I have an introverted mindset, and shooting from the hip is great for me, I also don't want to disturb others with a camera. But after some time I realize that it just becomes boring. Shooting from the hip is more like relying on pure luck, it works but you have very limited control of light, frame, or composition. So, it's nothing bad but it has some limitations.
Yeah agreed! I used to always shoot from the hip, but then got bored and my confidence grew so mainly I use the viewfinder now. But shooting from the hip can be a good technique for interesting results
I'm so grateful for your content. I'm an aspiring photographer, and your videos are amazing. This video in particular made me feel both humbled and reassured. I'm currently working with a Sony Alpha and some old lenses, but I really gravitate towards this old Minolta 50mm MD I was given by my father. Thanks to him, I have a good selection of old lenses, and I'm having a great time. I don't really have any photography friends, but the shots I've taken and shared with people seem to really impress. I don't know much (yet) about the technicals of composition, and I'm relying heavily on luck, but I just go with whatever I think is beautiful and I'm having a great time.
Really sensible advice - capture the moment and disregard The Rules . Shooting from the hip with a split screen almost makes you 'invisible' and often avoids unnecessary confrontation. Many shots I would nt attempt at eye level
I feel like there's the official point of view and there's people just making stuff happen. For years in other parts of business, I was coming up with weird new ways of doing things, being told I was wrong, and then hearing my advice from other people's lips two or three years after people figured it out for themselves. I'm not especially one to listen to the rules people, so I'm glad you published this.
Sensible words from the beginning to the end ✨🤍 Thank you for this video! A interesting video topic it would be to talk about stepping out of the shadows, to share and show your work to the community and people. I believe this is a struggle most beginners have, even when they are not beginners anymore. Encouraging and talking openly about the pressure of judgement is a huge support ❤ I resonate and I believe other subscribers could too!
Agree, there are no hard dos and don'ts in Photography (and art). There is only advice, tools and skills that we have to apply to individual situations and goals. Yes, you do have to know them well as they are the fundamentals, but you don't need to follow all or any of them every time
Hello Tim, this is a great insightful piece of video. I’m lately discarding all I’ve learned about composition to be “free” and capture moments. It’s fascinating to see a change in my personality from this simple change. Resonance (I think that’s the right word for it) should be first evaluated with ourselves.
While shooting from the hip can be a great method of photography, I wouldn’t consider using your tilted screen or what Vivian did as truly shooting from the hip as you’re able to compose your shot that way.
Shooting from the hip is where you hold your camera at hip level, looking through the viewfinder or screen doesn’t stop it from being ‘truly’ shooting from the hip 😂
Hello and thank you for this video. And yes, i admit, i followed all the (wrong) "advices" you told. Its always not easy as an amateur to perfom in photography. And so i always followed the advices you told. This video is important for me to leave my (photografic) past behind me and try something new. New ideas and a lot of inspiration. 😊 Your work is absolutely cool and you are one of my heros on photogtaphy.
Great video mate. I agree with your point on the sharpness of photos. I like a bit of soft focus in mine adds character to the frame. There can be some real street photography snobs out there. I just say get out there and shoot what interests you and as long as you enjoy it.....then thats the main thing!
Very Tru love them tips...the manual I feel u leave out for I love aperture and shutter priority..also congrats on the sponsor cudos...also street photography is what we make it..
Valid points, Tim. Old saying “free advice is worth every penny paid for it” or something akin😊. We best learn and grow by doing, IMO. Trouble is folks starting out search on-line and get mixed, uncurated info. I prefer hip shooting via LCD but need more practice getting the right perspective when not checking the monitor. Did the twin lens reflex cameras have an eye level feature? Thought by design they did not. I almost always crop, likely because my preferred field of attention is narrower than the frame. (Now there’s a reverse crop AI fill option; go figure.) Was the lady carrying the dog in a pouch your photo. Nice capture. Cheers!
Great video! Thanks! On cropping: I have never understood the "no cropping rule". Am I supposed to squeeze everything into a 3x2 aspect ratio? Never made sense to me. In fact, I think modern cameras should have square sensors to make the most of the lens' image circle and offer aspect ratio preview frames.
