Thank you! I’m really shy about photographing strangers, so I’m looking forward to trying your tips. I’ll have to watch this through again to really soak it all up.
Adding value, genuineness, sensitivity and a real conversation to the game AGAIN. Your tips are awesome but your disclaimer feels so important to me. It's good to see and hear you talking from an introvert perspective.
I was up with my newborn last night and went through my subs and decided I would watch and rewatch your videos Jason. I am pretty comfortable photographing strangers due to my background in the bar trade for 20 years but I still got a lot out of the video and just wanted to let you know I thought it was great. Really enjoyed all your videos tbh
Thanks so much for this video Jason! I am into street photography for about 7 years now. Did a 2 year break and wanna get back at it. I think (for me) it is so important to have kind of a goal, why am I doing street photography, why do I fight my fears. I lost this goal over the past 2 years, but because of your videos and those from Samuel & Faizal, I feel like I am back on track again! It is so awesome to be part of the street photography community, to be able to travel around the world and meet new people from different cultures and have the opportunity to nerd about the same topics, which most of the people don't care about. I just want to say thank your for your videos and this awesome content! BTW: It was so nice to hear that your are also a different person on the streets, I always felt weird being so different when I am at home with my girlfriend. It's quite hard to be ok with having such different personalities in different situations. All the best! Lukas
Thank you for watching brother! Glad I could help encourage you to get out and shoot. I still sit and watch a bunch of TH-cam videos before shooting, especially POV videos. It’s like an espresso in the morning. Glad you’re out shooting again. 🙏🏾
Great tips here! I also do street portraits, tho I don't have nearly the collection you do. The one that stuck with me most were "don't be passive." I channel what I call the "cheerful, socially oblivious artist." He doesn't care that asking and taking street portraits is sometimes pretty awkward. He just thinks you, the subject, look so AMAZING that he wants to make art. People love cheerful, oblivious artists, and they love being told they look good/interesting. Overall, I get more "Yes" responses than "Nos" any day I go out. Increasing your staying time is where I struggle the most. I tend to flee the moment I get a shot or two and end up disappointed. After all that, I got a blink, or the exposure settings were't quite right. Or I see something with the composition that could have been much better if I'd taken the time to breathe, study the result, and take a few more. I also carry a Fuji Instax printer sometimes. Giving someone a print straight out of camera after the shoot really ends things on a high note. It's definitely an art form and a lot of fun, even if one's insecurities are tripping you up the entire time.
Man... this is exactly what I have been struggling with lately. I really needed to hear these words, thank you! You truly managed to explain the street photographers anxiety in a very relatable way. I love your perspective on how to conquer these feelings, and I will watch this video again tomorrow for an inspiration boost before I go out to shoot!
Thanks man! I really appreciate your insights on this subject. Love all your vids and your passion for these fuji cameras. I shot manual Pentaxes in the 90s/2000's and moved over to digital but it was never the same. I have three fujis now and I'm loving taking pics again. You were the one who got me hip to the x100f.
Yooo!! Thanks for all the information! It is very useful. I don’t own a Leica camera but I have shot with a Q2 for a few weeks and haven’t been able to sleep since! Lol I’m learning the Leica Ecosystem through your TH-cam along with a couple other resources. Just wanted to say thank you and your expertise is appreciated. From Chicago w/ love!
Honestly this is probably some of the best advice I've ever heard for Street photography! I will certainly be using these tactics next time I go out. Another good thing I've heard elsewhere is to tell people that you are a student. Even if you are not, technically it's not a lie because we are all students of light and students of photography. And most of the time when you tell someone you're a student the kind of eases their nerves because you're just working on a educational project rather than news or something.
Great advice Bro! I use many of the techniques you describe often! I'm glad you took the time to break it down and articulate it so well. Thank you! This video is incredibly useful to photographers of all skill levels, but especially to those just starting out.
@@Stockezy You're very welcome! Absolutely. I've been watching your videos for a while. I love your channel. As a fellow Leica shooter I'd love to meet you someday and maybe do some shooting. Maybe if you ever come back out to Arizona we can hit the streets?
