One of the greatest things that ever happened to my photography was when my professor took my zoom lens, gave me his prime lens for the weekend and told me to go reshoot what I had shot the weekend prior. This was akin to when my high school art teacher took my pencil and eraser away and made me do life drawing with a pen. Both limitations forced me to just focus on the work rather than constantly second guessing my frame or my mark and ultimately missing the moment. Artists naturally over analyze, it is part of the process, it is what enables us to see what others may have missed. However, over analyzing can be detrimental to the process and make you unable to just make a decision. Giving yourself limitations like a prime lens or drawing with a pen forces you to just make decisions and work through them rather than constantly second guessing yourself and ending up with a forced product.
I used to shoot with primes, then switched to zooms and found the quality of my work declined. I didn't have to think as much when using the zooms. Move? Nah, zoom in or zoom out. Primes for me, thank you very much.
I almost always use a 50mm prime lens. I carry the others with me, just in case, but a prime lens makes you get creative. Especially whe ln changing lenses isn't possible.
At 58:30: That is Central Ave., Albuquerque, in the Nob Hill District looking East toward the Sandia Mountains. My apt. building is a little visible. It hasn't changed too much. It's now August, 2020.
You've given me such a boost with this regarding the old confidence issue. As a sprightly teen I had a far greater level than I hold today as a greying middle aged bloke. Anyway, gonna load up some more film and head out shortly to see what's what. Oh, never made the switch to digital cameras, I prefer the slower pace of film.
Step 4, so true. I rarely go out shooting with another photographer. I love the solitude, it's my therapy, especially coming off a 24 hour shift....just get in the truck and drive and shoot. Socializing is fun and sometimes needed, but i do best when i concentrate and just be.
Same here. I joined a couple of photography meetup groups. It's great getting together, having drinks, and sharing photos with people who can actually appreciate them, but when it comes time to shoot, I will break away from the group as fast as I can.
His explanation of back-button autofocusing just made me finally consider seriously giving it a try. Normally people just say "back-button is better!" but don't go into it. When he described the work flow it suddenly made tons of sense. Can't wait to get home!
+ecasper Hi ecasper, Yup, back button changed my photography for the better, no doubt.. Two weeks ago you wrote your comment, How are you finding it? Regards, Pete.
Lookin across my room to my photography table and it's been pretty abandoned since my last trip 3 weeks back. I'm thinking to myself it don't matter front or back button, as long as you're focusing!! Need to take the old girl out.. ! :) All the best to you in the New Year.
Great talk and Steve Simon has given me the courage to give this a try. ones covid lockdown is over here in the uk. I will be a newbie to street I normaly do macro and close up this is just a hoby for me to do as I am disabled.
Steve, Yours is one of the best presentations on this subject I've seen. Great references, tips and you speak without the ego that so many presenters project. I'll recommend it to my students.
Huge dose of information. I can't believe you have less views than channels with for example "top 10 (useless) camera tricks". Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Never liked auto focusing (because I used to have to lock it by holding the button all the time), but back button focusing solves this perfectly. Great video, great info!
Great video. I have a question about copyright. Let's say I go up to a stranger, ask if I can take their picture, they're game and I end up with a great shot. What things do I need them to sign a release form for? Things like adding the photo to my online portfolio, hang it at an exhibition, have the photo published, sell as a print, etc. My understanding is I need it for anything that's even remotely public (so all of the above and more), is that correct?
+Giulia Peddi - To be safe, if you plan on doing anything with your images a release is the best approach. An image you take today may have less value, and several years later some aspect of the image may become useful, and at that point it would be hard and or impossible to track down a subject to have them sign, and with the way things are today with social media and the internet, the odds of a person realizing you used their image is much greater than when we simply shot film and output to print media. Below are two links. The first is to a model release pack we carry on our website which is basic and useful, but was written pre-digital era. Following that will be a link to the topic on Wikipedia which has some useful points of information also. See the links below. - Yossi bhpho.to/1lU8d8H en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_release
Do I really need a release for public photography? I am in Australia and my understanding was if it is out in public fare game. I could be wrong or making it too simple.
If you take a picture of a public area and there happens to be people there you won't need to track every single one of them down and have them sign. But if the people/person are the central part of the image you will need them to sign a release. This is the way I understand it to be, but you should research it properly yourself to be sure and not just take my word for it. Also, if someone knows this to be wrong, please correct me on it!
