stepping out of your comfort zone
Yes, it’s one of those annoying overused phrases, but it does the job, and better than anything else I can think of just now.
So, in photography, what good can it do? Is there any possible chance of discovering you have a talent for something that you simply don’t have the natural inclination to try? Or, is it one of those things that helps you in a roundabout, backwards, three months later kind of way, like when you go out with an eye trained on lines, or circles, or a particular colour?
Someone is trying to get me to shoot street portraits. Of strangers. It strikes me as being about as fun as, well, something I wouldn’t do voluntarily. I’m trying to find a possible incentive that might prompt me to go ahead with it and I’m really struggling. Is it for the excuse to interact with people, that you wouldn’t otherwise have? Is it for the result, a collection of images of fairly random subjects – to be able to look at them as a collection and say something about people in general? Is it about trying to show something, reveal something even, about a stranger: a test of your skill with the camera – or indeed your skill with people to get them to open up to you/the camera?
It brings me back to the question of choosing a subject: does it show, if you are interested or not? Maybe that’s badly phrased, of course it shows. Can you get around that? Is there any merit in pushing yourself to be interested in something new by setting yourself the task of shooting it?
Far, far more questions than answers. Maybe that’s a good thing…
Certainly an interesting thought. I was afraid to photograph in the street, now I like. I am still slightly unnerved by it, but I do it nonetheless. I’ve still not found my favorite type of photography, but try different things now and again. I only tried it because I was in a workshop and I discovered that I really do like to stop and talk to people, even if I don’t take a photo.
If you have any interest in doing it, I say go for it. If not, I say skip it. You don’t have to do anything else to make you a ‘better’ photographer. Just shoot what you like and let that be that.
I find street photography, especially candids, to be interesting, but at the ‘project’ level. If there is some aspect of society that I want to explore, I can.
Finally, I’ve found that about 95% of people will let you take their pictures of you ask. If they ask why, I just tell them that I like to take pictures of interesting people that I meet. It’s a true statement, but they usually find it flattering and sometimes tend to gush.
In the end, if you are interested, go for it!
Certainly an interesting thought. I was afraid to photograph in the street, now I like. I am still slightly unnerved by it, but I do it nonetheless. I’ve still not found my favorite type of photography, but try different things now and again. I only tried it because I was in a workshop and I discovered that I really do like to stop and talk to people, even if I don’t take a photo.
If you have any interest in doing it, I say go for it. If not, I say skip it. You don’t have to do anything else to make you a ‘better’ photographer. Just shoot what you like and let that be that.
I find street photography, especially candids, to be interesting, but at the ‘project’ level. If there is some aspect of society that I want to explore, I can.
Finally, I’ve found that about 95% of people will let you take their pictures of you ask. If they ask why, I just tell them that I like to take pictures of interesting people that I meet. It’s a true statement, but they usually find it flattering and sometimes tend to gush.
In the end, if you are interested, go for it!
Depends what you mean by street photogrpahy I guess. I’ve had to go out to Henry St to get shots of people for a client, and obviously it’s not practical to ask everybody’s permission, so it’s a case of shooting from the hip and taking a few chances.
I’m tall and reasonably intimidating physically – some people don’t react well to that, the most extreme example being threatened by a bunch of lads. So if candids are your thing, don’t shoot alone. On the other hand if you’re going to ask ’em to pose, that’s a different approach and I suspect the fact that you’re a gal might make it easier for people to feel comfortable. But don’t shoot alone anyway.
Depends what you mean by street photogrpahy I guess. I’ve had to go out to Henry St to get shots of people for a client, and obviously it’s not practical to ask everybody’s permission, so it’s a case of shooting from the hip and taking a few chances.
I’m tall and reasonably intimidating physically – some people don’t react well to that, the most extreme example being threatened by a bunch of lads. So if candids are your thing, don’t shoot alone. On the other hand if you’re going to ask ’em to pose, that’s a different approach and I suspect the fact that you’re a gal might make it easier for people to feel comfortable. But don’t shoot alone anyway.