Great vid!!! I think lying and being "someone else" works best for me. I lie by saying that I'm a photography student... people are usually more patient with me and let me take my time and take several photos while I chat them up. So far it's worked every time
Brotha!! I love this content, I"m a different person when shooting alone. It"s also my way of escaping and entering my zenness zone. Being a husband, father of two kids, in the end, my Leica street solo journey is so important. Hey, really great tips :)
Okay, but what's the best camera in 2020?!! Joking. Awesome, thoughtful content. Been really enjoying your recent uptick in the volume of videos! Please keep posting!
great video! The really best tip is to imagine yourself as a journalist for a local newspaper and you get paid to take pictures. Then you won't have to ask yourself if you're taking this picture or not or what the people around you think.
Big facts! I have been doing these things/having this mind set for years here in Japan. Everything is universal across the world as human beings share the same characteristics regardless of nationality. People love compliments. People love being felt special. Us taking portraits of them is also a gift from us. If they don't want it that's their loss and on them. Never on me.
Solid suggestion all around. But you forgot the number one rule...bring your camera! I agree about checking your mood, people out here can shit on your good day quick but, it can also go the other way. Always bringing your camera is the first step however your mood. Seeing something/someone could inspire you to shoot even if you come home with just one tight photo. Just my 2 cents. Btw, liking the white border, real clean !
Dude going shooting this weekend, these tips are so useful. I think telling people why is def a good tip cause when I ask for a photo they ask why and I don't know what to say on stop! But there is a reason why since I want there photo just putting into perspective.
Super video, with really solid tips and advice. Would love to see more like this from you. Great street portraits are difficult to get. An element of fear will always be there to sabotage your efforts. Loved your closing comment about not getting your teeth kicked in. :) Best wishes from about to be locked down England. :(
Haha thanks for watching! Glad you found some value in this. It’s looking like NY may be headed down the same path. Hope you get to shoot a ton before it happens. Then you can spend your quarantine editing.
I ask strangers on the streets for portraits every single day; it what I do... I agree with almost every one of your techniques and use them too; like pointing out something about them, their clothes, mannerisms, smile... to explain why I have picked them. In a group of people I will often target the quiet one who blends into the background, because its an ego boost for them to have been noticed. The only thing I would not do is lie. Its completely unnecessary. If you say to someone "I am working on a book of photos of this city" and then take a photo, they may tell all their friends and look at photo books for the next ? years to find their picture. You have developed a superb street technique and your photos are amazing - please don't lie or suggest it as a possible idea.
Thank you, really interesting and honest approach. Good stuff. In some rural areas where people are probably a bit more restricted or depending on the country/city it might not work as expected though. Subscribed to your channel ;-)
Nice video dude appreciate this advice as this is something i struggle.with, i approached someone last week for my first effort and got a NO! lol but i realise its probably a game of numbers! Thanks again
I don't ask - it changes the spontaneity of the scene. People freeze up, or pose (even if they say yes), you've always lost your shot. I just make sure they've seen me and I shoot stuff around them. If they are relaxed and don't care, then I photograph them. If it looks like they might be offended, I motion toward my camera and smile, they will give the nod or say no - nothing lost if they do. I've only been chased a few times and yelled at now and then. However, that's a pretty good price to pay for over 15 years of street.
Lots of great advice, except, for me, I don’t like & wont be telling lies - I think it unnecessary to do so, just be honest and say you have been documenting normal daily life in your area. You can expand upon that and say that you don’t know where it might lead, you could end up doing a book one day. Why tell a lie when there is no need. Having said that, I did like the tip about getting into the mindset of treating it like a job and imagine someone is paying you to get the shots....kind of telling yourself a mental lie.
That makes perfectly good sense and everyone is different. At first we must overcome whatever fears we have by using whatever methods work. Eventually we will find the truth in ourselves and our photography. Thanks for sharing your methods and watching!
