Street Photography Quick Tip 13 – Shoot in a Coffee Shop
My Street Photography Quick Tips are short, easy to read and easy to use tips that I think could help you while shooting in the streets. Today’s post is for those of you who dread hitting the streets in this awful wet and dull November weather. Take your camera into a coffee shop near your, sit down, enjoy a strong Espresso, observe the other guests and take some candid portraits of scenes that will catch your eye. People in coffee shops tend to be really relaxed, engaged in talks with others, reading papers or books, staring obsessed into their mobile devices or simply use the free wi-fi to blog or do their studies. And believe me, they will not notice you.
The photography above I took last weekend (during my Street Photography workshop with Eric Kim) at the Bonanza Café (Oderberger Str 35) in Berlin with my Olympus PEN-F and the mZuiko 25mm F/1.8 prime lens, image specs are 1/60 sec @ f/1.8 and ISO 640. Raw processing and monochrome conversion in Lightroom Classic CC.
For a few more coffee shop shots continue after the jump…
So if you want to avoid the rain outside and still shoot Street Photography, had into your nearest coffee shop and try your self at some candid portraits. You are welcome to post links to your photos in the comment section.
For more of my tips and inspirations around photography head over to my free Learning Center!
Have a great Wednesday!
Marcus
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Street Photography Quick Tip 6 – Shoot in a station
I love the black and white filter! It gives your posts a very nice feeling. Keep it up!
Thanks, so glad you like it, it means a lot! Marcus
People in coffee shops do tend to be relaxed. Great advice for soggy days! 🙂
Thanks, Amy, glad you like the tip 🙂
Thank you for these inspirational photos Marcus
You are welcome, Marion, glad you liked the tips 🙂 ! Have a great Friday! Marcus
What a fab idea! I do love a cosy little cafe in winter.
Great 🙂 so take your cam the next time, looking forward to see your “coffee shots” !
Nicely done.
Thanks, Tim 🙂
Marcus, you’re welcome.
Your tips are really useful and inspiring. I tried my hand on this for the first time and was afraid of people reaction so the shots did not turn out that candid. But will keep practicing.
Thank you so much for your great feedback, that is so much appreciated! At the end, photography is like everything else, to be good you need to practice, practice, practice 😉
Yup! I agree.☺
Marcus, this is a great idea! I love these moments and I love how you edited these photographs in black and white. Each photograph is so emotional!
Thanks, Kaya, as always your words mean so much! Marcus
I find myself wondering about the differences within images created with the f-stops set at 1.8 and 7.1 or higher. Will explore…🙂
It is not all that difficult, Brenda. I focused on the studying girl at the far end of my frame with no foreground. Using a large aperture like f/1.8, everything is in focus. Had I used a narrower aperture like f/7.1 in this situation, the image would look the same.
It is a totally different story if you focus on a subject that is close to you and that is positioned in front of a distant background. With f/1.8 only the subject would be in focus, everything else would be thrown out of focus, both foreground and background. Using a smaller aperture (higher f-stop number), you increase the are in front and behind the subject that comes into focus. If you want to maximize depth of field, so have everything sharp in your image, you have to focus about 1/3 into the scenery and use a high f-stop number like f/16. This technique is mainly used in landscape photography, while a small depth of field is used in portrait photography, where you want to throw the background behind your subject out of focus. Hope this helps 😉
Thank you. I did not know about the variables of distance and foreground with f/1.8.
You are welcome, Brenda! Have a great weekend! Marcus
Excellent idea, I spend lots of time in cafes drinking coffee, but have never as yet taken candid pictures inside. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Thanks for your feedback, Jill, much appreciated! Next time bring your cam to the cafe! Marcus
Will do.