Shoot more or Less Pictures? Street Photography tips. John Free
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2011
- www.johnfreephotography.com/
Street Photography Tips, Techniques, and Workshops
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@john_free_photography
John Free is a social documentary/street photographer who lives in Los Angeles. His photographic essays range from railroad tramps in California to automobile abstracts to London and Paris street life. John has been inspiring to photographers of all ages and skill levels for many years through teaching sold-out classes and workshops in street photography in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and London. Part stand-up and part evangelist, he speaks from the heart to inspire new generations of photographers.
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John, you’re right. It’s an economy of shots that matter. Don’t fret. Your technique is flawless. You’ve taught me so much. All of us are indebted to you. Henry
Thank you. It is my pleasure to offer some of my thoughts on Photography. Remember, these are my OPINIONS. Good luck to you in your search. Those older cameras from Japan are sure hard to beat. And the beat goes on...
This is the best photography channel on YT! My understanding of what John Free is saying is not that we have to get the shot in the first try, or should not take many shots of a subject, but that we should do it with a purpose, not only firing the camera at all directions aimlessly hoping to get one shot. When an interesting subject is identified, look the surroundings, think of the composition and how insert or remove elements in the shoot, if subject is still there, you can continue the process, give it a second and third thought on the composition. You can clearly see this when you analyse the contact sheet of some photos like the migrant from Dorothea Lange or some Bresson's shots, they took perhaps between 5 to 10 shots of the same subject but you can easily see how they counciously improve the composition throughout the shots until they get the one. Sometimes when I see my photos afterwards I notice I take several photos with little variation, maybe a little bit to the right or to the left, but mostly from the same angle, on the same subject, I believe that's exactly what you are talking about in this video not to do. Thanks for sharing, John!
This should have more hits.
I love your statement where you said that " Just as much important it is to take the shot, its equally important not to take one".
Even after switching to digital, I don't make more pictures than before. No use of shooting hundreds of pictures. You are a great mentor. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing your experience, and giving the advice on thinking before taking a photo.
you make me think twice, thank you so much... you are a big Man .
Preach it! Love you John. You're a master.
Fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing!
thank you Mr free...................please do more,i love to hear your ideas.
Everything you said, John, I agree!! It's my practice as well...
I share your view. Once I recogniced that with analoge cameras I had much less waste. Since this day, when I am doing too much fotos with my digital one, I switch back to an analoge, to "calm down" :-)
I too face the same frustration Dave. I do not want to guess about a shot. I do not shoot much either. My photo essay on railroad tramps was made during daily trips to the Los Angeles freight yards for more than ten years and in all that time, I used less than a hundred rolls of film. That is almost every day for over ten years. I too do not want to waste my time, or film, but mostly I do not want to miss a great shot because maybe I was shooting to much and therefore missed that magic instant.
John top advice as usual, I still enjoy using an old Olympus Trip for street stuff, small and inoffensive, growing up using 35mm I learnt to pick my shots, and this is something I still do with Digital. Thank you for all your advice.
A motordrive is great for rewinding and extra stability. I absolutely agree with all your points.
I love John full of wisdom
I love John's from the heart talks! You won't see many teachers doing this so it is unique. I'd like to see more shooting, though, there's a lot of philosophy here that's very helpful but show more technique!
I think both approaches work, given you're a talented photographer. Winogrand's "machine gun" approach had nothing to do with "spray and prey" approach of most of today's self-proclaimed "street photographers". More often than not his subjects move and move fast so he had to adapt. And the way he operated his camera while standing so close to his subjects was remarkable.
great stuff. experience speaks volumes... with few words.
Taken on board Mr F. I must slow down and try harder
Keep shooting and don’t stop on that one shot. Keep shooting till day is over
I'm finally getting the point here. I am (was) of the school, the more shots the better. To get the right shot, we haven't time for cameras... we must compose the shot in our head? in our heart? Cameras are not fast enough for that. Instead of machine gun firing with our advanced cameras, we should instead, think a bit more.
100% why I am able to take better photos with a film camera
But there was something else going on, something you talk about, John, all the time. Engagement. Or as you put it, a love for your subject, a story you passionately want to tell, and you're going to get in close to tell it. That matters more than apples or oranges, film or digital, it really does. Peace and thanks for the great, inspiring videos, John.
John, Very Good & Honest posting!
great advice as always
Your comment on the motor drive, combined with your comments about manual focus (I can't find that video at the moment though), made it click for me why I get such better photos with my Nikon FM2n than with my dSLR.
YES YES AND YES... UPLIFTING
John, I always like your wisdom and video, really love to hear you talks! Do you mind to share your philosophy to others photographer in my region/country with my own video?
