pagespicsStreet Photography Tip
Something From Nothing
Serendipity. It happens, you lift the camera to your eye and everything falls into place. The perfect frame. Except sometimes it does not. Here is where you can fall back on making, ‘something from nothing’.
Something from Nothing. Hongzhen Old Street
Blend In
I take photos in places where I stick out like a sore thumb. Small inconspicuous cameras do little to hide the fact I’m a white bloke in a slum full of locals in a country that is not my own. People I want to photograph hide and others appear in front of my lens waving peace signs and begging ‘photo, photo!’. When I finally frame a picture and hit the shutter button, I find that I forgot to change my ISO and the shot comes out a blurry mess. Don’t pretend you have not been there. At times like this, you need to, ‘make something out of nothing.’
Re Focus
Here is the tip, if you read this far, you have earned it. Focus on a brick/ drain/ mop/ pair of underpants, whatever, and take some photos. Be creative. People around you will soon forget you are there. You have time to work on your camera settings and to fall into a creative mindset. Often this works as a restart to a session of Street Photography. Look up, and you are invisible, ready to create and do beautiful things with your lens.
Bike. Ponticherry, India.
Candid Photography
This trick functions as a reset button, helps other people forget you are there and can lead to candid photography. However, there is another side to the story. With practice, your results will lead to interesting photos. I never quite know what to do with these images. I like the pictures, and they sit on my hard drive collecting dust. This week I have taken action and printed one example out to hang on my wall. Further to this, I guess it is something I can blog about.
I really hope this is something you will try. Why not reply and let me know how you get on?
Take care and keep clicking, Chris
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