Practical skills of street sweeping for beginners

Lead: Why did you write this article? In fact, it is to let everyone have a specific quantitative concept of sweeping the street. The experience is my personal experience of sweeping the streets in the past year, so the content and pictures are for reference only and have no academic significance. If you have any wrong parameter concepts, please refer to them as appropriate.

Practical skills for novices to sweep the street First of all, what is street sweeping? It's a term on the forum, which means taking a snapshot of any street with a camera. Its object is in the street, which can be people, things or the scenery on the street. Shooting people is just a kind of street sweeping. Lights, pets, still life, vehicles and so on can all be used to sweep the street.

The following are some misunderstandings about street sweeping:

number of people

Generally speaking, sweeping the street is a group of three or five friends shooting aimlessly, taking pictures of what they see all the way. In fact, this kind of street sweeping is difficult to have a successful work. First of all, the objectivity of the photographer's ontology is too great. It stands to reason that the more ordinary the photographer's body should be, the less likely it is to attract the attention of others. Moreover, it is difficult for such a group of people to shoot with long guns and short guns while talking and laughing, so I personally think it is best to control the number of street sweepers below three. In fact, 1 person is the best, and there are many pictures you want to shoot, but your peers also want to shoot. Two people raise their cameras at the same time, and the result can be imagined. It is like a hunter hunting. When the first man found the prey, he didn't come to shoot it. The prey arrived second.

However, I also understand that many people are afraid to shoot alone or worry that they will not be able to shoot successful works. When you start sweeping the street, you can choose some friends with more level and experience than yourself. One is to learn shooting skills, and the other is to give some appropriate guidance to your own shooting. At this time, we should focus on observation, and we don't have to take many photos ourselves. From my personal point of view, I only need to take a satisfactory photo every time I sweep the street, but in fact I often finish the task over budget.

One person can sweep the street.

Digital comparison

equipment

Equipment is not everything, but you can't do anything without it. In this era of equipment, a large aperture fixed-focus lens with a certain quality is a necessary basic equipment for street documentary photographers. If not, don't always complain why you can't shoot other people's blur, other people's aperture, other people's star, and other people's taillights.

If you want to do well, you must sharpen your tools first, so save money from now on. The brand of the lens may vary from host to host. I simply recommend several lenses suitable for the street (Canon is the main lens because the equipment I use is Canon 500D) 50/ 1.8, 40/2.8, 50/ 1.4, 85 1.8, 35 65438.

As long as you can handle it, of course, the actual shooting should be as light as possible, because sweeping the street first is not a long-term fixed-point shooting activity. If you take an 85L everywhere, you won't fall in love with sweeping the street, because it is too heavy and has a strong sense of restraint. Don't underestimate 50 1.8. Personally, I think it will not be worse than 24-70 2.8 in the same light. Therefore, for the street sweeping party, don't believe that a mirror can help you. Maybe during the day, but it must be bitter at night. Many excellent works mostly come from after dusk, because the sunlight during the day is too strong, which is easy to destroy the artistic conception of humanistic films, while the light at night is more gorgeous, which is more suitable for expressing the psychedelic nature of characters and scenes.

The equipment is mainly light.

Lazare, Cannombo

theme

Sweep the street, sweep the street, what are we going to sweep? I often ask myself, because it is very common to explain all the things that happen on a whole or regional road, or to cross the road all the time, at the food market, begging, etc. In fact, I personally think that street sweeping is a record of my own experience, but it is more of a life prospect or a reflection of local folk customs. So when shooting, there is no need to shoot whatever you see in this street. Take a picture when you see a dog at the intersection, a pair of shoes on the windowsill, and a cyclist passing by. Of course, it's okay to take these pictures, but when you need to share them, you have to ask yourself, what's the story of this dog lying at the intersection? Why is it lying down? Whether the shoes on the windowsill are new or old, why they are put on the windowsill, and so on. If you can answer these questions, it means that the topic you choose is meaningful, so everyone will have personal experience and experience when it is released, which is more likely to cause * * *.

For example, I just photographed the back of an old man, so what does this reflect? Many people may say, in fact, I didn't think so much when shooting, but I just thought that the light was good and the picture was good. Yes, I don't deny that everyone has their own aesthetics, but this picture may be more about your personal emotional reaction, but it is not very story-telling. On the contrary, if you see an old man delivering food to a child with a lunch box, the content of this picture will be enriched. Of course, not everyone will see this collocation, so we must pay attention to the story of the picture, and it is best to let people feel it directly through photos, rather than simply good light and shadow, good color tone and good composition.

