Lynda.com. Street Photography: Candid Portraiture with Steve Simon

Skills: Knowledge, techniques

Research: Looking with purpose

Application: Doing it

Doing that one word sticky note exercise on the word ‘Seminar’ 

LYNDA.COM
Street Photography: Candid Portraiture <<< Link (The whole series) (What I am showing below)

I looked up street photography on Lynda.com so that I could  get more insight and a step by step guide to what I have to do when out on the street. A series of videos on street photography by Steve Simon.

 Introduction: Welcome to Street Photography (01m:51s) <<< Link

• I will be learning the 'technical aspects' of street photography.
• Have to respond very quickly to get the shot.
• Different situations. Fast moving areas to slower areas and difficult situations as well. 
• More personal I make it the more strong my images will be.

Introducing the street and shooting with a long lens (02m:23s) <<< Link

^ What I've learnt from this video ^ : He uses a Telephoto lens which he doesn’t like to use much but he uses it because it offers more opportunities that he wouldn’t get with a wide lens. It makes the photograph pop more. Keeps one eye open so he is able to see anything interesting come up and is ready to shoot. Stays in that one place, longer you wait the better you’ll get a great shot. 

Photographing the crowd at 57th street in NYC (02m:29s) <<< Link

^ What I've learnt from this video ^

• Be able to respond quickly.
•  Light is something important, having that light be added into the frame, but not having light there can also be ok. 

Notes: 

• f8 gives you depth of field to more in focus (check the f stops) Like what gives you more focus and what doesn’t.
• Shutter speed is fast so it can freeze like the movement.
• slow shutter speed to make motion blur. So like the blur picture he took of the people walking past with the overlook of the city on billboard he put his ISO down f11 f16
• Find the balance. against the wall cause we need a tripod. 

Exploring the goals and techniques for shooting in a busy urban

As a street photographer, Steve tries to be stealthy and keep a low profile. So he uses a mirror less camera. It has a quite shutter. So that it looks like he's not taking a picture. He doesn’t make eye contact. He has like a pitch to say if they do ask what he’s doing.   

Focusing in on the people and the scene of the urban park

• He is always looking for something that is curious.
• Interesting subject. 
• Wait and see what he will get. 
• Maintain high ethics to make it easy for a street photographer. Like he photographed a busker and contributed. 
• He is always looking for the light. Wherever the light is, is where he will start. Most of the time he uses the auto meter and relies on the raw files just in case he misses 

Getting permission to photograph someone

• Getting permission from someone gives you freedom to take more than one photograph of them.  
• The Birdman has great visual potential that if Steve took one photograph of him he would be fine with that one shot. 
• Make a great situation into something even greater. 
• Make the most out of it when out on the street. So once Steve finds his subject, such as the birdman, he finds his composition, as the birds fly around, and stays in that one place for a while and just shoots. 

Working the street scenes in Chinatown

• Street photography is about following the light and looking for interesting people. 
• It’s about discovery.  
• Steve is always very conscious of the light, because it’s a big thing in street photography. 
• The more you take photographs of what interests you the most, the more  your work will be separate from every other street photography. 
• If you're feeling uninspired, move to another place.

Shooting in a busy, culturally, significant part of the city

• No tripod? Put camera against the wall. 

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The 3 links are videos I have watched in today, 'Street Photography: Candid Portraiture', as well as the different screenshots.

There were more videos to this series but this was enough for me in today's Lynda.com lesson. 

I haven't added other videos I have watched today as well as they were 'Reviewing' videos. Just going over the shots he took from his last lesson. 

Each screenshot is a different video btw.

These videos are all in the same series, 'Street Photography: Candid Portraiture', done by Steve Simon.

By watching these videos I was able to:

• Know 5W's (What, Where, Why, When, Who) 1H (How) I was going to shoot.
• To find what is interesting and is real to me.
• To follow the light. Well like find the lighting and work the light into your photographs.
• Staying in one place can be good. You might get a good shot later on. But if I am not feeling it I could move somewhere else.

Etc. etc. etc. (Btw I wasn't working harder)