A pre-preparation matters
First of all, ensure adequate sleep. Because this is a very exhausting activity, it is necessary to have a pair of eyes capable of detecting the target, but also a high degree of nervousness to prevent detection. In addition, the discovery of groups of persistent targets also need to have sustained energy to ensure that the prolonged combat!
Second, the dress must not be conspicuous. It's supposed to be a hide-and-seek job, and if you're conspicuous in your own right, then everyone's looking at you and you'll have no chance of getting off the ground at all.
Third, of course, to have a higher-grade camera or cell phone. Nowadays everyone uses digital cameras, so at least have a 3x optical zoom and 3 megapixels. Digital zoom is useless. It's better to have the ability to shoot close objects (macro).
Fourth, it's best to have a cover, and a slanted backpack is great for this, as it provides a cover and allows the shooter to maneuver the camera with two hands, increasing the stability.
Second, the street photography location selection
The best place to choose the target can have a certain period of time stationary place, such as bus stops, street variety shows, attractions to buy tickets, a larger sidewalk waiting island, general exhibition points, and so on. And it is required to shoot the small environment to be integrated into the surrounding environment as much as possible, more people coming and going. Because, if the target is moving, then it is difficult for you to take clear pictures, even if the shutter is well mastered, it is still difficult to take high quality pictures. In the above locations people have their own things to focus on and don't pay attention to what others are doing. Also, these locations are frequented by beautiful women and there are no rules against taking pictures. Don't shoot in a mall, the security guards will arrest you. I came close.
Three Choosing the Time to Shoot
In the summer, during the day, I find the best time to shoot is in the late afternoon and in the afternoon before sunset. In the morning, everyone is usually at work, and even on weekends, most people are at home sleeping. If you have to go out in the morning to shoot, then you have to choose the stations during the morning commute and various locations after 10 o'clock at least. In the late afternoon there is plenty of light, people are getting out of the house and are generally less alert. This is when targets will appear wherever they may be and continue to do so until sundown. Take the example of a large hub station on a commercial street on a weekend. In the morning, as everyone is starting to walk towards the shopping street, there are more targets getting off from the hub station, getting off the train and walking away immediately with no shooting value. From noon onwards, there are beautiful women waiting for the bus at the hub station leaving the shopping street. This is a good time to shoot. Similarly, the relationship between the station at commuting time, specific activities, surrounding buildings and facilities and time everyone will push the relationship, do not wait foolishly.
Four Specific ways to shoot
This section uses bus stops as an example. First of all, to stand as far away as possible from the direction of the bus to open the farthest place, so that everyone in your eyes within reach, you can easily find the target, and will not be easy to be found. Be aware that if the sun is shining from behind you at this point, that's fantastic! Why? Leave it to you to think about it.
You need to know your camera pretty well to be comfortable with it, except for casting sharpshooters, except for cell phones, and I'm only talking about regular digital cameras. The camera should be hidden in their own cover, and strive to achieve the purpose of the lens is on the target, the rest of the never show. When shooting the whole body of the target, you have to be good at finding references. Because sometimes the requirements of the angle makes you can not easily see the LCD, then choose a reference will make you very confident to press the shutter. For localized shots, such as legs and feet, then you can either use an optical zoom or venture closer. In my opinion, it's better to get closer because when you use a multi-zoom, it can easily shake and make the picture unclear. So how do you get a silky visible picture? The first thing is to get close. Then, turn on the Close Object Shot feature! Never forget. You can use the optical zoom in combination with the Near Object Shot feature to good effect.
A couple of examples. Spot a target, decide to take a full-body image, adjust the angle, look for a reference from the only part of the image you can see in the LCD, and confidently press the shutter. Then decide to take a close-up of the legs, get closer, turn on the optical zoom if it doesn't fit, stabilize the camera with both hands, and you'll have achieved your goal. You realize that you can't cut it for her and can't bear to let go, so get a little closer! If it's your feet, crouch down! Because there's always going to be so many people crouching in the place you've chosen because they're too tired for her to kick you out of the way! Then turn on the close-up feature, block your hand on the part of the camera other than the lens, don't have to look at the LCD display, judge the orientation for yourself, and then you can press the shutter.
Mastered the above four points, and then more practice, do not worry about shooting a blockbuster
Photography in the so-called "blockbuster", personal understanding should include so many kinds of situations:
1, with a strong visual impact, the photo looks shocking effect. For example, the super wide-angle lens to shoot the landscape blockbuster.
2, can let the photo audience produce psychological **** Ming, has a strong mind shaking power. For example, the tragic war news documentary photos.
3, the composition is very beautiful, the form has a high aesthetic value. For example, the perfect composition of portraits, still life, landscape photography.
4. High historical value. For example, old photographs that record real historical events.
5, can reflect the glory of humanity, positive social energy or show folk customs. For example, a high level of humanistic documentary works.
If the humanities street photo shooting in place, obviously can become the fifth category of blockbuster. So, if you want to shoot a humanistic street photography blockbuster from the form and connotation of the two aspects, either the composition, color, light and shadow close to the form of perfection, or can y reflect the human nature, humanities, social, national inner flash point.
