Do you mind
if I take
a photo of you
Thank you
Street photography
Many of us like street photography
It is fun and challenging
But to many of us
there is a challenge
that is how to take photos of people
how to interact with others
Many of us are afraid of taking pictures of people
So some photographers end up sneak shooting
or using a tele zoom from far away
Not many photographers openly ask
for permission to take pictures of people
Because we are all afraid of
getting rejected
It is quite embarrasing to be rejected
So what I am gonna do today
is ask random people I want to photograph here in Melbourne
for permission to take a picture of them
to see how many times I get rejected
Welcome to ColorBee Photography Life Magazine
I am Brian
In fact I am also afraid of taking pictures of people
I am not a very outgoing person
More of an introvert
It is like a comedian saying he or she is an introvert
you got to believe me
Not many people are born as an extrovert
And even fewer people would bother strangers
Especially to ask for permission of taking a picture of them
Today I wanna find out
When I interact with a stranger I want to photograph
will more people agree to it
or more people will reject
I want to talk about the gear I am using today
To challenge myself
I am using a ROLLEIFLEX twin lens reflex camera
It is a 120mm film camera
If you can use this camera for street photography
and get great results
Then digital cameras will not bring you any trouble
The smell of the new film
It is ever so addicting
To show the whole process better
I will put an action cam under the film camera
So they will record simultaneously
You can see what I saw at that moment
and also the final results of the film photos
Thank you for the coffee
Ok now we are ready to go
I found a short strap for today
so the camera can be easily
positioned to the shooting position
We came to a foodie area
Where there are a lot of people traffic
Trying to find something interesting
Oh shoot! Missed the shot
The first static shot and I missed it
I am still getting used to the camera!
Let me do an exposure metering
Ok, when aperture is at f/8
Shutter speed should be at around 1/60s
Hmm
f/8 gives you enough field of depth
making it easy enough for me to focus
With 1/60s shutter speed
I can capture static subjects
It could also have some motion blurs in the picture
It's just the right speed
Here comes my first attempt
Let's go
Hello
Excuse me
I'm photographer I'm taking photo of people in Melbourne on the street
Is it ok for me to take a photo of you
Thank you Thank you
Well
It is quite common to be rejected
So let's move on
Excuse me
May I take a photo of you?
I have a car
That's 954
I have lots of mates that are photographers for magazines
My mate did this photography
Yeah, beautiful
Awesome
right
You too
Nice to meet you
you see
This is the second person I asked
and he was very cooperative
He also showed me
pictures of his car collection
Like I said
It is not as daunting as I imagined, right?
Many people want their pictures to be taken
They want to listen to your stories
And share their owns
Cool
A good start
It is easier to take photos of street artists
Because their goal is to perform to others
Giving out a few dollars
You can take as many pictures as you want to
But I don't want to use too much film for street artists
I am more interested in stranger's reaction to my photo request
Excuse me my friend
Do you mind if I take a photo of you
Leave it there
Just be natural
Thank you
You can be a model
Thank you
2 out of 3
yup
Two out of three people
are very glad for me to take a photo of them
I am just getting started
I think taking photo of people on the street
should follow local law and morality
it is easy to understand about the law
Many countries prohibits sneak shooting
Like certain cities in the US and Japan
Also the new civil code in China
There are many rules
when it comes to taking pictures of strangers
the law is laxer in Australia
You can take pictures of strangers without permission
as long as it is not for commercial use
Then you have to take morality into account
Like homeless people
Or people with disability
I don't really want to take picture of them
First I don't want to expose
Their shortcomings or bad days to the public
Second I think these photos
aren't pleasing to most people
This is just my personal opinion
I just realized it is an advantage
when I take photos with the film camera
It is a great ice breaker
People see you using a vintage and special camera
This could start a conversation
Nice
Thank you
You have a nice day!
I met two male elder photographers
They were using GR3
and they were sneak shooting too
GR3 is widely used for sneak shooting in street photography
If I am not a photographer
It is impossible for me to notice
the GR3 that they are shooting with
When he talked
I found that he kept pressuing the shutter
Sneaky
In that alley
I saw several photographers
Why?