@@Stockezy ....I wouldn’t exactly say I have a method to share ;-)...I’m as intimidated by taking portraits of strangers as many are. I can recall one time where I’ve gone up to a stranger and asked to take their portrait (they said yes). I was on a photo walk with a buddy, and we had been talking about shooting ‘street’ and that we were both too intimidated to do so. Sometime later we where passing an office type building and 3 office workers (2 female one male) were standing on a green outside chatting and having a smoke. My buddy said well that’s the type of person you’d approach for a street portrait, and verbally directed me to the male office worker. He was dressed slightly flamboyantly & alternatively, but both of us walked on by being too shy to interrupt 3 strangers chatting & ask for a photo. We’d walked past about 100 yards, & I was really kicking myself for not being ‘brave’ enough, so I said to my friend, ‘hold up’, and I rushed back, interrupted their conversation and asked if I could take a photo. Only had a bit of small chat with them, positively commented on his look & that’s why I wanted to take his portrait, think I said I was just on a photo walk with a friend etc. I did semi direct him, because as I took a couple of photos, he went to draw his cigarette to his mouth and then stopped because I was taking a photo, and I told him to continue smoking if he wished, which he did, and out of the few photos I took, that was the one I kept. Yes, I was nervous, but it was also quit a buzz.
*Excellent! I'm an introvert too and do almost all of what you're recommending. I often say the following in a very excited way, "Hold on, don't move, that looks great!" Or, "Could you do that again, I love it." Or, "Could you show that to me?" People almost always get into the moment, and often laugh, smile, or think that it's cool. It works, try it folks. Examples: www.kenchoat.com
Solid advice especially about checking yourself emotionally. That can be my biggest obstacle as well. Kudos.
Indeed, I often spend the first 20 minutes of shooting preparing myself to engage and welcome all kinds of encounters.
Thanks for watching!
Of all the street portrait tips videos, this one rings true as the most practical. The first tip was like an epiphany!
Glad it had some value for you brother!
Stockezy an introvert? No way - you’ve taught yourself well and have become a great teacher within the community. Looking forward to your next one.
Appreciate you brother! Thanks for watching.
Came back to say, monitor battery dying into mid-roll TH-cam ad? Now that's class. Take my Like! Haha.
Thank you! I’m really shy about photographing strangers, so I’m looking forward to trying your tips. I’ll have to watch this through again to really soak it all up.
I really hope you find some value in these tips!
I'm moving from landscapes to street photography. This video was really helpful. I love the way you relate what works for you.
Adding value, genuineness, sensitivity and a real conversation to the game AGAIN. Your tips are awesome but your disclaimer feels so important to me. It's good to see and hear you talking from an introvert perspective.
Hey brother! Thanks for your thoughtful response. I’m glad you approve!
Hope you’re well. ♥️
@@Stockezy That's the Photo and human content i need. Even more these days. I'm good brother ! Take care
I was up with my newborn last night and went through my subs and decided I would watch and rewatch your videos Jason. I am pretty comfortable photographing strangers due to my background in the bar trade for 20 years but I still got a lot out of the video and just wanted to let you know I thought it was great. Really enjoyed all your videos tbh
Congratulations on the baby brother!
Thanks for the support and feedback. Glad you found some value in my videos. 🍻
Thanks so much for this video Jason!
I am into street photography for about 7 years now. Did a 2 year break and wanna get back at it.
I think (for me) it is so important to have kind of a goal, why am I doing street photography, why do I fight my fears.
I lost this goal over the past 2 years, but because of your videos and those from Samuel & Faizal, I feel like I am back on track again!
It is so awesome to be part of the street photography community, to be able to travel around the world and meet new people from different cultures and have the opportunity to nerd about the same topics, which most of the people don't care about.
I just want to say thank your for your videos and this awesome content!
BTW: It was so nice to hear that your are also a different person on the streets, I always felt weird being so different when I am at home with my girlfriend. It's quite hard to be ok with having such different personalities in different situations.
All the best!
