overcome the fear of being photographed in a public place, but at some point you will be liberated and forget about where you are.At first, I was also afraid to take pictures of people on the street, to take pictures of some object on the street, but over time everything passed as soon as I started doing it more often. I realized one thing: few people on the street pay attention to what and how you photograph :) Everyone is busy with their own business or in a hurry for business.
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4 years 2 months ago #676227 by zilla82
Good advice here so far. Also have the shot as framed in your mind as you can first. Giving off the energy of a confident quick shot rather than experimenting people makes a psychological difference. Allow even more time if you like to shoot manual (I do - for better or worse!)

Also getting into a different position, anything other than eye level, like crouching, laying down, is not always a good thing creativity-wise, but also puts you more into that "oh they are just a photographer screwing around" category which is less threatening, in my experience.

Optional but encouraged: Also walk around without a camera. Use just your eyes and your mind, and take a note ( I use evernote) of an area you want to revisit. This is much more from a scouting perspective, and using your own creativity to help train your eye. Sometimes your camera can also take you out of this experience, which is why I suggest it. Don't worry about "missing the shot" in this phase.

Good luck and have fun!
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