Poverty on the streets, children, minorities... Your shooting intentions are certainly important and should be respected. Conversely, the viewer's perspective when confronted with the photo also needs to be respected for their discomfort. It's a compromise between the two sides, and that's the hard part. People who look at a photograph may project the life of another person in the photograph, but it may also directly touch their own life. Some call it humanity, some call it compassion, and whether it makes them feel happy or sad, it's something we photographers should always think about so that we don't lose sight of it. Thank you for the great story. 👍👍
Thanks heaps! Glad you enjoyed it. Number one tip is to get out there right away really, do it as much as you can, experiment and enjoy yourself! (Lots of vids on my channel for tips if you need 😉)
Surely, it’s about the final image. It doesn’t matter how you operate your camera or what brand it is. I agree with you too about what you take a photo of.
The Rollei midriff pov is what set apart earlier portraits from todays - even though they were mainly a result of camera limitations of the times. Something that todays tilt screens can do!✌️
Superb, common sense advice. Regarding photographing children, if it’s more of a portrait than a group situation on the street, I ask permission of the parents if they are nearby. It can just be a nod of the head in acknowledgment to go ahead, but I feel that the parents have the right to decline. (It hasn’t happened yet!). I even offer to send a copy if they want one. In general, I like your open-minded approach to all the “nevers” and “don’ts” that we hear all around. Keep it up!
I shoot 90% of my street photos from the "hip" or with a hand gesture ... once you know how your lens performs with the right light, using zone focusing, I prefer to use my eyes to really feel the scene. I use to paint a lot, so composing comes quite naturally. PS : Use and master one lens ...
Coming from iPhone photography, back then I couldn’t do it without compromising the composition. Now I have real camera and I can finally do it. So, those photographers I think came from the era when they don't LCD screen and all they had was viewfinder. They surey can compose a shoot without looking into viewfinder.
Again, almost entirely brilliant as always Tim, except one thing... Film doesn't necessarily look better, or more to the point, digital *can look* as good as film as long as you step away from Lightroom and use Capture One instead. At least this is my experience. I started off with film in the 1980's, moving to digital in 2000, and never looking back, particularly after discovering NIK Tools Silver EFex Pro (for B&W) then Capture One for colour. Capture One is capable of results that are IMHO, indistinguishable from that of film. Film is really only more fun if black and white and printing is done in a proper home darkroom, and toning is taken to it afterwards. But it's still hideously expensive (it was hideously expensive back in the 1980's/90's, but then there was no digital, so no choice anyway!) Sorry, it's been a long day and I'm now just wittering. Lastly, we should meet up some time. I'm up in Birmingham. :)
The one I hear is, "You have to shoot in manual mode." Then later they say they use auto ISO. *facepalm* Use the camera's auto modes, they are there to help you. Stop thinking about settings, settings aren't that important and look for compositions.
been doing street photography since the 1970s and always shoot from the hip when I want to be invisible i photograph anything as long as it's in public and ethical
Street photography is street photography... I never understood the attacks of some people to not take pictures of something that is on the streets, in the public eye to view. If is on the streets there is no rule in my opinion. That is the reality and if you try to capture it you should be allowed to capture it as is.
Hi Tim. You're putting out some good content and I enjoyed the Cal interview you just did. Some points I want to pick up on though. Shooting from the hip, while certainly good for beginners, is generally frowned on because it's shooting blind and very difficult to achieve any sort of framing and composition. It's relying on luck too much. It also means the photographer is being a bit sneaky because he/she doesn't have the confidence to really grab that moment and go for that shot by holding the viewfinder to the eye or using the LCD screen. Vivian Mayer shot from the hip only because she had to look downward through the Rolleiflex viewfinder, but she was still able to compose and frame properly. So hers was not hipshooting in any derogatory sense. Regarding not cropping, it's actually not poor advice, it's good advice. I sometimes crop a little to clean up edges. But if possible depending on the scene, cropping with our feet is much better practise and will invariably produce a better photo and sense of satisfaction as well as giving us more confidence since it forces us to get closer. So there's a good reason people say don't crop and it's not being purist for the sake of it. And finally, I've never shot film but many great street photographers will say that it forces the photographer to be more picky before pressing the shutter since each frame costs money. So in theory, this can result in better photos. But yeah, I'll still stick with digital! On those points of not cropping and not hipshotting, I'm not saying these are hard and fast rules, but they are universally accepted by many as best to avoid if possible. By all means, one must do what feels comfortable. And certainly there are exceptions. I know Elliot Erwitt cropped heavily on some shots. But in general, I think it's best to try and encourage people to develop the confidence to get in much closer and compose with intent instead of blind luck. Cheers though and keep up the good work! 👍
This comment proved why this video is needed. It’s a shame when people say you should do things a certain way in street photography as it can really hold people back. Daniel Arnold, one of the most exciting contemporary street photographers, shoots from the hip all the time. He’s a world-renowned photographer whose work is incredible. As you say, Elliot Erwitt is one of the many many greats of street photography who cropped. If it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for everyone. Perhaps if you try hip shooting for a while you’ll find yourself making less perfect more engaging frames. Which is the whole point of this video, don’t listen to anyone telling you what to do with your photography, especially people who say ‘generally’ and ‘universally accepted by many’. Don’t listen to this and feel free to go your own way is my advice.