You can compare the story and appeal of the two pictures, and you can understand what you should shoot more.

walking stick

Hand in hand

difficulty

As a street sweeper, the question you often encounter is, are you not afraid of being scolded, beaten, or even robbed of the camera? In fact, I want to say that it absolutely depends on what you shoot and how you shoot it. Why else would others react like this?

Two other concepts have to be mentioned here, one is portrait right and the other is copyright. First of all, does street shooting involve portrait rights? The answer is yes. Secondly, we need to see if your shooting is for profit. For profit? Two conditions must be met at the same time: first, use other people's portraits without their consent; Second, the profit-making behavior infringes on the portrait rights of others, that is, users subjectively hope to obtain economic benefits by using portraits of others. If the above two items are realized without the permission of the other party, the other party has the right to investigate your tort liability.

Secondly, whether the street shooting works are copyrighted or not, the answer is yes. But this copyright is only your own. If you really need to publish your work, it may still involve the use of portrait rights, depending on the specific situation. So if you meet someone who stops you from shooting or asks you to delete the photos in the camera, just actively cooperate with them to delete them. In fact, few people really do this in today's society. If you meet them, you can only admit that you are unlucky. At least I haven't met anyone who wants to delete it.

Sanitation workers under high temperature

Shooting method

Everyone has different shooting preferences. As far as the current national conditions are concerned, my personal feeling is to use manual focusing M file (after fixing the station, wait for the subject to enter the framing range before shooting) or move blind shot P file (that is, shoot directly with the camera without using viewfinder or LCD screen, only by predicting the subject and focus). These two methods are one of the shooting methods that have the least impact on the environment.

Under this condition, ordinary photographers will be mistaken for tourists or journalists to shoot news and ignored by passers-by. Then why do others shoot clearly and I shoot badly? This question depends on two points. The first shot is whether you use a large aperture lens, and the shutter speed is enough to determine your shooting fate. Secondly, it is necessary to use reasonable parameters in a reasonable scene, because you know how well you know the shooting environment or camera parameters. It sounds empty, but when you know the correct parameter ratio of the camera under the next window and the next street lamp, you can really shoot a successful street shot alone. Otherwise, if.

Because each host and lens have different requirements for parameters, I can't use actual figures to explain what is reasonable. Broadly speaking, for the lens, opening the aperture to the maximum is definitely the biggest weapon to ensure the success of sweeping the street. When you know the maximum film effect of the aperture, you can reduce it to one or two steps to ensure the clarity of the film, which depends entirely on your understanding of your lens. In addition, there are ISO, shutter, exposure, white balance and so on. In fact, in my opinion, there is no completely safe and reliable parameter ratio. This can only be achieved by shooting. If you shoot too much, you will understand.

Knowing your host better will improve your success rate of sweeping the street, which is why I have always insisted on using my current 500D, because I know its performance better. Don't always ask others what the head and parameters are. In fact, these data can only be used as a reference under exactly the same lens, camera, climate and scene conditions. Most of the data are meaningless, so why ask? The purpose of our inquiry is just to know how this effect or exposure comes from, not to say that you can shoot the same humanistic film with this parameter ratio. In most cases, this parameter will have certain significance in shooting landscapes, buildings, galaxies, sunrises, sunsets, portraits and so on. But it is of little significance for documentary street shooting, so what we need to learn more is the photographer's composition and perspective and the most important position.

Someone's back

skill

Tip 1: shoot at a fixed point

As long as you stand at the subway exit, the preset parameters of the camera ensure the minimum safety shutter or slow door effect, and then cast a net for people entering and leaving the station. Although the rejection rate may be high, the output rate will be better if the flip screen is used, and it will be more difficult if it is through the LCD screen. Suitable for daytime shooting.

Subway entrance

Similar attractions:

People waiting for traffic lights at intersections will have natural eyes and movements, and it is easy to take unexpected pictures, which will be more dramatic and have a high proportion of emergencies. Therefore, people who have passed the traffic lights can generally wait a few more times to see if there are any pictures worth shooting, depending on whether there are stories in the background. Due to the high moving speed of passers-by, try to focus on the center point to ensure the accurate determination of the picture. Suitable shooting time: you can shoot at night or during the day.

intersection

At the bus stop, when people waiting for the bus play with their mobile phones or when the car starts, the face in the window is a good embodiment of human nature. At this time, you can selectively choose the right focus to sketch the story. Suitable shooting time: suitable for daytime shooting.