You do not need a model release from anyone you photograph in a public place! This incudes photography that will be publicly displayed online, in a gallery, or sold as a print / book. You only need a model release if said photograph is to be used in the advertising of a product, brand, or service. This includes stock photography.
street camera > fuji XT-4 with a 35mm f 1.4 prime and in my pocket a Sigma 18-50 f 2.8 just in case .....set my camera standard on Acros R film simulation . For Acros R setting feel free to contact me
This always confuses me and there may be some key piece I'm missing. People, this guy included, will talk about setting their ISO to Auto. Then they say they shoot in Aperture Priority. Doesn't Auto ISO negate the need for that? I mean, if you put your ISO on auto, then set the other two corners of the triangle to, say, f5.6 at 1/500, the camera will adjust the ISO to get your exposure correct. What happens if you set it to Auto ISO and Aperture Priority? If two corners of the exposure triangle are set to auto, won't the camera just move the ISO and SS up and down willy-nilly?
Aperture priority, it will adjust shutter before ISO. You can indeed set your camera to M for manual, auto ISO, and the camera will just tweak ISO. Sometimes that's sensible. I might do it in daytime so I can adjust depth of field or motion blur without overmuch thought.
Good tips for better photography. I did notice he keeps saying reticulating screen it's actually an articulating screen. Reticulating is from a Latin word meaning a small net or creating a network as in the veins structure of a leaf.
Most lenses are sharper if stopped down just a little bit, especially at the edges of the image. The old twin lens reflex film cameras were great for looking down and turning the cameras 90 degrees right or left to photograph.
Great tutorial! I'm a photojournalist in Chicago which of course includes street photography with my Nikon D750. My two favorite lenses are the 50mm 1.8D lens and a 24-70,m zoom and I feel they keep me ready for everything! ,Keep up the great work you're doing...
Digital cameras with focusing options make things much easier. I also use manual focus vintage lenses that are trickier to get in things in focus so tend to be more selective with my shots. Forcing me to think more. I'm a novice so trying different things. UA-cam university student ha ha.
Gilden sounds like the guy that snapped the flash about four times in my face through the window of the Manhattan cafe I was having coffee in. If I could have seen where he went he would definitely had a lot of explaining to do. You hear my Lucy? :) When I took up photography five years ago I determined that I would be considerate and not be so in your face.
What are the challenges of the privacy act? how does copyright act come into play? can you sell your street photos with out the consent of the subject?
Him standing there and shooting people pass by is a small part of framing. Framing is important to learn. Go to galleries, look at the pictures and learn composition. See that fruit in a basket? It took longer to arrange those fruit, than to paint it. Once you learn it, you will become not only a better photographer, but an artist, and a person that sees with their eyes open and free mind.
At 42 minutes. You may not believe how much hostility I've gotten from UA-camrs who say You "should" or "must" use a 50mm prime for street photography. Their arguments against a zoom are all off point. There is no such thing as should or must as a universal application in photography. Personally, my go to lens is the Nikkor 34mm-120 mm f4. I also carry the 14-24 f.2, which gives me 14mm-120mm instantly with 2 bodies. Background changes are possible with a zoom that are not with a prime.
Great but Nikon specific recommendations. Too much more available for the street photographer with the new sony line small compact and high ISO abilities. Why not mention those. But content was great. Thx
One of the greatest things that ever happened to my photography was when my professor took my zoom lens, gave me his prime lens for the weekend and told me to go reshoot what I had shot the weekend prior.
This was akin to when my high school art teacher took my pencil and eraser away and made me do life drawing with a pen.
Both limitations forced me to just focus on the work rather than constantly second guessing my frame or my mark and ultimately missing the moment. Artists naturally over analyze, it is part of the process, it is what enables us to see what others may have missed. However, over analyzing can be detrimental to the process and make you unable to just make a decision. Giving yourself limitations like a prime lens or drawing with a pen forces you to just make decisions and work through them rather than constantly second guessing yourself and ending up with a forced product.
Constraints can be really conducive to innovation fo sho
I used to shoot with primes, then switched to zooms and found the quality of my work declined. I didn't have to think as much when using the zooms. Move? Nah, zoom in or zoom out. Primes for me, thank you very much.