@timjamiesonphotos Tim, I'm really not trying to be a smart arse or a clever dick, just giving some alternate thoughts. I did say feel free to do what is comfortable. Hip shooting isn't wrong and I'm not saying don't do them. I know Daniel Arnold's work very well, he's excellent. But there's always exceptions to the rule and he's exceptional. But most hipshots suck. If you can still see your lcd screen and frame and compose properly, then fine but if shooting blind, then you'll usually get badly framed shots or feet and heads cut off. Good framing and composition is as important as the moment for anyone that takes this hobby more seriously than just random snapshots relying on luck that it'll turn out well. They're ok to do now and then and you'll get lucky with a good shot once in a while, but many people over rely on it. You're better off actually crouching down for a good angle and composing and framing your shot by being able to see with the screen or viewfinder, like Cal Holland did in your video, where the woman is holding her phone up and there's a photo of a girl on the back of the phone. That's a good shot he took, with intent. If you encourage people to do hipshots you're not encouraging them to be better and more confident photographers. There's an article from 1976 of a workshop with Garry Winogrand that I can link if you would like to read the whole thing. But here's two excerpts . "I tried shooting without looking through the viewfinder, but when Winogrand saw this, he sternly told me never to shoot without looking. "You'll lose control over your framing," he warned. I couldn't believe he had time to look in his viewfinder, and watched him closely. Indeed, Winogrand always looked in the viewfinder at the moment he shot. It was only for a split second, but I could see him adjust his camera's position slightly and focus before he pressed the shutter release. He was precise, fast, in control. Inspired, I shot eight rolls that day." And, "Winogrand divided the shots into good and bad. I studied his selections, trying to divine his logic. I eventually realized that when the whole photograph worked -- an intuitive response to something visual, unexplainable in words -- he liked it. If only part of the photo worked, it wasn't good enough. Cropping was out -- he told us to shoot full-frame so the "quality of the visual problem is improved."
You forgot the most important tip: AVOID online photo communities at ALL costs. They are more toxic than Chernobyl, don't even get me started on the street photography subreddit...
I disagree, I hear great things about the Framelines community, all the photographers I’ve met who are in it say it’s great and it’s a social thing that’s helped them grow their skills as well
Nobody should be taking pictures of children. Would you want someone taking pictures of your children? I certainly wouldn't and I don't do it. Too many perverts out there.
I’d say it’s mildly click-baity. You have to write a title and thumbnail people will click on as long as the video lives up to the title and thumbnail and pays it off then that’s fine by me, which I think this video does :)
Overall, good tips, but I'd like to argue a bit. 1) Shooting from the hip only works well if people are sitting or if they're kids. For others, it creates a special look that may not suit everyone and can even make people look uglier. We perceive the world from eye level while standing most of the time, so eye-level photos look more natural. Whether to use a viewfinder or not doesn't matter as much as long as you can see what you're composing on the LCD screen. Also, a real photographer might approach you and reprimand you for hip-shooting. You'll be very ashamed. Just kidding. 2) If street photography is about documenting, you should definitely include homeless people and their everyday life, as well as children (just make sure not to use them as the central subject without parental consent). Otherwise, you might capture a censored, unrealistic version of the world without homelessness and childhood. Some of the greatest photographs have included desperate, homeless people in need and their children too. 3) I've never heard that lie. You can't make a good picture without composing it (only if you're lucky maybe). Although, while shooting from the hip, it's much harder (unless you have a tilting display). 4) It is definitely possible to achieve a film look, and I'm sure everyone should strive for EXACTLY that with their editing. The digital neutral look with plasticky-greasy faces (due to high linearity) and pale colors is boring and not appealing compared to film. This myth (that film is better) emerged because standard profiles in cameras and RAW development software (if you shoot RAW) are overly neutral: not enough vividness, not enough curvature in the middle and highlights, and the black point is too precise. And then there's the grain. In digital, grain is almost like a sin, while in film, it's acceptable. But the thing is, noise often looks better than the result of denoising. Anyway, a film stock with features like the modern digital standard profile would have been a complete failure for a manufacturing company. Who would want that? People picked different films to get different filtering, preferring one over another but loving that sweet distortion of reality. So there's nothing wrong with extensive editing, filtering, color grading, etc. I agree buying film is not worth it today, not only because of the price (for a professional, that's not a big issue) but because of the huge delay in workflow and the higher chance of failures. 