Because this street
has an impluvium
Only at noon
will the sunshine goes through
Then the gorgeous effect of light and shadow is generated
This is why the street photographers show up
at noon here
Since this spot is really popular
Too many dollars chasing too few goods
The space is not enough to go around
So let's just move on
and start my next adventure
Why don't we just shoot stills during street shooting?
When using the digital camera, there is basically no cost
But a still life picture does not seem interesting
After a week, a month or a year
It still feels pretty much the same
It does not really express any emotion
Though light and texture are captured
Of course, light and texture can touch people
but that kind of shock is not permanent
This is why I like taking portrait photography as a challenge
when I do street photography
Because people are in motion
We will age
And what's more, different generation has their own spirit
Look at the photos taken by this camera
People in 60s
70s
80s
and now in 2021
they give out totally different vibes
That's right
I need to
focus
There we go
Beautiful
Thank you
Thank you so much
When you do a street portrait, they usually ask you
why you are taking pictures
So I think it is great if we can communicate before pressing the shutter
Declaring your intentions
It is not like they want to get involved in your business
It is more like a gesture of respect for your models
This film camera has an almost silent shutter
It is perfect for street photography
But that is not an absolute advantage
Did I press the shutter? I keep questioning myself
It doesn't have a shutter sound like Hasselblad
Like Bang!
And you will get a clear feedback
But this shutter is more like a click
Yes, it lets you to work very quietly
without disturbing your models on the street
Usually, when we use this camera to sneak shoot people in street photography
they won't notice at all
It has a waist-level viewfinder
So when holding the camera like this
People around won't have an idea of being shot
I've been trying to take photos of men so far
Now I wanna try to ask girls to see if they will react differently
Hey, hello!
Hi
Excuse me
I am a photographer and I am taking pictures of people on the street
Do you mind if I take a photo of you?
Yeah, sure
The film probably takes about five days to process
When I get the data file, I will send it to you
Yeah, thank you very much
Glad to meet you
Not bad, so far so good
How many photos have I taken?
More than 80% people said yes
What is the most frightening topic to shoot for you?
Leave a comment!
So I might just focus on that topic next time!
I think it is a bit impolite to shoot while others eat
You have to consider few factors before choosing your subeject
Maybe not try the people look insanely busy
When they are obviously occupied
If you just go and ask
It is very likely that they will say no
You could ask people who are waiting for others
Or the people just chill there
Or the casual people who dress up fancy
They might be more willing to express themselves
Also it takes skills to ask your model for permission
Like you could start with excuse me, right?
It is important to be polite
And always give out a nice smile
Who will turn down a nice smiling photographer?
Appraoch your model in a positive way
And show your intention
I am a photographer
I am doing street shooting
or I am making a documentary
So people will at least have an genral idea
And you can always ask directly
May I take a photo of you?
Can I take a photo of you?
We can ask the question which is likely to lead to yes
A closed-ended question
Because it is easier for people to say yes than no
So ask, may I take a photo of you?
And they might just say yes
But if you ask soemthing like do you mind...?
They might just say yes as well
Then I have to give up
So the way you ask is important
It does feel strange when we use film camera to do a street photography
uhhh
I only took 11 pictures in an hour
WIth the use of films,
the whole process feels longer
You have more time to think before pressing the shutter
And you will become more...
picky
Be pickier about your model and subject
It is different from using a digital camera and keeping your finger on the shutter
Of course, if you look at the relation between the investment and outcome
The digital camera is still the top choice for practising
The more photos we take, the more experienced we become
And it is more likely for you to have a nice photo
But the slow tempo coming with film cameras
Should be something every digital photographer has to try
Look at me
I just took a photo of my videographer
I think he totally deserves it!
The videographer has contributed a lot to the channel
It is Douglas today
And "Pangmao" for earlier episodes
Following my first person point of view today,
I had different reactions while doing the street photography
If you have some interesting stories or experiences
while doing street photography
Feel free to leave your stories in the comments
Thank you for watching Colorbee Phorography Life Magazine
I am Brian
See you next time!