The "Post your portraits here of random strangers" thread (only for the brave!).

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 13:20

RULES

1) The subject must be a stranger.

2) Subject must give permission for you to take their portrait.

Walked in to town today with my 35mm (soon realised I should have picked up my 50 or 85) and on the way I stopped people randomly as they were about to walk past and asked them if I could take their portrait.

About 75% said yes, and with more than I expected of those looking like they actually enjoyed it.

I then gave them a card with my logo/web address on (don't have business cards yet, but this exercise has prompted me to get off my backside) and wrote down their image number from my camera, and advised them that they could go to the contact section of my website and message me that number and I would email back with their portrait, most people then expressed allot of gratitude, however some said they didn't want their picture but changed their minds when I showed them the LCD.

I even had a few long chat's with some people, one elderly couple had just purchased an old pentax film camera, and the gentlemen couldn't wait to show me it, as he had purchased it for the bargain price of £20 which apparently was going to cost him £50 on ebay.

Also a surprising number asked how much I charged, but as this was just an experiment, so I said the portrait was free, but this gave food for thought.

Once I'v got my business cards designed and printed along with a finished website, I may go into town regularly to take portraits, as it's potentially a very good marketing strategy that can be highly targeted.

Reassuringly I never received one cross word, and the worst I got was a smile and 'No thank you', and in total I approached roughly 30 random people.

Below was one of the first person I approached on my way into town after just leaving my house, but there is plenty more to come.

American chap, who said he used to do a similar thing in college.

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 13:33

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:15

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:22

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:29

My old school bus driver, didn't remember me though (12 years ago).

Docaroo · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:48

Ace idea! And cool pictures

You must have looked like a trustworthy guy

OG · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:56

Nicely done, I am very tempted to start doing this when I go back to uni in Nottingham as my hometown isn't all that diverse and everyone does seem pretty miserable down here as well! Lovely shots though and its probably a great way to make contacts

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 14:57

American business men.

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:00

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:04

Old couple just purchased an old Pentax.

PermaBanned · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:11

Rule #2 is the reason that this thread will never be as good as this thread.

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:14

sbi5ar · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:16

If I can get out this weekend (and its not raining) I will try my hardest to get at least one photo

.

Good photos (particularly liking the bus driver for some reason :/ haha)

DiCe! · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:20

Its 2 completely different types of photography....soooo I really like the idea of this thread

PermaBanned · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:22

Ejizz said:
Doesn't make it any less real, besides it's easy to walk around being sneaky...

It does make a difference though - there's a huge gap between posers and candids.

You can't say that the ones who ask permission are the ones who have balls

DiCe! · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:30

Im not a fan of candids myself Just doesnt float my boat.

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:34

An Exception · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:35

PermaBanned · 27 Jul 2011 at 15:37

DiCe! said:
Im not a fan of candids myself Just doesnt float my boat.

http://www.advancedphotography.net/20-spectacular-examples-candid-portrait-photography/

But still - if that's what you want then have fun with your thread. Doubt if i'll join in at any point, but nevertheless you should remember that "When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls."

Andy90 · 27 Jul 2011 at 16:02

Some excellent portraits there Ejizz. I think it might be worthwhile for you to get some nice business cards printed up. Take free photos in the Street, direct people to their free shot and make it clear that you are available for hire. It is certainly a good business opportunity

Interesting to see how you got on. We tend to think of it as a big scarey world out there, but in fact most people are nice decent people.

You might like to look at Markus Schwarze's 365 set on Flickr, he went out and shot a load of people over the year in a similar fashion using a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens, his shots are superb, can be found at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wefwef/sets/72157623286697398/