Photography Nerves in Public

Columbo · 6 Feb 2017 at 21:47

ethan said:
Lol. I once got chased out of a field by a woman and her dog. She had spent thirty minutes observing me through a pair of binoculars from her kitchen doing my photography, prior to setting the "beast" on me. after legging it over the gate and on to the road, I realised in panic that I had to go back in and collect my tripod. I also got apprehended by two security guards for photographing the shop front of a Chiquitos at the Potteries Hive shopping centre because they thought I was "casing the joint" or was a potential terrorist threat?

Were you on public or private land?
Just know your rights, stand your ground and always (and I mean always!) be polite.

Greebo · 7 Feb 2017 at 09:20

D.P. said:
Just go out and shoot, as long as it is not illegal or immoral then go ahead.

Some people get funny round kids though esp if you have a big lense.

An Exception · 7 Feb 2017 at 09:53

Be confident. Fake it until you are. Most of the issues you face is due to peoples perception of you, most of these issues are non-verbal.

As an example, Zack Arias starts out kind of sucking in the below video, until he mans up and begins having fun with it.

Zogger · 7 Feb 2017 at 13:49

Columbo said:
Were you on public or private land?
Just know your rights, stand your ground and always (and I mean always!) be polite.

My dearest hound, I do implore you to please stop chewing my leg. With greatest respect I think you will find as per Part I of the countryside and rights of way act I am rightfully allowed to be here. Please do let me know if you have any questions what-so-ever. Also if you have the time please call an ambulance as I am bleeding heavily. Sincerely yours, Mr. Fo Tograffer.

something like that

Genoma · 8 Feb 2017 at 11:00

Mountain bike rider tip for dogs, if you have a drink, spit it out on them. A little gross but harmless and works on the smaller canine leg chasing variety.

Tysonator · 8 Feb 2017 at 16:53

I normally ask people around me what is going on or the format for the venue.
There is a local venue gig bar and I just e mail the owners if I can bring my camera.
I always get a yes as I believe it is free advertising / exposure for the bar.

For safety in public try to go in pairs or with friends as there are still some stupid people out that think camera in public area is illegal !

Oh yes, and man up,...lol

ethan · 8 Feb 2017 at 18:41

Columbo;30477636 said:
Were you on public or private land?
Just know your rights, stand your ground and always (and I mean always!) be polite.

Regarding the former I was later told it was private. It was a huge field full of poppies with a house set back at the end nearly a quarter of a mile in the distance. There wasnt any obvious path leading from the field to the house and the actual path to it was also some quater of a mile in the distance to its side. I mistakenly took it to belonging to Hawkstone Park.

Regarding the latter it was what appeared to me as part of a public walkthrough area on the outside through which people gained access to the likes of the resteraunt and cinema. Unknown to me it is owned by the shopping centre.

ethan · 8 Feb 2017 at 18:54

Spacedeck;30477519 said:
I wish. The only fish they caught was already on the line. Matching jackets, one having a camera himself and the other guy had a fish hooked on his line from what I presume was an earlier catch. They just kept casting the fish back to the water over and over and bringing it back out. I think they might have been attempting to look good in some competition

Sometimes you have to go for it weighing up the pros and cons. I have sometimes asked people to pose only to regret it later as the pose destroyed the shot. I have also receive one or two indicators of discontent but usually most don't bother . It's usually a case of contrived V great shot with the latter wining most times.

D.P. · 8 Feb 2017 at 19:43

Greebo;30478287 said:
Some people get funny round kids though esp if you have a big lense.

That is there problem really. If they have concerns then they can approach you and discuss politely.

Some of my favorite people photos are children playing in park. I think it s a relatively recent British concept, I never see these issues in other parts of the world.

Greebo · 8 Feb 2017 at 20:14

D.P.;30484250 said:
That is there problem really. If they have concerns then they can approach you and discuss politely.

Some of my favorite people photos are children playing in park. I think it s a relatively recent British concept, I never see these issues in other parts of the world.

Yeah its only here i see it as well. People think you are a pedo nowadays

Spacedeck · 10 Feb 2017 at 01:35

Gungnir;30476910 said:
It's a great atmosphere at these runs. You'll be warmly welcomed and encouraged to photograph with the more extrovert runners doing spontaneous mo bots etc.