Great words
I almost always use a 50mm prime lens. I carry the others with me, just in case, but a prime lens makes you get creative. Especially whe ln changing lenses isn't possible.
I wish I had the money for a prime lens in my type of photography (widlife) but I'll be getting a 150-600 and have a 70-300 now
Brilliant and simply put.
Wonderful speaker and teacher. Thankyou
The next 2 or 3 times I watch this I'll take notes.
New Old Photographer
At 58:30: That is Central Ave., Albuquerque, in the Nob Hill District looking East toward the Sandia Mountains. My apt. building is a little visible. It hasn't changed too much. It's now August, 2020.
You've given me such a boost with this regarding the old confidence issue. As a sprightly teen I had a far greater level than I hold today as a greying middle aged bloke. Anyway, gonna load up some more film and head out shortly to see what's what. Oh, never made the switch to digital cameras, I prefer the slower pace of film.
Probably, THE BEST video I have watched on this platform. Thank you, good sir.
Thanks for watching!
wow, I am quite literally stunned by the quality of this class. Great content, great tips, and an overall great presentation. What a treat!
Thanks for watching!
Step 4, so true. I rarely go out shooting with another photographer. I love the solitude, it's my therapy, especially coming off a 24 hour shift....just get in the truck and drive and shoot. Socializing is fun and sometimes needed, but i do best when i concentrate and just be.
Same here. I joined a couple of photography meetup groups. It's great getting together, having drinks, and sharing photos with people who can actually appreciate them, but when it comes time to shoot, I will break away from the group as fast as I can.
I concur
His explanation of back-button autofocusing just made me finally consider seriously giving it a try. Normally people just say "back-button is better!" but don't go into it. When he described the work flow it suddenly made tons of sense. Can't wait to get home!
+ecasper Hi ecasper, Yup, back button changed my photography for the better, no doubt.. Two weeks ago you wrote your comment, How are you finding it? Regards, Pete.
+iLikePete Photography Still using it. Switched all my cameras over
Lookin across my room to my photography table and it's been pretty abandoned since my last trip 3 weeks back. I'm thinking to myself it don't matter front or back button, as long as you're focusing!! Need to take the old girl out.. ! :) All the best to you in the New Year.
Ed Caspersen you’ll never look back ;)
Definitely back- button focus every time. It's a game changer. I enjoyed this session with some incredible shots. Good one!
One of the most interesting speech I ever hear here on internet.
Wonderful information. I've been shooting street stuff for years and it's a great reminder.
Really enjoyed this and pure fluke to find. Definitely look at more of his Steve Simon's stuff
One of the best video's I've seen on B&H
Really enjoyed this speech and learnt so much! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the presentation, thanks for watching!
I love Steve Simon. Great Photographer and teacher.
Hey Steve, super ideas, loved it. Wish I still lived in NYC I'd take your workshop!
Great talk and Steve Simon has given me the courage to give this a try. ones covid lockdown is over here in the uk. I will be a newbie to street I normaly do macro and close up this is just a hoby for me to do as I am disabled.
All of these long form B&H videos are incredible.
Steve, Yours is one of the best presentations on this subject I've seen. Great references, tips and you speak without the ego that so many presenters project. I'll recommend it to my students.
Thank David!
Just now stumbled on this video. For me this is one of the most interesting and useful talks about street photography I've ever seen.
Buenisimo , un agrado todo .- minuto 54 : 16 la cara de la señora de la derecha hace la foto aun mas graciosa .FELICITACIONES !
Watched the short version, liked it so much came back for the full.
Incredible video! Well worth the time to watch. Definitely worth watching often to sharpen your skills
This is the BEST B&H video I've ever watched
love this i treat this channel like school
Thanks for the platitudes, B&H.
Me too!! I've learned so much from their long form class videos.
Excellent video. Thanks for taking the time to film and edit it and of course for positing it for our benefit. Keep up the good work! -Migs
Thank you, Steve, for sharing all the great information experiences, and tips!
Huge dose of information. I can't believe you have less views than channels with for example "top 10 (useless) camera tricks". Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
well done mate! excellent presentation thank you! thank you to B&H for the seminar! You guys ROCK!!!
