My sharing photography skills - Street Photography (2)

• Street life in Europe

During my time travelling in Europe, there is one thing that I really love about Europe.

I love the street life in Europe, which could be a great source of taking fantastic photos.

Street in Europe is different from Asia, not so crowded with private transport vehicles, as well as the pavement in Europe is very large, very convenient for people to walk on it to feel the street life and the fresh air.

Here, for fresh air, i mean if you have visited Asia, you will feel very disgusting on Asia streets, a lot of rubbish and pollutions, the quality of car emission in Asia, especially in Vietnam is very low. Whenever I want to go out to the street in Vietnam, I will have to cope with air pollutions, crowded streets with so many (huge) transportations, a lot traffic jams in big cities such as Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.

As a result, I have taken many street life photos in Europe, thus I think Street photography is a very interesting field when you are taking these photos when enjoying the colorful street life.

I would love to do a photo exhibition for my friends and relatives and encourage them to like and take pictures on this topic. Here I send to everyone article summarize some of the content of street photography for beginners. Hope that helps you to start using your camera more comfortably with street photography.

Street photography is the subject that everyone who shoots has always had a natural urge to try to capture the image of life rolling around. We often find ourselves, as observers, caught up in a number of situations and taken into account the interesting details of the people on the street. However, holding the camera to capture those moments is a very difficult task. Recording and retelling a story through photographs is one of the most difficult things to understand in street photography.

1. What is street photography?

My photo taken in Paris. 

• For me, street photography is a genre of random photography made in public places, such as on a street, in a restaurant, even on a medium traffic.
• When I take a picture of the street, I would have to focus on most human-related (and / or animal) shooting in a crowded place (a narrative context), such as the story of man in a certain space.

An elite drinking coffee in Paris.

• Is Street life photography different from reportage & press?

At this point, you can ask if you are taking photos as a reporter.

No, I would say that's two completely different things.

Do you know? Unlike newspaper photos, street photography often focuses on the everyday lives of strangers, rather than some of the more important types of events that reporters report more or report to the press. . Often, street photographers try their best to keep themselves out of the picture, fully respecting the natural motion of human life.

Moreover, I think that some reporters will take photo for political purpose so it is 100% different from us, we appreciate the truly human life on the street.

In this category, I have only one purpose of street shooting is to capture the scene, not influenced by the performer, thereby giving a natural story and theme.

• Who is the street shooting photographer?

The girl is playing on the street. I have taken this photo in Roma

• I assure you that we are all street photographers, such as when you are on the road and catching up with interesting things, we will be immediately putting our smartphone or camera up for grabbing that moments.
• That was me, or you all took a street shooting! It is an image theme in many different themes. No need to have an expensive camera like a photographer. You do not even need a professional lighting studio like a commercial photographer. All you need is a video recorder, including your phone and you know what you are shooting in the street.

2. What do you need for street photography?

You can ask many people and they will get many different answers about the best camera for street shooting. You can also buy a new camera every year, as well as have the technology to tell you to buy new equipment.

• A camera

However, I will tell you a secret! I just need to use my cheap smartphone. Remember, the masters of old photography do have modern equipment? Actually not. They have nothing like us today.But with that "nothing", they have unique works of art. Never assume that you can capture better pictures with better cameras. That does not make sense at all.

Obviously, I admit that if you have a large DSLR camera - it's great for you,

but if it's a travel camera or a 5 megapixel camera phone

  “ I think it is okay too, it's good enough for a great shot. Thanks.”

• Our eyes

However, I still believe that the only thing that makes a difference in street photography is your eyes. If you have delicate eyes, you will see what is appropriate. Otherwise, you will have problems. This may sound simple, but just practice your eyes to become a more experienced street photographer.

Now that you're ready to hit the streets, it's time to choose the best tool for the job. What camera and lens should you bring? Turn off a word - use whatever camera you have. If it's a large DSLR - it's good for you, but if it's a travel camera or a 5-megapixel smartphone - it's good enough for great pictures. It is important that you own your camera / phone, the prompt action, the option (if any) best suited for each situation.