Bus stop

Newsstand, people coming and going from newsstand is also a special group. Everyone who stops may have a story and can focus selectively. Suitable shooting time: you can shoot at night or during the day.

Long-distance bus station or railway station square: the people dragging suitcases are also a special group, which will be revitalized and the story of holidays will be stronger. The homesickness or melancholy feeling of lighting cigarettes is rare in cities, and the focus can be based on the needs of the scene. Suitable shooting time: you can shoot at night or during the day.

Tip 2: Shoot while moving.

Simply put, people in the background of the picture are free to shoot while walking or following. Shoot whatever you see (of course, whether there is a story or not is different for everyone, and you should be satisfied in principle). In order to ensure the stability of the picture, even if blind shot is used, it is best to put it on the chest or on the dining table or advertising light box. You can preset parameters for the roads you know in advance. When a suitable subject appears, you can quickly adjust the focal length and shoot with a camera.

In order to improve the success rate of blind shot, try to open the full aperture, otherwise you will regret not pressing the shutter. So the mode should use M file, AV file or P file for your convenience. Personally, it is not recommended to use M file to move blind shot, because sometimes the shooting time of the subject is really between 1-2 seconds. When you set the parameter to focus, the subject may have been a long time ago. I think other AV, TV and P can be used properly. At any time, the camera is just a shooting tool. Don't let it affect your mind. Flexible use. All settings are mainly based on taking pictures, not shooting large movies. Where did you get so many big movies to shoot for you?

Suitable for scenic spots: all road conditions, all weather, unlimited time.

Blind shooting in motion

Tip 3: Sorry.

If it is shot by two people, one person can attract others' attention, and the other person can shoot the subject in the middle or distant scene through the hair, bag and legs of the foreground person, which often receives unexpected results. This composition will be rare, special and imitative.

Tip 4: shoot low.

That is, put the camera on the ground and preset the parameters of the slow door, which can simulate some explosions or special effects. Of course, the choice of viewfinder or blind shot depends on the venue and your understanding of composition.

Low angle demonstration

abstract

We need to remind ourselves all the time: I am just a recorder, not an intruder. Personally, in most cases, I don't think that a street sweeping work is a successful street sweeping film when the subject's eyes look directly at the camera. On the contrary, I think this way of sweeping the street is not very real, because obviously, almost no one wants to be photographed by people they don't know in the street, so the reaction and expression at this time are generally unnatural. Of course, this may vary according to national conditions. As far as China people are concerned, most of them frown, hide their faces and bow their heads.

I believe that all those who take part in street shooting will encounter the above situation to some extent. Then a successful work must have a clear time, place, people and events, and the photographer's position should be a third-party perspective, similar to the protagonist in CS. Instead of shooting face to face with the subject in most cases, the characters may be clear, but they will lack story.

Robert capa, a war photographer, famously said: If you don't think your photos are good enough, why don't you take them closer? . This is really worth learning. Close-up refers to the use of a lens with a shorter focal length to obtain greater depth of field and clarity and capture vivid and touching scenes.

Conventional Interpretation of Common Terms Used in Street Sweeping

Blind shooting: the concept of blind shooting is not blind shooting, which requires a lot of practice to accumulate experience. Experienced people, the shooting success rate can reach more than 80%. Even when shooting, you can consider composition and put the subject on the TIC-tac-toe line. Those with higher technical level can also adjust the composition by feeling after focusing is completed. In other words, an experienced blind shot has actually completed the idea of the picture in his mind, although he has not directly observed the subject through the camera. Of course, this can't be done overnight. Before that, arm yourself properly from equipment to lens, get familiar with your lens and framing range, and then boldly start to try blind shot!

M-gear: It means that all parameters including ISO, shutter, exposure, aperture and white balance can be preset manually on the camera. This requires a lot of personal ability, so novices don't have to learn how to use it.

Long exposure: Long exposure is an exposure mode with slow shutter (long exposure time). The advantage is that you can shoot scenes in dark light more clearly, and according to different parameters, you can realize dynamic pictures such as real scenes and empty people.

P-crossing: Simply speaking, it is to modify photos with PHOTOSHOP and other tools, so the degree of modification is P-crossing, including cutting, synthesizing, peeling, liquefaction, using layers, masking and so on. However, the simple color mixing curve drawing is not called P-crossing, which allows any professional competition to make some later corrections to the works. Correction here refers to conventional indicators such as color scale, curve drawing and exposure.