5) There are a few kinds of blurriness that need to be restored (I mean, it would be completely fair to restore them). 1) From debayering/demosaicing. It's not your real image that is blurry; it's the result of demosaicing that made it look like that. Some debayering algorithms make up for that to some extent, some do not or not enough. 2) From lens softness. You might like it but technically it is a defect. A soft image still contains information that would help to restore sharpness. Try and compare before dismissing sharpening at all. 3) From a focusing mistake or shallowness of depth of field or motion blur. Same thing - some information is still there, and magically, you can restore the sharpness. I'm talking about restoring to some NORMAL sharpness. This is subjective, of course, but if it does not look overly sharp, consider it "normal". If you do not try sharpening, you will not understand how actually blurry your picture is. 4) From downscaling before printing. (You should also understand your viewing distance and print resolution to make a decision about the pre-print sharpening level.) It is a mistake to omit sharpening before printing. Sometimes it even depends on the paper type and the specifics of the printing equipment/technique. Consider that you applied blur filter to your picture if you didn't apply sharpening! Just please do not use Lightroom's sharpening, use Photoshop's instead (optionally as duplicate layer with blending mode that would affect luminance only).
@@JohnCross-rz5uqthanks for the comments, the engagement really helps the algorithm promote the video. People are so easily offended these days, a mildly click-baity video thumbnail is how you get people to watch a video on RUclips, but then you pay it off with an actually useful video, but you wouldn’t know that as you got so offended you didn’t even watch it 😂
I purchased my first DSLR camera one year ago. I’m 58 years old. I suffer from anxiety unfortunately my hands shake slightly. I want to do more handheld photography instead of relying on tripod. What’s the best advice people can give me?
Hey Paul, glad to hear you want to do more handheld photography, it’s a great hobby to get stuck into for those with anxiety. If you have shaky hands all you need is to use a fast shutter speed of around 1/500s this will freeze action even with shaky hands :)
@@timjamiesonphotos Thanks for the help. I worry about what people think of me. I worry about what people say about me. It’s stupid way of thinking. I have to keep telling myself I don’t care what people say or think about me when I take photos.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
🔴 Thanks for watching! Let me know below if you found the video useful and any other street photo topics you’d like to see me cover in the future 👌🏻
I have an introverted mindset, and shooting from the hip is great for me, I also don't want to disturb others with a camera. But after some time I realize that it just becomes boring. Shooting from the hip is more like relying on pure luck, it works but you have very limited control of light, frame, or composition. So, it's nothing bad but it has some limitations.
Yeah agreed! I used to always shoot from the hip, but then got bored and my confidence grew so mainly I use the viewfinder now. But shooting from the hip can be a good technique for interesting results
I'm so grateful for your content. I'm an aspiring photographer, and your videos are amazing.
This video in particular made me feel both humbled and reassured.
I'm currently working with a Sony Alpha and some old lenses, but I really gravitate towards this old Minolta 50mm MD I was given by my father. Thanks to him, I have a good selection of old lenses, and I'm having a great time.
I don't really have any photography friends, but the shots I've taken and shared with people seem to really impress. I don't know much (yet) about the technicals of composition, and I'm relying heavily on luck, but I just go with whatever I think is beautiful and I'm having a great time.
Ah thank you for the kind words! What a story to have a camera passed down to you by your dad, I love that! Happy shooting 📸
Really sensible advice - capture the moment and disregard The Rules . Shooting from the hip with a split screen almost makes you 'invisible'
and often avoids unnecessary confrontation. Many shots I would nt attempt at eye level
Excellent video containing a nice mixture of solid advice & helpful, inspiring myth busting!
Thanks, Jeffrey!