Lukas
Thank you for watching brother! Glad I could help encourage you to get out and shoot. I still sit and watch a bunch of TH-cam videos before shooting, especially POV videos. It’s like an espresso in the morning.
Glad you’re out shooting again. 🙏🏾
@@Stockezy Love your honesty! Thanks for the reply. ✌️
Great tips here! I also do street portraits, tho I don't have nearly the collection you do. The one that stuck with me most were "don't be passive." I channel what I call the "cheerful, socially oblivious artist." He doesn't care that asking and taking street portraits is sometimes pretty awkward. He just thinks you, the subject, look so AMAZING that he wants to make art. People love cheerful, oblivious artists, and they love being told they look good/interesting. Overall, I get more "Yes" responses than "Nos" any day I go out.
Increasing your staying time is where I struggle the most. I tend to flee the moment I get a shot or two and end up disappointed. After all that, I got a blink, or the exposure settings were't quite right. Or I see something with the composition that could have been much better if I'd taken the time to breathe, study the result, and take a few more.
I also carry a Fuji Instax printer sometimes. Giving someone a print straight out of camera after the shoot really ends things on a high note. It's definitely an art form and a lot of fun, even if one's insecurities are tripping you up the entire time.
Great video man. I would definitely like to see more POV of these encounters.
Thank you! really Thank you!
i did street photography, but I really asked people to pause or at least get them to notice me.
so this is so so helpful
Hope it works for you! Let me know if you have some née found success. Thanks for watching!
Man... this is exactly what I have been struggling with lately. I really needed to hear these words, thank you! You truly managed to explain the street photographers anxiety in a very relatable way. I love your perspective on how to conquer these feelings, and I will watch this video again tomorrow for an inspiration boost before I go out to shoot!
Love to hear that brother! Let me know if helps next time you’re out! 🙏🏾
I dig the white borders on the talking head segments, King. Thanks for the tips!!
Appreciate that fam! Just trying to hammer out a style on here.
Thanks for the tips Stockezy! Loved the video and your tips :)
Thanks man! I really appreciate your insights on this subject. Love all your vids and your passion for these fuji cameras. I shot manual Pentaxes in the 90s/2000's and moved over to digital but it was never the same. I have three fujis now and I'm loving taking pics again. You were the one who got me hip to the x100f.
Yooo!! Thanks for all the information! It is very useful. I don’t own a Leica camera but I have shot with a Q2 for a few weeks and haven’t been able to sleep since! Lol I’m learning the Leica Ecosystem through your TH-cam along with a couple other resources. Just wanted to say thank you and your expertise is appreciated. From Chicago w/ love!
Love the new camera set up and style of the videos!! The advice is just great 😍
Thank you for the feedback! 🙏🏾
Honestly this is probably some of the best advice I've ever heard for Street photography! I will certainly be using these tactics next time I go out. Another good thing I've heard elsewhere is to tell people that you are a student. Even if you are not, technically it's not a lie because we are all students of light and students of photography. And most of the time when you tell someone you're a student the kind of eases their nerves because you're just working on a educational project rather than news or something.
Great advice Bro! I use many of the techniques you describe often! I'm glad you took the time to break it down and articulate it so well. Thank you! This video is incredibly useful to photographers of all skill levels, but especially to those just starting out.
Thanks for watching brother! Glad it resonates with you.
@@Stockezy You're very welcome! Absolutely. I've been watching your videos for a while. I love your channel. As a fellow Leica shooter I'd love to meet you someday and maybe do some shooting. Maybe if you ever come back out to Arizona we can hit the streets?
Great vid!!!
I think lying and being "someone else" works best for me. I lie by saying that I'm a photography student...
people are usually more patient with me and let me take my time and take several photos while I chat them up.
So far it's worked every time
Brotha!! I love this content, I"m a different person when shooting alone. It"s also my way of escaping and entering my zenness zone. Being a husband, father of two kids, in the end, my Leica street solo journey is so important. Hey, really great tips :)
Glad you like it man! I know someone out there had to understand where I am coming from. Thanks for watching.
