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

Stranger-portrait-project0403.jpg
 
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Add you as a contact on Flickr Snowpatrol, you have some stunning photos and that's just on your first page. Infact they are all stunning, you capture so much emotion and life in you pictures!
 
snow patrol said:
thanks ejizz, i'm really liking your stuff too. Colour works well for your shots, but personally i tend to go with black and white, purely for creative reasons (as opposed to trying to 'save' an image that doesn't work in colour - although i agree with you that sometimes black and white is good for that kind of thing as well!). I think it's because i just naturally gravitate towards more 'gritty' looking characters when i hit the streets and to be honest i've had a fair few run ins with people who get a bit shirty (nothing too major though, and i've always managed to calm them down).

I think number 5 of yours is my fave, but not sure if that's because it's black and white or because it's a fantastic shot or a combination! :)

I must confess though, that i still just prefer candid street photos...you just tend to see more emotion in the faces...more thought and feeling. Whereas invaribly, when you ask someone to pose, they're going to smile and do the whole chin down, eyes up routine... and although once processed, you're left with a good shot, it might be one that holds little long term interest for anyone other than the photographer and the subject. Obviously there's exceptions to this, but i hope you see what i mean! :)

Nice thread though - keep them coming! Do you do candid street stuff as well?
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Thanks snow patrol, no I'v never done any street stuff before the other day (it felt weird carrying a camera around in public).

This was all an experiment for me, but a practical one, as aside from the obvious marketing possibilities, I wanted to practice my interactions with strangers until it felt like a normal thing to do, and hopefully be able to get to the point where I could notice patterns in their behaviour/appearance and change tact on the fly, I'm hoping this practice might help me with future paid gigs.

I also found it good practice for composition, as once I had memorised my canned opener, I was already thinking about composition etc. as I was approaching them, so when I had finished my routine and they said "yes" I new exactly where I wanted them to move to and I was already where I needed to be, as I wanted to keep the interaction moving as smoothly as possible with no pauses where it would give time for the subject to look awkward.

I didn't get the composition how I wanted some of the time, but on the whole I was happy how they turned out.
 
it's good to be able to talk to people and make them feel comfortable etc. I work as a restaurant manager, so i've got a bit of experience with face to face so never have a problem with it. Even when people get a bit funny with me, i usually manage to turn it around and they end up fine.

Here's one where the subject actually asked me if i'd take his shot!


scarface by Rowan Hunn, on Flickr
 
Ejizz said:
Thanks snow patrol, no I'v never done any street stuff before the other day (it felt weird carrying a camera around in public).

This was all an experiment for me, but a practical one, as aside from the obvious marketing possibilities, I wanted to practice my interactions with strangers until it felt like a normal thing to do, and hopefully be able to get to the point where I could notice patterns in their behaviour/appearance and change tact on the fly, I'm hoping this practice might help me with future paid gigs.

I also found it good practice for composition, as once I had memorised my canned opener, I was already thinking about composition etc. as I was approaching them, so when I had finished my routine and they said "yes" I new exactly where I wanted them to move to and I was already where I needed to be, as I wanted to keep the interaction moving as smoothly as possible with no pauses where it would give time for the subject to look awkward.

I didn't get the composition how I wanted some of the time, but on the whole I was happy how they turned out.
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what did you actually say to people when you opened them > ?
 
Indeed I am ejizz, manufactured in the Horton and returned after uni.

adam68, your sig won't last long like that.
 
snow patrol said:
thanks mp4, indeed - basically i rested the camera on a ledge at set a slow shutter speed (1/4) so that things that weren't moving would be still but moving things would be blurred. It was meant to capture the 'hustle and bustle' of commuting and rush hour in london.

The lens for that was the tokina 11-16mm @ 11mm. My favourite lens for street shots is the 50mm 1.4 though.
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Thanks for that, Snow Patrol id never thought of the shutter speed in that way.

I have 50mm 1.8 and I love the lens , my next i hope will be 85mm
 
Ejizz said:
White balance is off, the background is busy and in focus, and the camera angle is a bit too low imo.
Good effort though, but I think with a few changes in composition and a nice (cheap) fast prime, I think the image would look much better.
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thanks Ejizz, i know it's not a great shot, think it was taken a few days after purchasing my new camera, didnt know much :p
 
Ejizz said:
^^^
I can recommend the 35 1.8G, and the 50 1.8G, as they are very sharp, and the shape of the bokeh is pleasant as well imo.
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indeed, my local shop said the 1.8 50mm usually go for the 75 pound mark, which is very cheap given what i've found online, it's just waiting for them to get one in :D
 
Ejizz said:
^^^
Hang on, I don't think your body is compatible with the 50mm 1.8D, I think you need an AFS lens which is the 35mm 1.8G and the 50mm 1.8G or 1.4G.

I think the Nikon D5000 is lacking screwdrive auto-focus.
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but i dont really need autofocus lol? i'm slowly getting to grips with manually focusing on my macro lens at the moment
 
Seraph said:
but i dont really need autofocus lol? i'm slowly getting to grips with manually focusing on my macro lens at the moment
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you'd be mad to try and take 'off the cuff' street shots with manual focus imho. Unless you're amazing, you'll screw up far to many shots. Macro is different..you're SUPPOSED to use manual focus...you have time, usually a lot of time to get the focus spot on. With street shots, that amount of time doesn't usually exist.

Tbh, my advice would be to sell your d5000 and get a d90. Exactly what i did - didn't cost much and was very very much worth it. Then you can use all those lovely cheap af-d lenses and still get auto focus.
 
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