I feel like there's the official point of view and there's people just making stuff happen. For years in other parts of business, I was coming up with weird new ways of doing things, being told I was wrong, and then hearing my advice from other people's lips two or three years after people figured it out for themselves.
I'm not especially one to listen to the rules people, so I'm glad you published this.
Sensible words from the beginning to the end ✨🤍 Thank you for this video!
A interesting video topic it would be to talk about stepping out of the shadows, to share and show your work to the community and people.
I believe this is a struggle most beginners have, even when they are not beginners anymore. Encouraging and talking openly about the pressure of judgement is a huge support ❤ I resonate and I believe other subscribers could too!
I always enjoy hearing your sensible and open-minded approach. It’s refreshing.
Agree, there are no hard dos and don'ts in Photography (and art). There is only advice, tools and skills that we have to apply to individual situations and goals.
Yes, you do have to know them well as they are the fundamentals, but you don't need to follow all or any of them every time
Mr.Jamieson's relevant, well thought-out and clearly expressed views and perspectives are helpful and worth one's attention.
Thanks!
Hello Tim, this is a great insightful piece of video. I’m lately discarding all I’ve learned about composition to be “free” and capture moments. It’s fascinating to see a change in my personality from this simple change.
Resonance (I think that’s the right word for it) should be first evaluated with ourselves.
Hey mate, thanks for the kind words! I agree, often we just need to forget about what we’ve been told just to be free and experiment :)
While shooting from the hip can be a great method of photography, I wouldn’t consider using your tilted screen or what Vivian did as truly shooting from the hip as you’re able to compose your shot that way.
Shooting from the hip is where you hold your camera at hip level, looking through the viewfinder or screen doesn’t stop it from being ‘truly’ shooting from the hip 😂
@@timjamiesonphotosEven though you are properly framing your subject using the LCD or waist level finder? Naw.
Hello and thank you for this video. And yes, i admit, i followed all the (wrong) "advices" you told. Its always not easy as an amateur to perfom in photography. And so i always followed the advices you told. This video is important for me to leave my (photografic) past behind me and try something new. New ideas and a lot of inspiration. 😊 Your work is absolutely cool and you are one of my heros on photogtaphy.
Ah thank you that’s very kind of you to say! I’m glad you found the video useful, happy shooting 📸
Great video mate. I agree with your point on the sharpness of photos. I like a bit of soft focus in mine adds character to the frame. There can be some real street photography snobs out there. I just say get out there and shoot what interests you and as long as you enjoy it.....then thats the main thing!
Thanks dude! Deffo some street photo snobs out there haha, but yeah totally man just gotta go your own way and shoot what you enjoy 🙏🏻
Artists should always be open minded. It doesn’t mean they have to like everything, but at least they shouldn’t be judgmental
So far, you are the only one with realistic advice.
I don't say others don't give good advice. They are good but not realistic and not practical.
Ah very kind thank you!
Very Tru love them tips...the manual I feel u leave out for I love aperture and shutter priority..also congrats on the sponsor cudos...also street photography is what we make it..
Valid points, Tim. Old saying “free advice is worth every penny paid for it” or something akin😊. We best learn and grow by doing, IMO. Trouble is folks starting out search on-line and get mixed, uncurated info. I prefer hip shooting via LCD but need more practice getting the right perspective when not checking the monitor. Did the twin lens reflex cameras have an eye level feature? Thought by design they did not. I almost always crop, likely because my preferred field of attention is narrower than the frame. (Now there’s a reverse crop AI fill option; go figure.) Was the lady carrying the dog in a pouch your photo. Nice capture. Cheers!
Great video! Thanks!
On cropping: I have never understood the "no cropping rule". Am I supposed to squeeze everything into a 3x2 aspect ratio? Never made sense to me. In fact, I think modern cameras should have square sensors to make the most of the lens' image circle and offer aspect ratio preview frames.
Exactly!
There is no no cropping rule.
Poverty on the streets, children, minorities...
Your shooting intentions are certainly important and should be respected. Conversely, the viewer's perspective when confronted with the photo also needs to be respected for their discomfort. It's a compromise between the two sides, and that's the hard part.
People who look at a photograph may project the life of another person in the photograph, but it may also directly touch their own life. Some call it humanity, some call it compassion, and whether it makes them feel happy or sad, it's something we photographers should always think about so that we don't lose sight of it. Thank you for the great story. 👍👍
Great video man. I'm just returning to photography and street photography is what I'm the moat exited to try again. Any tips to get started?