Great video fam. Really love the intro too.
Appreciate it! Thanks for watching brother!
Thanks for sharing all this wisdom, Stockezy!! Great stuff. Keep it coming, boss.
Okay, but what's the best camera in 2020?!! Joking. Awesome, thoughtful content. Been really enjoying your recent uptick in the volume of videos! Please keep posting!
Haha! Trying to keep the momentum going! Thanks for the encouragement brother.
great video! The really best tip is to imagine yourself as a journalist for a local newspaper and you get paid to take pictures. Then you won't have to ask yourself if you're taking this picture or not or what the people around you think.
It’s just a shift in perspective and intention. Get that work!
This is brilliant, just what I needed! have been in a bit of a slump since Covid. Great to see a new upload and images!
Glad this is giving you a little push! Thanks for watching.
Anyone who dislikes this video needs to hit me up, we gotta fight.
It happened... two times.
Haters gon hate. 🤷🏾♂️
@@Stockezy I’m ready square up, they buggin.
This guy is a gift! Keep it up j
Hey Jason, Great informative video ! full of good advises that we dont hear on most of the TH-cam photography channels. Keep it up !
Thanks brother! Just trying to speak truthfully on what I’ve learned over the years.
Love this video! Awesome, down to earth tips. You really have a gift J!
Haha thanks Lola! Let me find out you're trying to step your street game up!?
Thank you , this is great value !
Big facts! I have been doing these things/having this mind set for years here in Japan. Everything is universal across the world as human beings share the same characteristics regardless of nationality. People love compliments. People love being felt special. Us taking portraits of them is also a gift from us. If they don't want it that's their loss and on them. Never on me.
Indeed! More often then not people are always flattered when I approach them.
in germany is almost impossible, watching this got me think of trying, keep it up Jason.
That is great to hear! I hope it proves useful.
this was great bro. dropped some gems
Thanks brother!
Solid suggestion all around. But you forgot the number one rule...bring your camera! I agree about checking your mood, people out here can shit on your good day quick but, it can also go the other way. Always bringing your camera is the first step however your mood. Seeing something/someone could inspire you to shoot even if you come home with just one tight photo. Just my 2 cents. Btw, liking the white border, real clean !
Dude going shooting this weekend, these tips are so useful. I think telling people why is def a good tip cause when I ask for a photo they ask why and I don't know what to say on stop! But there is a reason why since I want there photo just putting into perspective.
Forget the commercial world, you and your work is the brand I would aspire to work for or with one day
Really appreciate the love fam! If you ever want to link and help me make a video it is always welcomed!
Great video I might just try some street portraiture
Report back if you find it’s working! And keep it to yourself if it doesn’t... 😅
@@Stockezy Ha, understood. Might well give it a try after the lasted lockdown in England ends.
Super video, with really solid tips and advice. Would love to see more like this from you. Great street portraits are difficult to get. An element of fear will always be there to sabotage your efforts. Loved your closing comment about not getting your teeth kicked in. :) Best wishes from about to be locked down England. :(
Haha thanks for watching! Glad you found some value in this.
It’s looking like NY may be headed down the same path. Hope you get to shoot a ton before it happens. Then you can spend your quarantine editing.
great tips...many thanks
I ask strangers on the streets for portraits every single day; it what I do... I agree with almost every one of your techniques and use them too; like pointing out something about them, their clothes, mannerisms, smile... to explain why I have picked them. In a group of people I will often target the quiet one who blends into the background, because its an ego boost for them to have been noticed.
The only thing I would not do is lie. Its completely unnecessary. If you say to someone "I am working on a book of photos of this city" and then take a photo, they may tell all their friends and look at photo books for the next ? years to find their picture. You have developed a superb street technique and your photos are amazing - please don't lie or suggest it as a possible idea.
Great tips I'm gonna send this to some friends
🙏🏾
hell yeah! new video!!!
what film is that @4:52 those borders are dope
Great tips man, awesome video
Glad you like it brother!
