{"id":24259,"date":"2015-07-16T00:52:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T07:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=24259"},"modified":"2015-07-18T00:26:51","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T07:26:51","slug":"learn-from-the-masters-lesson-1-get-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/16\/learn-from-the-masters-lesson-1-get-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn From the Masters: Lesson #1 Get Closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey streettogs, I’m starting a new book on a distillation of all the “Learn from the Masters<\/a>” articles I’ve written. I hope these daily lessons can inspire you, I know they inspired me!<\/em><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u00c2\u00a9 Robert Capa \/ Magnum Photos. SPAIN. Cordoba front. September, 1936. Death of a loyalist militiaman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If your photographs aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – Robert Capa<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the common mistakes that many beginning street photographers make is this: they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get close enough.<\/p>\n

We have many fears and provide a lot of excuses for not getting close enough in our street photography. We are worried about pissing people off, we are worried about making other people feel uncomfortable, and we are worried that strangers might call the cops on us (or even worse, physically assault us).<\/p>\n

However realize that this is all in your head. By getting closer to a stranger, you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t die. In-fact, I have learned that in photography (and life), with physical proximity comes emotional proximity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough to use a telephoto or zoom lens to get \u00e2\u20ac\u0153close\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to your subject. That is fake intimacy. By using a telephoto lens, you are treating your subjects like zoo animals, and your photography is a safari hunt.<\/p>\n

However when we read the quote from Robert Capa<\/a> on closeness, it doesn’t necessarily mean physical proximity. You can be physically close to your subject, and still emotionally distant. The most important thing as a street photographer is to empathize with your subject and try to connect with them, their emotions, feelings, and condition.<\/p>\n

In street photography I generally recommend using a 35mm lens (full-frame equivalent) for most photographers (Alex Webb<\/a>, Constantine Manos<\/a>, and Anders Petersen<\/a> shoot with this focal length). The human eye sees the world in around a 40mm field-of-view, and I find that shooting with a 35mm lens gives you enough wiggle-room around the edges of the frame.<\/p>\n

A 50mm is fine too (Henri Cartier-Bresson<\/a> was famous for using it for nearly his entire life), but in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crowded world, I find it to be a bit too tight. A 28mm is fantastic too (William Klein<\/a>, Bruce Gilden<\/a>, and Garry Winogrand<\/a> have used this focal length), but realize that you have to be close enough with this lens to fill the frame.<\/p>\n

As a rule-of-thumb, I try to shoot with a 35mm at least two-arm-lengths away (or closer). 2 arm-lengths is 1.2 meters (around 4 feet). Therefore I always have my camera pre-focused to 1.2 meters, set at f\/8, ISO 1600, and I simply go out to find moments to shoot.<\/p>\n

The .7 Meter Challenge<\/h2>\n

\"NYC,<\/a>