Thanks heaps! Glad you enjoyed it. Number one tip is to get out there right away really, do it as much as you can, experiment and enjoy yourself! (Lots of vids on my channel for tips if you need 😉)
@@timjamiesonphotos thanks! Will do, you make quality stuff.
Surely, it’s about the final image. It doesn’t matter how you operate your camera or what brand it is. I agree with you too about what you take a photo of.
Hi, thanks for all the suggestions! I wanted to ask you what type of focus do you use on your Fuji? Thank you
My pleasure! I use either auto focus or single point auto :)
The Rollei midriff pov is what set apart earlier portraits from todays - even though they were mainly a result of camera limitations of the times. Something that todays tilt screens can do!✌️
Good, good. Ni advices and you tell us : do what you want.
Thank Tim
Superb, common sense advice. Regarding photographing children, if it’s more of a portrait than a group situation on the street, I ask permission of the parents if they are nearby. It can just be a nod of the head in acknowledgment to go ahead, but I feel that the parents have the right to decline. (It hasn’t happened yet!). I even offer to send a copy if they want one. In general, I like your open-minded approach to all the “nevers” and “don’ts” that we hear all around. Keep it up!
I shoot 90% of my street photos from the "hip" or with a hand gesture ... once you know how your lens performs with the right light, using zone focusing, I prefer to use my eyes to really feel the scene. I use to paint a lot, so composing comes quite naturally. PS : Use and master one lens ...
Coming from iPhone photography, back then I couldn’t do it without compromising the composition. Now I have real camera and I can finally do it.
So, those photographers I think came from the era when they don't LCD screen and all they had was viewfinder. They surey can compose a shoot without looking into viewfinder.
Sound advice which I try to use .
Very good advice!
Thank you!
Again, almost entirely brilliant as always Tim, except one thing... Film doesn't necessarily look better, or more to the point, digital *can look* as good as film as long as you step away from Lightroom and use Capture One instead. At least this is my experience. I started off with film in the 1980's, moving to digital in 2000, and never looking back, particularly after discovering NIK Tools Silver EFex Pro (for B&W) then Capture One for colour. Capture One is capable of results that are IMHO, indistinguishable from that of film. Film is really only more fun if black and white and printing is done in a proper home darkroom, and toning is taken to it afterwards. But it's still hideously expensive (it was hideously expensive back in the 1980's/90's, but then there was no digital, so no choice anyway!) Sorry, it's been a long day and I'm now just wittering. Lastly, we should meet up some time. I'm up in Birmingham. :)
Thanks, Tim. I will give from the hip a go!
Using my smartphone to take photos, I now hold my phone at around my chest height and barely see the screen, sometimes I get an interesting photos
All good stuff Tim, I will skip the film, it's costly and I have done my time in the Dark room.
Yeah it’s a shame it’s so expensive!
I got offended first when I saw the thumbnail without reading the title
😂
The one I hear is, "You have to shoot in manual mode." Then later they say they use auto ISO. *facepalm*
Use the camera's auto modes, they are there to help you. Stop thinking about settings, settings aren't that important and look for compositions.
Yes exactly!
1000% this!
Thank you! 🙏🏻
I’ve never heard any reputable street photographer, or even non reputable, say don’t shoot from the hip.
Glad to hear it
Don't shoot from the hip. It will retard your progress.
Here in Italy, while you can make photos of children, you can't publish them in any way without their parents' consent.
Yeah each country has different laws
been doing street photography since the 1970s and always shoot from the hip when I want to be invisible
i photograph anything as long as it's in public and ethical
It’s a good way to do it unnoticed!
Elliot Erwitt's famous "segregated water fountain" is a proof that when context and subject is very strong the lack of sharpness can be forgiven.
Street photography is street photography... I never understood the attacks of some people to not take pictures of something that is on the streets, in the public eye to view. If is on the streets there is no rule in my opinion. That is the reality and if you try to capture it you should be allowed to capture it as is.
Hi Tim. You're putting out some good content and I enjoyed the Cal interview you just did. Some points I want to pick up on though. Shooting from the hip, while certainly good for beginners, is generally frowned on because it's shooting blind and very difficult to achieve any sort of framing and composition. It's relying on luck too much. It also means the photographer is being a bit sneaky because he/she doesn't have the confidence to really grab that moment and go for that shot by holding the viewfinder to the eye or using the LCD screen. Vivian Mayer shot from the hip only because she had to look downward through the Rolleiflex viewfinder, but she was still able to compose and frame properly. So hers was not hipshooting in any derogatory sense.
