[alancotter]

March 25, 2011 at 12:50 am

Hi Sandra,

Would it possible for you to post the first image without the photoshop blur added? Personally i don’t recommend you get into the habit of adding these kinds of effects to street shots in particular, i think the shot stands out as it is, its an interesting scene as it stands.. Like mark said above, leave the lens do the work by shooting wide open.

Also the second shot again has a lovely subject, but the camera shake doesnt work with this one. Advice id give you in general with regards street photography in particular is, if you’re in a place like Connolly Station for example or anywhere in fact, is to prepare the camera before you shoot, have it ready with the correct settings, so when the shot you want comes along all you have to do is press the shutter.. How i would generally do it is, i would look at the camera’s settings window (on top of the camera facing upwards), point the camera at a particular spot and half press the shutter to see what kind of readings i get. If the shutter speed is to slow i will adjust the settings accordingly. The reason why i would be looking at the settings window is because that means the camera isn’t to my eye, it looks like im just fiddling with the camera and not drawing attention to myself… Its the small things like this that matter.. Hope this advice was helpful and didn’t sound patronizing, if it does my apologies, not my intention..

all the best and have a good weekend,
Alan

BTW, the 50mm f1.8 is the perfect lens for you, but you can certainly get it cheaper then the price on that website. Check out some camera shops, some might stock it second hand..

[alancotter]

March 22, 2011 at 2:34 pm

I quite like alot of them, nice work. I’m a big fan of this image of yours tho..

Untitled by nghonhei, on Flickr

[alancotter]

March 19, 2011 at 12:11 am

Thanks Johnny. Y’know, i thought the exact same thing myself after i published it up here.

[alancotter]

March 18, 2011 at 11:54 pm

Thanks Nigel..

[alancotter]

March 17, 2011 at 10:56 pm

These are really great Richie. The eyes are so sharp and say alot about this man i think. You should be proud of these, well done.

[alancotter]

March 16, 2011 at 5:55 pm

steveb wrote:

Yeah, but thats what everyone would have done

Really? Thats some assumption.

[alancotter]

March 15, 2011 at 1:43 am

I think that if you had focused the camera downward more on the man on the steps and the shadow, with the slice of light across the mans chest and slice of light across the steps that seem to match, granted the lower half of the shot would probably be to dark, but i think it would have been a more powerful street shot.

[alancotter]

March 15, 2011 at 1:21 am

Hi Jevgenij,

The subject itself looks quite interesting, kinda classic parisian feel to it. The only suggestion i have is to have a tighter crop, loose the pillars on either side to focus more on the couple, building and sky. I find the pillars distracting and don’t add much to the image. But i think with a tighter crop, you’ll have something here..

[alancotter]

March 15, 2011 at 1:16 am

The reprocessed shots are much easier on the eye. No.3 is the strongest for sure.

[alancotter]

March 15, 2011 at 1:11 am

KjetilNorway wrote:

I must respectfully disagree, I see no reason to keep below 50mm.

This is very true, you dont have to. I do know some people who shoot street with zooms and they get some pretty good shots, but traditionally, street photography is about being close, being part of the scene so to speak and not a mile away.

But there isn’t a rule book, if you shoot street and use zoom and get shots you like (which is the most important thing), then by all means continue…

[alancotter]

March 8, 2011 at 4:24 pm

Hey Sandra, we all had to start somewhere… It will get easier.

[alancotter]

March 8, 2011 at 12:21 am

Street photography is probably the hardest photography you can do as it does require getting quite close to subjects and being fast, but also about looking for interesting light, shadows etc… The more confident you become, the better your street photographs will become. If you’re awkward or look nervous, people will smell it and you just wont get the shots you want. But this comes with practice and time. But for a first timer you’ve done well, but again follow Dave’s links and this will give you more idea’s.

Also check this out, Joel Meyerowitz..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qjym5uliDw” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;

[alancotter]

March 8, 2011 at 12:00 am

They’re actually not bad. I would like to see the original crop of the first image, provided that it brings both characters into the image more.

Each image has an interesting subject, the only advice i’d give you is to lay off the contrast, they look like they have that “stamp” filter in Photoshop applied. Tone it way down and bring the images back to life a little..

[alancotter]

January 17, 2011 at 1:34 am

I’m liking this shot.. The three guys walking looking depressed and tired with the contradiction being the women in the frame, looking happy and fresh. Nice catch.

[alancotter]

January 11, 2011 at 11:09 pm

I’m surprised that there has been no response to this particular thread. The most interesting shot of three for me is No.3, it’s just a typical street shot, as it should be.. With No.1 there is to much sky, it doesnt add to the shot, with the camera pointed lower, more into the vender and man in turbin (?) would maybe have been a better composition choice i think, you might want to bring the contrast back a tad, the vendors face might be interesting…