I like your "philosophic" views on photography a lot !
As mipmipmipmipmip said: "Thanks for being an inspiriation!"
Well said on the ending note... It doesn't mater if every shot doesn't work, tho' It does mater that you do your best on each one.
I admit when shooting wildlife, especially birds taking off or landing, I will take full advantage of the 7DII's 10fps. There movements that take a millisecond, like an osprey catching a fish, and I will follow its scoop all the way through. But landscapes I take with my Bronica ETRSi can take up to 30 minutes especially if I'm waiting for the light.
There are books on the subject in the library. Check out, "How to sell your photography". It is also important to have photographs that are effective enough to make someone want to purchace them. Maybe you should also think about doing some research on street photography.
I could not help but notice, you are 'Clint Eastwood' playing in Gran Torino. Keep up the good work!
Before the digital age, more shots means more money spent in developing your photos. Then the solution is "think before you take a photograph", people work on their composition and make the most out of their roll of film. Now, the pictures are just digital files, no more limitation on "36 pictures per roll of film". People tend to take pictures carelessly and spending their time on the computer fixing the composition...
You must have heard me mention the machine gun approach. Thats what I see photographers practice with their digital cameras.Many of them have theidea that out of 100 shots ,they might get something. OOPS. Digital isgreat, but what about auto focus that never did work very well. Big camera, too many functions, ect. Keep it simple is my advice.
I use digital ... when I take my camera out I sometimes "just" take 20 images, of wich I may like the half. I found if I forced myself to take more, I still end with may 10 I like ... so I keep going "my way"
Spray & pray 😪
Russ Butner
Nice video, I agree with most of what you say :)
Yes, one must really work at it. Nothing done easy is worth very much. Each shot should be sweated out.
I shoot all kinds of stuff and it requires different approaches, from landscapes to sports, but I see what he means. It takes a lot of experience to nail it With one or two shots.
Digital BAAAAD , Analog GOOOOD
There are websites that are like E-galleries that you can upload some photos to (if they accept them), so that people can buy for their purposes like for books, magazines, papers and whatnot.
I think there's balance. Face it, you can shoot very fast on film if you're good with your thumb and rewind lever! Nonetheless, shooting film forces you to slow down. Shooting lots of film for a long time makes this ingrained. So, when I went back to shooting with my DSLR I found myself taking more shots, yes, and shooting more "freely" than I do with film. But still with that deliberation thing film taught me. The result: some of the best documentary photos I feel I've done to date.
good words though - and I agree. You HAVE to spend time with your viewing screen 'making' a photograph. Photography is about learning to see.
My approach is to know what I'm looking for before I go out. Usually the ambiguities of life. That way I am always on the look out and just don't take my eye off the ball. Over the years I have learned how to see things developing so I'm able to to be ready at the key point when it happens. If I miss it then my philosophy is to move on and look for the next shot. No point in crying over spilt milk as they say.
I agree, with the reason that I've always felt the same. - I'm just 30 now, so I grew up throughout the '90s and did start out with film as a child with my parents their camera. So I already had the mentality of being careful with the one roll of film. - But that kind of carried over even once I got a digital camera in the early 2000s, about 15 years ago. Even when I got my first dSLR with a card that could hold hundreds of images, I would be looking and tweaking the shot before I ever pressed that button. - Because I don't like to "waste" anything (although it's virtual space in case of digital files), and I also don't like to produce something that I don't think is good enough. - So I held off until I was sure I wanted to record that image I was seeing.
Now recently, I got my hands on some old film-cameras, and now I pretty much háve to go by that approach. But I like that, because it really forces me to make desicions and it's a discipline to be able to do that.
I really like "shaping" an image by really figuring (haaa?) it out indeed. It's like investigating a scene (like I think another photographer said), and you get the image that you like and think is right, you as the creator. - This is why I also don't like how some photographers take loads of pictures. - It's up to them, but I think you're not really doing it right then, or maybe you lack the eye for it or haven't practiced it enough. (Not meaning to be condescending.)
I do that to myself too; If I don't think the result is good enough, I just don't think I tried enough.
But taking loads of pictures of the same thing, that's great for products or sports or something. But to really find an image first and then capture it is what photography is most about.
I agree with you Michael. Thank you for taking the time to write these words, which I know will help many photographers rethink their approach.
Great advise, sir! I like your videos. I've started to back away from hopefully clicking away. It doesn't seem right. There's not much to be proud of, know what I mean?
Hey John, how you doing? God bless you. I have a question. What lens do you recommend for street photography? Thank you, my brother.
55mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor, or 50mm 1.8 Finest in the world. Buy used for $100.00
I have always been happy to get one great shot a roll. I always take a few extra shots from different angles at times even if I think it won't be good. Sometimes, I don't see it until I develop or I see a bit in the corner. Ideally, I like about half a roll at a time. But sometimes, I doubt myself and bracket too much or just see more I want to shoot. But one shot every three rolls makes me feel like I am being a bit hard on myself. But I enjoy rangefinders cause, other than scale focusing, you cannot really shoot quickly. And I like focusing. It is my moment of composition, where I am trying to capture an image I see in my mind.
Bracketing wastes time and film. Rangefinders do not have a focus control, only a split image in the center of the lens. Why do you use a rangefinder piece of junk?
@@JohnFreePhtography My goal is not to bracket shots. It is that I am learning and some times I doubt myself. I am not a fast person. I also am not really into street photography for my own pictures. I have trouble taking pictures of strangers. But I enjoy your work. You are right for being ready to take an image when it happens a rangefinder is junk. But mine are also family heirlooms. So they have a bit of nostalgia to me. I have only been taking photography seriously for a couple years now and as I was learning I found that rangefinders helped my learn the process. I felt I had to deliberately think about each step. Also using a digital camera on manual with a old prime lens. The instant feedback helped a lot. But as I think about it as I have progressed, I almost never grab a rangefinder. Thanks for taking time to respond to me. I also really like your stories that go with your pictures.
@@bazzathegreat3517 I was hard on you. Sorry. I am also sorry that your are tied down by "Heirlooms". Always an excuse for failure.
Oustanding
Great advice. I have a question though. What if I'm new to photography? Isn't it good to take many photos to practice the camera? To learn focusing, etc? I mean, you have been shooting for 47 years, handling camera is your second nature, but what if i have only been shooting for 2 years, and i still feel not that confident about using it? Thank you!
Tamara Zawada Tamara Zawada well, you should capture things in any many manner you are comfortable with. shoot as many shot and always be aware of what's happening and what can happen. even henri careir bresson used to take 10-15 shots... even there are few shots where old masters had finished whole roll for the decisive moment.. so keep at comfortable pace and be aware of your shots every time...as time passes by you will automatically be talking less and more productive shots. happy shooting
Tamara Zawada ignore the mistakes stupid auto correct messed it up.. 😂
So theoretically speaking one could do street photography with a 120 format camera!
Yes..... and I often do
You must be kidding. Why would someone make such a statement.Robert Frank is getting upwards of $60.00.00 for one of his photographs. Sometimes people pay me for one of my photographs. If the work is effective, then people will ask you to sell them a print That is true with any product that is made well.
interesting view... he is obviously obsessed!
street photography is at least 50% about chance though... even masters like bresson and friedlander et. al. had to struggle their asses off to get the good shots. What made them different from the average joe was not so much their 'gift' as their motivation...
Whats the name of the photographer he speaks of?
If not for you, then for others after 3 years... I believe the photographer John is referring to in the video is Garry Winogrand who has probably shot as much Tri-X film as Kodak has ever made ;-) - an absolutely superb street photographer, also check out Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Frank, William Klein, Richard Kalvar, Saul Leiter, Alfred Eisenstadt, Alfred Steiglitz, Paul Strand and Diane Arbus. Gary Winogrand is one of the if not the greatest street photographer of all time - depending on who you ask. I would also include W. Eugene Smith among these but some of his street and other shots that look like street shots are set up illustrations from shot lists, I believe, for Life magazine, though some have the beauty of old masters paintings in their handling of light, composition, posing and emotion(s). In that vein you also might want to check out Steve McCurry's work (in National Geographic). There are so many many more photographers to discover with great work... Reading and or buying a book by any of these great street photographers is an education in itself. Happy shooting!
I dont take many pictures.. ive had my roll of film for 3 weeks and ive taken 13 pictures.. out every day with it too.. i just dont want to waste peoples time (film makers, the processers and my time taking the pictures).
@baxcarias You have tobe obsessed too become the best.
I am a very simple guy. I figured out a very simple thing: If you follow somebody, you will arrive where she/he arrived.
Sport photography is about guessing imo
film
I have some unfortunate news for you - Bresson was a total wild card shooter!! Unfortunately a LOT of people have fallen into the trap set by him. That's not to say it's not possible however. But he was full of it. It was more of a 'marketing ploy' on his behalf. Sadly - a lot of things in this world are full of myth like this. A friend of mine got drunk with Bresson once and had the privelege to see his contacts... he'd do a whole or half roll of the same subject frequently! LOL
I use film, so I learnt nothing