Regarding not cropping, it's actually not poor advice, it's good advice. I sometimes crop a little to clean up edges. But if possible depending on the scene, cropping with our feet is much better practise and will invariably produce a better photo and sense of satisfaction as well as giving us more confidence since it forces us to get closer. So there's a good reason people say don't crop and it's not being purist for the sake of it. And finally, I've never shot film but many great street photographers will say that it forces the photographer to be more picky before pressing the shutter since each frame costs money. So in theory, this can result in better photos. But yeah, I'll still stick with digital! On those points of not cropping and not hipshotting, I'm not saying these are hard and fast rules, but they are universally accepted by many as best to avoid if possible. By all means, one must do what feels comfortable. And certainly there are exceptions. I know Elliot Erwitt cropped heavily on some shots. But in general, I think it's best to try and encourage people to develop the confidence to get in much closer and compose with intent instead of blind luck. Cheers though and keep up the good work! 👍
This comment proved why this video is needed. It’s a shame when people say you should do things a certain way in street photography as it can really hold people back.
Daniel Arnold, one of the most exciting contemporary street photographers, shoots from the hip all the time. He’s a world-renowned photographer whose work is incredible.
As you say, Elliot Erwitt is one of the many many greats of street photography who cropped. If it’s good enough for them it’s good enough for everyone.
Perhaps if you try hip shooting for a while you’ll find yourself making less perfect more engaging frames. Which is the whole point of this video, don’t listen to anyone telling you what to do with your photography, especially people who say ‘generally’ and ‘universally accepted by many’. Don’t listen to this and feel free to go your own way is my advice.
@timjamiesonphotos
Tim, I'm really not trying to be a smart arse or a clever dick, just giving some alternate thoughts. I did say feel free to do what is comfortable. Hip shooting isn't wrong and I'm not saying don't do them. I know Daniel Arnold's work very well, he's excellent. But there's always exceptions to the rule and he's exceptional. But most hipshots suck. If you can still see your lcd screen and frame and compose properly, then fine but if shooting blind, then you'll usually get badly framed shots or feet and heads cut off. Good framing and composition is as important as the moment for anyone that takes this hobby more seriously than just random snapshots relying on luck that it'll turn out well. They're ok to do now and then and you'll get lucky with a good shot once in a while, but many people over rely on it. You're better off actually crouching down for a good angle and composing and framing your shot by being able to see with the screen or viewfinder, like Cal Holland did in your video, where the woman is holding her phone up and there's a photo of a girl on the back of the phone. That's a good shot he took, with intent. If you encourage people to do hipshots you're not encouraging them to be better and more confident photographers.
There's an article from 1976 of a workshop with Garry Winogrand that I can link if you would like to read the whole thing. But here's two excerpts . "I tried shooting without looking through the viewfinder, but when Winogrand saw this, he sternly told me never to shoot without looking. "You'll lose control over your framing," he warned. I couldn't believe he had time to look in his viewfinder, and watched him closely. Indeed, Winogrand always looked in the viewfinder at the moment he shot. It was only for a split second, but I could see him adjust his camera's position slightly and focus before he pressed the shutter release. He was precise, fast, in control. Inspired, I shot eight rolls that day." And, "Winogrand divided the shots into good and bad. I studied his selections, trying to divine his logic. I eventually realized that when the whole photograph worked -- an intuitive response to something visual, unexplainable in words -- he liked it. If only part of the photo worked, it wasn't good enough. Cropping was out -- he told us to shoot full-frame so the "quality of the visual problem is improved."
You forgot the most important tip: AVOID online photo communities at ALL costs. They are more toxic than Chernobyl, don't even get me started on the street photography subreddit...
I disagree, I hear great things about the Framelines community, all the photographers I’ve met who are in it say it’s great and it’s a social thing that’s helped them grow their skills as well
Nobody should be taking pictures of children. Would you want someone taking pictures of your children? I certainly wouldn't and I don't do it. Too many perverts out there.
Look at the work of any famous street photographer they all photograph children on the street
That wasn't click bait at all lol
I’d say it’s mildly click-baity. You have to write a title and thumbnail people will click on as long as the video lives up to the title and thumbnail and pays it off then that’s fine by me, which I think this video does :)
Overall, good tips, but I'd like to argue a bit.