I emailed my local PR to enquire about the event. He advised me to register on the parkrun website, instead of just turning up. So they can add me to a volunteers list and also provide me with a hi-vis jacket. Then he made me nervous by saying "3: we can let people know there is a photographer so they can look out for you and smile for the camera". I understand that any photos I take would be taken home before I looked through them but I don't want people to expect some professional photographer to be taking the photos

I might end up leaving with nothing useful.

Anyhow. I normally walk everywhere, so this weekend will depend on the weather. Forecast of snow and my camera body isn't waterproof. If I wake up in good time, I think I'll give it a try.

Pretty wide spread area but hopeful somewhere in this park will give me decent shots.

Any tips for if I do go? My kit is far from great but should do the trick (D3300, 18-55mm (kit lens), 35mm f/1.8 and 55-300mm). I think the event normally lasts around an hour but I don't want to be experimenting for the whole session

would shooting in shutter priority and continuous mode be ideal for moving subjects?

hux · 10 Feb 2017 at 19:09

Personally I'd throw it into tav or whatever aperture priority mode your camera has.
I would imagine 1/200 would be plentiful, rule of thumb is to have a higher shutter than your focal length, so 50mm at least 1/50.
Aperture around f8/f11 should give nice dof, post processing keep away from sharpening, people don't want to see every blemish.

https://expertphotography.com/10-ways-improve-your-marathon-photography/

Give back button focus a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7fGCRx3vMQ

Spacedeck · 10 Feb 2017 at 21:03

hux;30491648 said:
Give back button focus a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7fGCRx3vMQ

I didn't even know this was a thing! When I use the back button AF, do I only need to press the button on my subject once before snapping in continuous mode? or does this require me to hold down the back AF button on the subject and keep the shutter pressed at the same time?

hux · 11 Feb 2017 at 05:51

Depends, if moving you keep it pressed, and not if stationary.

I find it far better for shooting, means I get to dictate the focus.

Greebo · 11 Feb 2017 at 10:17

back button focus is like marmite. You either love it or hate it

Danthus · 12 Feb 2017 at 11:41

I started by taking pictures of buskers and then throwing a £1 in.

ethan · 12 Feb 2017 at 19:23

OldCoals;30495777 said:
I started by taking pictures of buskers and then throwing a £1 in.

Yeah that works for me but I often include traveler Nomad types and offer to buy them a coffee for the "trouble" as a thank you.

MookJong · 13 Feb 2017 at 13:06

The more confident you are in your photography the less you worry what people think. My advice is get good lol

Saying that, I use a Fuji x100s most of the time when in UK towns and cities. It's small, discreet and has a silent leaf shutter. Using a full blown noisy DSLR in public places definitely makes you and the people around you more conscious. Abroad when in full tourist mode I have no problems going DSLR anywhere.

voidshatter · 14 Feb 2017 at 11:05

I don't think it's a good idea to do photography with family unless you intend to portrait them.

Get the best gear you can, and (play to) be professional - that way you feel proud when the crowd is watching you doing photography.

jonneymendoza · 14 Feb 2017 at 11:33

Spacedeck said:
Have you ever suffered from this? How did you overcome this?

I took a trip down to the canal near me, here ducks seem to hang around all the time. It's a nice open area and the area of water is wide, before it narrows again a short distance ahead. Nobody was about and it was nice and quiet.

I managed to get in to some different locations to try different shots but that's pretty much as far I got. Soon after I started snapping photos, two guys turned up with the fishing poles. They came over to the area I was using and started casting a line. This made the ducks fly away and move a little further up. I had my daughter in her pram and girlfriend with me and we'd have had to leave the area and backtrack to get back on the other side of the canal. So we ended up calling it a day and heading home.

I'm learning photography and watching a lot of videos from Mike Browne, who makes it sound and look easy. Part of me today felt like I was putting myself centre of attention and I would be watched and judged by everyone around me or passing. Then I also felt a struggle to find composition for any of the photos. I've spent many hours watching most of Mike's videos on the subject and felt I was getting an understanding but clearly not. Was this just down to my nerves and not focusing on the full potential round me?

man up bro