Personally, I don't tend to let the subject of humanistic street photography reflect too much negative social content, or try to take the positive energy, human warmth, folk culture, and fun of life as the starting point for creation. Because spread the good, praise public morality, publicize culture is the basic responsibility of ordinary photographers. If you are not a professional journalist, you do not have the appropriate investigation and potential for the negative phenomena you see, which may cause misinformation and misinterpretation, and is not a responsible photographic attitude. If the intention of street photography is positive, it will allow you to shoot the creative process to become full of positive energy, creative enthusiasm, the dissemination of the work of the audience will also feel the corresponding encouragement. Such a starting point can become the basis of the "blockbuster".
Street photography is not a random shot, good observation, know the basic rules of composition, clever use of light and dark contrast, bold attempts to match different color elements, you can make your work on the external form of the first to attract attention. Sometimes, the external form is good, can greatly enhance the appreciation of photography, even if the inner spirit of the elements are slightly lacking, but also from the external form to make up for certain. Composition, lighting, color, good use, far easier than digging deep connotation. The inherent cultural and spiritual connotations of a work require long-term experience to gradually master, while the beauty of the form can be improved in a short period of time. For example, street photography in a large light ratio environment, often with a large contrast between dark and light, so that the work produces a certain strong contrast visual perception, so that the form of some of the lines, the image of the abstract refinement of the meaning of the smooth light than the shooting of the drama is stronger. Another example, seize the day when the sunlight angle is lower when shooting, not only the color temperature is warmer, the contrast between light and shadow is also more obvious, the role of the shadow in street photography should not be underestimated, it can make the picture more vivid. In addition, the form of composition can be diversified, such as frame composition, can make the work more formal graphic sense, the focus of the two-dimensional framework to be outlined, more prominent street photography works of formal beauty.
As an ordinary photographer, the choice of subject matter often determines the depth of the work's future potential and expansion. If you only like to carry a rabbit to capture the beauty of the street, then you have lost the potential of "blockbuster" from the subject matter of the intention. Our daily life can be contacted with a certain potential for the development of the subject, the easiest to contact is the folk culture. For example, if you like to walk in the old Beijing hutongs, you can take the hutong culture as the main subject of shooting, long-term shooting, slowly cultivate the understanding of the hutong culture, after a period of time to shoot, you may be able to produce a few good films. If you like traditional folk customs, then go to the traditional bazaar, go to shoot the local folk culture festival, more walks in the ancient city alleys, pay attention to observe around the "cultural crowd", you may shoot an unexpected cultural blockbuster. These subjects are around, it is easy to find, it is also easy to follow up, can be tapped into the material or more. In this creative process, you can often develop a pair of "humanities street sweeping eyes", to enhance the ability to master the subject matter of documentary photography.
Street sweeping belongs to documentary photography, and documentary photography is the most critical to control the timing of the shooting, rather than just shooting, mindless shooting. What kind of picture meets your creative ideas, what kind of picture elements reflect the core of your work, should be in the brain to prejudge, waiting for the time to shoot in advance when the decisive hand press the shutter. The most critical thing is to let the highlights of the photo elements in a reasonable composition position, not only from the form to make the picture more beautiful, but also to guide the audience's visual attention, highlighting the inner meaning of the picture. For example, if you take a photo of a street laborer, if you only take a photo of the laborer himself, in fact, there is not too much humanistic documentary value, you need to account for the environmental elements, and even the season, location, time, weather and other elements are also shown, highlighting the laborer's hardship. Shooting a photo of a child square feeding pigeons, simply shooting to the scene is nothing unusual, if you wait for the pigeons to fly up the moment of interaction with the children, then the photo will be more vivid.
Fun is also a focus of street photography, and many works are a successful street sweeping work simply because they are fun. There are a lot of coincidental elements that can make a photo interesting. Originally ordinary scene, originally no special behavior of the people, but because of some kind of coincidence, can make the photo increase highlights. For example, a person walking past a wall with graffiti on it just happens to fit in with the graphic in some way, making the image more interesting.
Some of the above insights about street photography are purely personal, limited ability, welcome to the majority of street photography enthusiasts to explore the corrections.
Good street photography must be able to tell an attractive story.
No story of street photography is not the soul.
In humanistic photography, the lens may be pointed at a person or an object, but what prompts you to pick up the camera and record the image must be a special story. There are many types of stories, not to say that you have to shoot wrinkled old man or woman is to tell a story, any one piece of things or characters, when he is in a special state or and another thing to establish a special connection will produce a story. The green leaves of a tree are a story, the withered leaves of a tree are also a story, we walk on the street, the pedestrian's expression, movement, demeanor is a story, the store is a story of business is booming, cats and dogs are free and easy is also a story. Or the state of a particular space is also a story, humanities street photography, as long as you can find the story that moved you to raise the camera, and then the appropriate means of skills to record it, then you will be able to shoot a blockbuster.
Choose a characteristic or simple background, the characters from a low angle upward shot, you can carry a hat sunglasses scarves and other items as simple props, or pose a casual and natural posture modeling, look tall and fashionable.
The so-called blockbuster, everyone's understanding is different. I think a good humanities street photography works, first of all, to have a sense of the times, with the backdrop of the environment, highlighting the characteristics of the expression of the characters, and then use the effect of light and shadow with the formation of a complete with the atmosphere of the times, memorable good works.
In street photography, you can choose a more solid color of the wall as a background, to give a person the feeling will be very clean, more prominent characters, the background is best not to appear more than 3 large color blocks, to avoid the background color to become the main body of attracting attention.
Human street photography?