3. How to set up camera settings?

Too many people assume that a good photo, even if not, also has to do with manual camera settings.

Actually, I find that not correct. Cameras now have the capacity to do everything themselves. Why not focus on the layout and let the camera do the work that it can do in the automatic mode. You will not lose any of your camera settings in A / Av mode (if aperture priority is required), S / Tv (when shutter speed priority is required), and even P mode moving aperture pairs and shutter speeds).

At first I had trouble mastering all that I needed to do while taking pictures.

Then I asked myself the question?

“  Then why don’t I  trust my camera and do not think about manual settings.?”

I asked myself:

 There are many things I need to think about before I press the shutter button. At some point, I will learn how to shoot.

After repeatedly photographed, I have a sincere advice: "If beginners shooting with manual mode (M), then you do not think you will quickly mastered. To start, you should only use limited the P and then increasingly be more subtle. You just try. It works great and I did not have to think much. do not think that you are a poor use photography mode setting P. Putting things together does not make you a good photographer.

Two sisters - I have taken this photo in Roma

• A mode
• After some time, you will somehow master your camera and can switch to A mode. I usually use the aperture priority mode and it is very useful for adjusting the depth of field. of the photo. With random portraits, I always use A mode with a f / 4 aperture while the camera sets the shutter speed manually. Enlargement is greater than f / 4, in many situations the image is clear (Dof) thin, the risk of not high resolution, in my opinion from f / 4 is safe with this type of image, unless the larger opening still ensures the sharpness needed.

• S mode
• Shutter priority mode, I only use when I want to create blurry photos. When someone is walking in front of an interesting background, I can blur their movements. I use a shutter speed of about 1/20 sec for a moving subject. For this purpose, sometimes you need to use c or tripod or place the camera in a position that is sure the camera is not shaking.
•  
• Proper exposure
• With street shots, I think getting the right exposure on photos is more important than the mode used. I often use multi-point measurements with an exposure adjustment of -0.7EV on my Canon 70D with a 17 50 mm lens. This is something that you have to experiment with and get used to with your camera to reduce the EV accordingly. I do not think you have enough time to change the settings during a shooting trip. You have to know what works best in most situations.
•  
• Talk about ISO
• ISO is arbitrarily depending on the light situation. Often the lowest ISO rating is possible so that the image is smooth. But, in the context of mandatory, know how much you can raise the ISO number, without too much noise. This with each camera is different and I always try to avoid high ISO values. If you have a good noise canceling machine, do not be afraid to use ISO Auto mode and limit it to 3200 or 6400 ...

4. Some street shooting tips

However, while I was photographing Europe, although I felt Europeans were more open-minded than the Asians in photography, perhaps for many, they did not like being photographed or faked. For example, when they know that I am shooting them, they are no longer natural.

I remember once in Bratislava, I saw an old man playing the violin very often or I was about to raise the camera, he turned away.

Or another time I took pictures of some lovely kids in the Stockholm cathedral in Sweden, the kids saw that and they loved to take pictures, but they were not natural anymore.

So I have listed here some street shooting tips.

Option 1: shooting without being noticed

• You can take street shots that others do not notice you. This may be the best way to not cause a reaction in them. People will not normally see you with the camera in hand. I usually like people looking at my camera, because that creates a certain connection; It is a way of communicating with someone who is photographing me on the street. At times that look is not necessary, but there are times when it is very good.

This is a photo I took in Trang Tien street, Hanoi, I had to pretend to set up the camera for 10 minutes to wait at her street vendor (she is selling street foods) not notice then I just press a split , and the result is a beautiful photo.

• Option 2: capture unexpectedly
• Another possibility to photograph people on the street, may be unexpected. You just put the camera on someone and press the shutter button. He sees you and recognizes you taking photos of them. The reaction from this type of shooting may be different, unnatural, and even shocked. Many people do not want to be photographed and you can see that through their reactions
• . I like this shot on the street, because it somehow shows the reality. I see people are surprised, angry, "shocked" or how you call it. But the real challenge, when you want to take natural portraits.

