Street Photography Quick Tip 3 – Practice shooting “blind”
All of a sudden the job that pays my bills has almost completely taken over my life, it’s tough to find time to go out shooting these days. Still I thought I can quickly post another of my Street Photography Quick Tips. One of those short, easy to read and easy to use tips that I think could help you while shooting in the streets. Today’s post is complimenting my previous tips about shooting inconspicuously. It is about practicing to shoot “blind”. If you want to find out how, continue reading after the jump.
Sometimes it is essential to shoot from the hip, overhead or with the camera in front of your stomach (as described in my last Quick Tip #2). This requires you to press the shutter without looking through the viewfinder. Sure you can use a wide angle focal length and a narrow aperture (large f-stop number) like f/8 or f/11 to help you capturing your intended subject within the frame and in focus.
Still, chances are that initially there will be a lot of hit and miss. Actually, getting your subject into the frame without looking through the viewfinder or at your LCD screen. is more difficult than you might think. Try it! Take your camera down to the hip, look around you, identify a subject you would like to take an image off. Point the camera into the direction where you GUESS it will capture your subject and press the shutter. Only then check on the LCD screen how much of the subject you actually managed to capture. The more you practice shooting “blind”, the more accurate your “position guessing” will eventually become, a very helpful skill when shooting inconspicuously in the streets. The best thing is this practicing can be done anywhere, at home, in your office, when being on the road, wherever.
Take your cam and practice. And have fun!
Related Posts:
Street Photography Quick Tip (1)
Street Photography Quick Tip (2)
Instant Inspiration (I) – Get Down Low
Instant Inspiration (2) – Motion Blur