Nomadic Vision

There is one obstacle that seems to keep almost all photographers from breaking through to that seemingly unattainable next level. The photographers who are thriving today all seem to have overcome it. Fear is that obstacle. It is fear stopping you from approaching that publisher, displaying your work publicly or asking that quirky but cool wedding photographer for a date.

Amongst photography circles, it seems most people fear approaching and shooting strangers. Craig Tanner hosts a workshop for conquering fears and just about all the photographers say shooting strangers on the street is their biggest fear. Now I’m sure most readers will have shot the occasional long lens grab shot or the sneaky wide angle, no look quickie, but the type of photo I’m talking about is getting right in some-one’s face with their full knowledge and permission.

Up until recently, it was our biggest fear but we can now safely say, we’ve conquered it. The remedy was simple, put yourself in the most uncomfortable situation possible and then pretend like you were born to shoot there. For us, it was shooting at the London Tattoo Convention.

I started off cautiously, only approaching friendly looking people who I expected to say yes. Much to my surprise, most people were compliant. I quickly grew in confidence and approached everyone I thought would make an interested subject. Near the end of the shoot, my confidence levels were dangerously high. Not only was I approaching strangers and taking pictures of them, I was also moving them to more “photogenic” locations. Can you imagine being asked to “come with me around the corner so I can take a picture” by a complete stranger?

By the time the shoot was over I had had the most fun I’ve ever had during a shoot and I managed to get quite a few images that I was happy with.

My experience taught me a few lessons when working with strangers off the street.

Confidence

A photographer once to me to “be the person you want to be, not the person you fear to be”. In other words, if you want to be a super successful photographer, act like one, rather than letting your insecurity show that you’ve actually never shot strangers before.

Technical competence

You are relying on people’s good will to allow you to take pictures of them. Don’t irritate them by constantly playing around with your settings. I was shooting with a friend holding my light source (a voice activated light stand). Sometimes I opted for natural light, other times for artificial. To make the switch seamlessly, I used a manual setting for artificial light and aperture priority for natural light. I was able to switch by simply turning a dial. I was also shooting with one light, which wasn’t perfect, but was flexible.

Have a story

The story isn’t for our subjects-most don’t even ask why you want a picture, rather, it is to give you a sense of purpose when working and also gives you more confidence when approaching people. Make sure that your story is true; our story is that we are photo journalists working on a travel photography article. We have a travel photography blog, so the story is always true, even when we know the story will never be published. As a photographer, you also have a story – could be similar to ours, it could be that you’re working on a portfolio for exhibition (everyone should be) or it could be that you’re a stock photographer specializing in (fill in the gap yourself).

Give back

When shooting portraits, your subjects give something to you: their trust, their time and hopefully insight into their soul. You should always aim to give something back. Take their email address and send them the pictures (it will also help you get a model release). If the pictures are ever published, send them the magazine. Your actions could have far reaching effects. Those people will be more likely to pose for other photographers. They could be impressed with your work and recommend you to potential clients. They could even be models for your future projects.

Here is a link to more photos from the day.

About the Convention

One of the reasons being at the convention put me out of my comfort zone is that I don’t have tattoos or piercings – I love the look, but I’ve never felt strongly enough about anything to justify a tattoo. I thought I would stand out immediately and probably did. To the credit of everyone at the convention, not once was I made to feel different. Everyone was warm and friendly. The Convention has been one of the best festivals I’ve been to around the world and I’ll definitely be heading back there this year. If you see a guy with a camera, with no tattoos, chatting to cool looking people and hopefully taking their portraits,  come say hi.

We happened to visit the convention straight after watching a street photography docu/challenge by Zack Arias. If you’re interesting in photographing strangers and haven’t seen the video, check it out.

Street Photography and Lighting

Using lighting for street photography breaks the traditional approach to the genre which tends to keep your subject completely unaware of the photographer. Obviously, using lighting sends a pretty clear message that you’re taking a photo!

For this shot and subsequent shoots, I used the same approach to lighting. I use a Nikon SB28 held by an assistant.  The flash is triggered through the pocket-wizard system. The assistant can be someone you bring to the shoot or it can be someone that is standing around nearby. I use my camera on manual, set to give me the desired exposure for the ambient light. That always used to be one or two stops darker then an average exposure, but I’ve also experimented going brighter.

Once the ambient light is covered, I set the flash power to give me the flash exposure that I want. As long as my assistant keeps the distance between them and the subject consistent, the flash exposure should stay as I desired. Sometimes, I prefer a very subtle use of flash. In those instances, I will use the natural light as the key light and use the flash to provide a slight edge or rim light. The process is much the same as highlighted above.

There is one last point I need to add. Always introduce your assistant to your subject. You don’t want a flash going off behind your subject that your subject is unaware of.

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