The rider is pointing at me as he has realized I am shooting him. :v 

• Option 3: Get permission to shoot
• And equally importantly, you can always ask someone to take pictures of them. I never did it or did it so badly. The hardest part is that you can capture the nature when people tend to be styled because of the warning. As a stranger, you do not know how they are in a natural state. If you are unfamiliar with street photography and are concerned about people's reactions, this is probably the best way to start. It also helps you improve your communication skills by talking to others about something. You can even capture a lot of information about someone you do not hope to have, but it can be very interesting.

Here is a photo of a Paris man playing violin, I would like to ask him to take a picture, then he agreed to.

• Option 4: Pay to take photos
• This is the last way for me to get a good shot, to tell the truth there are a lot of beautiful things that if you want to take the money. I'm used to this.
• For example, when I was in Vietnam, especially when I was traveling in Sapa, a town in the north of Vietnam, where a lot of ethnic people were dressed up, looking at me. and toward my camera.

A beautiful scene, I decided to press the button and ... Money where you? 15k (70 cents) for the photo. However, since I have taken the photo, I am very happy.

• 5. Practice street shooting

• "The camera does not make a difference.All they do is record what you are seeing.But you have to SEE "Ernst Haas (1921 - 1986 Austrian Photographer)

• It is all due to your eyes
• In street photography, I assert that there is only one thing that is truly trustworthy: it is your eyes, your eyes. You have to see new things that can capture them. No matter what camera you have, what brand or what, you must first see what's going on, first you have to be aware of what happens and immediately after It's almost like you have to lay out the picture.

• Forget the camera!

I see many people are too preoccupied with cameras, lenses, equipment, image file format and other technical details. Forget all about technical and camera settings. Put your camera in P mode and do not think about it anymore. You have to train your eyes first, then you can think of shooting a scene.

• The ability to observe sensitive

The first step is to look for a color scheme. For example, you can try to find just what is orange and yellow all day with just one color. You will be surprised to see that there are many yellowish oranges you can see in your city, which you did not notice before. This means that you have to focus on one thing to really get to grips with it. You do not even need to take pictures; You can walk, drop around and look around, trying to see a lot of yellowish orange on the way.

• Let's start without the camera

If you want to start shooting street photography, I recommend you start by using your eyes instead of the camera. I usually leave home with a frame in my head and start imagining stuff instead of shooting with the camera.

After this, though, I have to spend a lot of time to take pictures, but I have to learn to look first.

I see what's exciting on the streets is the hardest.

More time taken - less time online

 I think that most street photographers are reaping the benefits of spending more time shooting and less time online. After learning and learning about photography, spend more time shooting and taking photos.

• Always hold the camera in hand

"Always hold the camera in your hand, unless you go to bed." Having a camera ready will give you more opportunities to take pictures. Keeping it in the cabinet or bag will make it hard to see the photos. Curious and open with everything going on, there are always great shots to take.

Exercise every day

You can practice this practice every day in your own way. Look around and start framing situations, thinking about the topic, looking for opportunities. There are many situations in everyday life where you can take many pictures.

6. The ending

To finish the second part of the photography series, I found I was more happy with a machine that was adequate, or a smartphone capable of capturing the moment when it was needed, and the important thing was the light. bright, interesting story and layout throughout, clear content transmission, new ideas

Perhaps the purpose of street photography is to find and see beautiful moments, romantic moments, or special transmissions of something.

Over time, I traveled alone in Europe, I wandered around the subject and concentrated on capturing the moments in the street.

Maybe at first, I bet that many people will feel bored. However, I advise you not to be discouraged when it comes to finding a way to approach strangers you meet. Try to find a nice scene for your photos, find out the light that is attractive to highlight your shooting object, can separate them from the rest of the world around.

To finish the article on street photography, I will take two simple photos that one is I took with my smartphone, another one is from my friend in Tarragona - Ferdinand Franz, maybe for the purpose of the photo I will not tell you. But each picture has its own message.