Great tips! I want to do more street with my new A7C with my Minolta 40mm f2
» Just […] always flash a smile, say “thank you for the photograph”, and hopefully nobody kicks your teeth in «
- Stockezy, 2020
Great tips…
Thank you, really interesting and honest approach. Good stuff. In some rural areas where people are probably a bit more restricted or depending on the country/city it might not work as expected though. Subscribed to your channel ;-)
Love the different person embarassment concept. I relate to that !!
Haha I was hoping someone would understand.
The suffix for the title should be "...for introverts". Great tips. Thanks
Good call! Didn't want to lean to heavy on that. Most people that know me would assume I am lying.
This is DEEEElightful. 🙌
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Great video my dude!
🙏🏾
Nice video dude appreciate this advice as this is something i struggle.with, i approached someone last week for my first effort and got a NO! lol but i realise its probably a game of numbers! Thanks again
It can definitely be a game of numbers but you can tip the odds in your favor with the approach. Don’t stop asking and trying new things.
Notification creeeeeew!
Woot woot!
I don't ask - it changes the spontaneity of the scene. People freeze up, or pose (even if they say yes), you've always lost your shot. I just make sure they've seen me and I shoot stuff around them. If they are relaxed and don't care, then I photograph them. If it looks like they might be offended, I motion toward my camera and smile, they will give the nod or say no - nothing lost if they do. I've only been chased a few times and yelled at now and then. However, that's a pretty good price to pay for over 15 years of street.
I don't even own a camera yet, but I love this tips 😁
Haha thanks brother!
Lots of great advice, except, for me, I don’t like & wont be telling lies - I think it unnecessary to do so, just be honest and say you have been documenting normal daily life in your area. You can expand upon that and say that you don’t know where it might lead, you could end up doing a book one day. Why tell a lie when there is no need. Having said that, I did like the tip about getting into the mindset of treating it like a job and imagine someone is paying you to get the shots....kind of telling yourself a mental lie.
That makes perfectly good sense and everyone is different. At first we must overcome whatever fears we have by using whatever methods work. Eventually we will find the truth in ourselves and our photography.
Thanks for sharing your methods and watching!
@@Stockezy ....I wouldn’t exactly say I have a method to share ;-)...I’m as intimidated by taking portraits of strangers as many are. I can recall one time where I’ve gone up to a stranger and asked to take their portrait (they said yes). I was on a photo walk with a buddy, and we had been talking about shooting ‘street’ and that we were both too intimidated to do so. Sometime later we where passing an office type building and 3 office workers (2 female one male) were standing on a green outside chatting and having a smoke. My buddy said well that’s the type of person you’d approach for a street portrait, and verbally directed me to the male office worker. He was dressed slightly flamboyantly & alternatively, but both of us walked on by being too shy to interrupt 3 strangers chatting & ask for a photo. We’d walked past about 100 yards, & I was really kicking myself for not being ‘brave’ enough, so I said to my friend, ‘hold up’, and I rushed back, interrupted their conversation and asked if I could take a photo. Only had a bit of small chat with them, positively commented on his look & that’s why I wanted to take his portrait, think I said I was just on a photo walk with a friend etc. I did semi direct him, because as I took a couple of photos, he went to draw his cigarette to his mouth and then stopped because I was taking a photo, and I told him to continue smoking if he wished, which he did, and out of the few photos I took, that was the one I kept.
Yes, I was nervous, but it was also quit a buzz.
I just ran into your brother today lol.
Haha It was bound to happen!
*Excellent! I'm an introvert too and do almost all of what you're recommending. I often say the following in a very excited way, "Hold on, don't move, that looks great!" Or, "Could you do that again, I love it." Or, "Could you show that to me?" People almost always get into the moment, and often laugh, smile, or think that it's cool. It works, try it folks. Examples: www.kenchoat.com
Cupcake 🧁 talk 🤣🤣🤣🤣
blonde hair under the beanie?!
Haha mid-life crisis.