{"id":38344,"date":"2017-02-14T02:00:26","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=38344"},"modified":"2017-02-05T03:05:21","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T11:05:21","slug":"how-to-have-courage-to-shoot-street-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/14\/how-to-have-courage-to-shoot-street-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Have Courage to Shoot Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2011 \/ Photo by Rinzi Ruiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I want to write you this article on how to practically have more courage to shoot street photography:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Street photography favors the brave<\/h2>\n
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First of all, realize that street photography is probably the most frightening form of photography.<\/p>\n

If you take a photo of a flower, it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t possibly yell at you, or punch you in the face.<\/p>\n

Being a street photographer means that you are brave. It means that you have more guts than the (average) person. It means that you are a risk-taker for your photos.<\/p>\n

So to start off, pat yourself on the back for having the courage to even pursue street photography.<\/p>\n

1. Baby steps: The fishing technique<\/h2>\n
\"eric
I saw this interesting architectural background, and waited for the lady with the umbrella to enter. Seoul, 2009<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I started in street photography, I came from a landscape\/architectural background. Therefore, I was afraid of getting close to subjects.<\/p>\n

I had my first baby steps in street photography by shooting from a distance.<\/p>\n

\"eric
One day after work, I found this interesting sculpture, and leading line. I waited for a bicyclist to enter the photo, and photographed it once he was in-line with the arrow. Santa Monica, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They call this the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfishing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 technique\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you find a nice background, wait for your subject to enter the frame, and you take the photo. You pretend to be photographing the background, not the actual subject.<\/p>\n

2. How to get closer: The video camera technique<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The next step is to slowly get closer. I recommend using the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcvideo camera\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 technique \u00e2\u20ac\u201d holding up your viewfinder to your eye (or using the LCD on your camera), and pretending like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting a video.<\/p>\n

Go to a busy downtown area, and walk around (slowly) and pretend like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting some home-video. Then while you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pretending to shoot a video, get closer to your subjects, and click away.<\/p>\n

The most important part of the video camera technique is this: don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t drop your camera from your eye, or check your LCD screen (chimp<\/a>) after you take a photo. This will give away the fact that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re taking photos of strangers.<\/p>\n

3. How to interact with subjects: Ask for permission<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I believe that \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstreet portraits<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is another sub-genre of street photography. A \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcstreet portrait\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 means you approach a stranger, and ask permission to photograph them.<\/p>\n

A simple assignment: approach a bunch of strangers for an entire day, and try to get 5 people to say \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcyes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to you photographing them, and try to get 5 people to say \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcno\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to being photographed.<\/p>\n

The secret is to not be afraid of being rejected. In-fact, if you have an aversion to being rejected, try the \u00e2\u20ac\u212210 no\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 assignment. Approach a bunch of strangers to shoot their portrait, and try<\/em> to get 10 people to reject you. You will find it is harder to get rejected (than you think it is).<\/p>\n

Not only that, when you do find people who say \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcyes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to having their portrait photographed, learn how to interact with them. Make small talk. Talk about the weather, their life story, or how they are doing.<\/p>\n

The better you build social skills, the more confidence and courage you will build in your street photography.<\/p>\n