1) Shooting from the hip only works well if people are sitting or if they're kids. For others, it creates a special look that may not suit everyone and can even make people look uglier. We perceive the world from eye level while standing most of the time, so eye-level photos look more natural. Whether to use a viewfinder or not doesn't matter as much as long as you can see what you're composing on the LCD screen.
Also, a real photographer might approach you and reprimand you for hip-shooting. You'll be very ashamed. Just kidding.
2) If street photography is about documenting, you should definitely include homeless people and their everyday life, as well as children (just make sure not to use them as the central subject without parental consent). Otherwise, you might capture a censored, unrealistic version of the world without homelessness and childhood. Some of the greatest photographs have included desperate, homeless people in need and their children too.
3) I've never heard that lie. You can't make a good picture without composing it (only if you're lucky maybe). Although, while shooting from the hip, it's much harder (unless you have a tilting display).
4) It is definitely possible to achieve a film look, and I'm sure everyone should strive for EXACTLY that with their editing. The digital neutral look with plasticky-greasy faces (due to high linearity) and pale colors is boring and not appealing compared to film. This myth (that film is better) emerged because standard profiles in cameras and RAW development software (if you shoot RAW) are overly neutral: not enough vividness, not enough curvature in the middle and highlights, and the black point is too precise. And then there's the grain. In digital, grain is almost like a sin, while in film, it's acceptable. But the thing is, noise often looks better than the result of denoising. Anyway, a film stock with features like the modern digital standard profile would have been a complete failure for a manufacturing company. Who would want that? People picked different films to get different filtering, preferring one over another but loving that sweet distortion of reality. So there's nothing wrong with extensive editing, filtering, color grading, etc. I agree buying film is not worth it today, not only because of the price (for a professional, that's not a big issue) but because of the huge delay in workflow and the higher chance of failures.
5) There are a few kinds of blurriness that need to be restored (I mean, it would be completely fair to restore them). 1) From debayering/demosaicing. It's not your real image that is blurry; it's the result of demosaicing that made it look like that. Some debayering algorithms make up for that to some extent, some do not or not enough. 2) From lens softness. You might like it but technically it is a defect. A soft image still contains information that would help to restore sharpness. Try and compare before dismissing sharpening at all. 3) From a focusing mistake or shallowness of depth of field or motion blur. Same thing - some information is still there, and magically, you can restore the sharpness. I'm talking about restoring to some NORMAL sharpness. This is subjective, of course, but if it does not look overly sharp, consider it "normal". If you do not try sharpening, you will not understand how actually blurry your picture is. 4) From downscaling before printing. (You should also understand your viewing distance and print resolution to make a decision about the pre-print sharpening level.) It is a mistake to omit sharpening before printing. Sometimes it even depends on the paper type and the specifics of the printing equipment/technique. Consider that you applied blur filter to your picture if you didn't apply sharpening!
Just please do not use Lightroom's sharpening, use Photoshop's instead (optionally as duplicate layer with blending mode that would affect luminance only).
I think that’s the longest comment I’ve had on the channel so far
There are no lies or secrets about "street" photography, but there are annoying youtubers using clickbait words like lies and secret !
Wah wah, if you don’t like it, don’t click or watch!
@@timjamiesonphotos I did not and I will not ! Noob
@@JohnCross-rz5uqthanks for the comments, the engagement really helps the algorithm promote the video. People are so easily offended these days, a mildly click-baity video thumbnail is how you get people to watch a video on RUclips, but then you pay it off with an actually useful video, but you wouldn’t know that as you got so offended you didn’t even watch it 😂
All red flags went up when this guy mentioned Vivian Maier as “he” did so and do @ 1:03 .
Calm down, in the video I clearly say ‘who often used HER rolliflex film camera’. I have two books of her work 😂
I purchased my first DSLR camera one year ago. I’m 58 years old. I suffer from anxiety unfortunately my hands shake slightly. I want to do more handheld photography instead of relying on tripod. What’s the best advice people can give me?
Hey Paul, glad to hear you want to do more handheld photography, it’s a great hobby to get stuck into for those with anxiety. If you have shaky hands all you need is to use a fast shutter speed of around 1/500s this will freeze action even with shaky hands :)
@@timjamiesonphotos Thanks for the help. I worry about what people think of me. I worry about what people say about me. It’s stupid way of thinking. I have to keep telling myself I don’t care what people say or think about me when I take photos.
Thank you!