₿LOG
When you are out traveling and shooting street photography, remember to connect with the local people and treat them as “equals”. Don’t see them as objects, but use humor to get more comfortable with them and see them as a “fellow human being”.
Stay tuned with these great One-Minute Masterclass series from Phaidon, as they keep rolling out on their site!
Have you ever used humor to connect with your subjects when shooting? If so, share your experiences below!
In today’s 1-minute masterclass with Steve McCurry, he talks about getting “in the zone” when he is out shooting. He prefers to shoot alone and to quietly explore the streets without speaking much, to get a feel of the environment he is shooting in.
Although I am a big fan of shooting together in groups (it helps you be more comfortable) shooting alone is when you can be in almost a meditative state– enjoying life around yourself alone.
When you are out shooting, do you prefer to go alone or in a group and why? Share your experiences in the comments below!Â
The folks from Phaidon are continuing their “One-Minute Masterclass” series with Steve McCurry. This new episode features his secret in getting interesting photos from unique vantage points (like a high vantage point). He describes how surprised he was in terms of how accommodating people can be in letting you enter their house or patio to shoot cityscapes. This reflects my own personal experiences, such as when I was shooting in the streets of Beirut, Lebanon– random strangers would start talking to me and even invite me into their house to enjoy some coffee.
The next time you are traveling, make some friends and ask for permission to enter people’s homes and take the time to know them and chat with them. As they like to say on the internet, “ask and you shall receive.”
One of my favorite quotes by Alfred Eisenstaedt is “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter”. When we are out shooting street photography, it is often difficult to find time to talk to the subjects we capture, as life often moves at a very fast pace.
Steve McCurry, one of the most pivotal photographers of the 21st century, shares the same notion. McCurry has traveled the world and captured subjects in very intimate settings- and one of his pieces of advice is to approach and talk to people (even for a minute) before taking photos of them. I feel that this is a very important piece of advice to take, especially when visiting foreign countries. The video shown above is a feature put together by Phaidon, which can be viewed here.
Although I still feel that street photography should be done without permission and candidly, I see no problem interacting with your subjects before, during, or even after you shoot them.
Thanks to Ian Pettigrew for the tip, and let us know how much you like to interact with your subjects when shooting by leaving a comment below!Â