This video is informative and enjoyable to watch. It sparked lots of ideas.
Very inspiring in terms of what to shoot. Very helpful. Thanks a lot
Your pics are great! Love them.
Never liked auto focusing (because I used to have to lock it by holding the button all the time), but back button focusing solves this perfectly. Great video, great info!
Always cool to get photography tips from David Duchovny.
Awesome video thank you
I googled David Duchovny tutorial.....
not even close
So much knowledge in 58 mins! Amazing!
I have learned just to snap anything of interest no matter what it may be. It's fun and can thru up many surprises.
Very inspirational video. Thank you
For sure one of the best videos on this channel - Thanks!
Gr8 information :) Thanks very much!
We'll be using some of these techniques. Great pointers.. Thanks
Great to see Canadian Talent!! Have you done most of your Street photography in Montreal/Ottawa? Great inspiration all the while!!
Thanks Steve for this session, really amazing.
Very uplifting. Thank you.
Thank you i really enjoyed watching this video. It was very helpful and i cant wait to take my camera out and start shooting.
Watched this with out realizing that I’ve read (majority) of his book! Lol this was so great. I’m gunna go finish that book now 😂
And it IS a great book !
Wow you're so hot LIV. 🥰🤗
A truly well thought out video.
this was FANTASTIC!
This was truly valuable and absolutely worth the hour
Great video. I have a question about copyright. Let's say I go up to a stranger, ask if I can take their picture, they're game and I end up with a great shot. What things do I need them to sign a release form for? Things like adding the photo to my online portfolio, hang it at an exhibition, have the photo published, sell as a print, etc. My understanding is I need it for anything that's even remotely public (so all of the above and more), is that correct?
+Giulia Peddi - To be safe, if you plan on doing anything with your images a
release is the best approach. An image you take today may have less value, and
several years later some aspect of the image may become useful, and at that
point it would be hard and or impossible to track down a subject to have them
sign, and with the way things are today with social media and the internet, the
odds of a person realizing you used their image is much greater than when we
simply shot film and output to print media.
Below are two links. The first is to a model release pack we carry on our website which is basic and useful, but was written pre-digital era. Following that will be a link to the topic on Wikipedia which has some useful points of information also. See the links below. - Yossi
bhpho.to/1lU8d8H
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_release
Do I really need a release for public photography? I am in Australia and my understanding was if it is out in public fare game. I could be wrong or making it too simple.
If you take a picture of a public area and there happens to be people there you won't need to track every single one of them down and have them sign. But if the people/person are the central part of the image you will need them to sign a release. This is the way I understand it to be, but you should research it properly yourself to be sure and not just take my word for it. Also, if someone knows this to be wrong, please correct me on it!
You do not need a model release from anyone you photograph in a public place! This incudes photography that will be publicly displayed online, in a gallery, or sold as a print / book. You only need a model release if said photograph is to be used in the advertising of a product, brand, or service. This includes stock photography.
Very thought provocating
great stuff, thank you
The new Nikon mirrorless Z6 and Z7 seem to be gaining ground over the D850. I haven't tried them yet, but I may get the opportunity soon.
Thank you! I gained so much from this.
Thank you. Inspiring and encouraging.
street camera > fuji XT-4 with a 35mm f 1.4 prime and in my pocket a Sigma 18-50 f 2.8 just in case .....set my camera standard on Acros R film simulation . For Acros R setting feel free to contact me
As a Canadian, I've noticed that whenever I'm in the States it feels like an entirely different country.
It is a completely different country
🤣
Great video!! very inspiring and educational!
This always confuses me and there may be some key piece I'm missing. People, this guy included, will talk about setting their ISO to Auto. Then they say they shoot in Aperture Priority. Doesn't Auto ISO negate the need for that? I mean, if you put your ISO on auto, then set the other two corners of the triangle to, say, f5.6 at 1/500, the camera will adjust the ISO to get your exposure correct. What happens if you set it to Auto ISO and Aperture Priority? If two corners of the exposure triangle are set to auto, won't the camera just move the ISO and SS up and down willy-nilly?
Aperture priority, it will adjust shutter before ISO. You can indeed set your camera to M for manual, auto ISO, and the camera will just tweak ISO. Sometimes that's sensible. I might do it in daytime so I can adjust depth of field or motion blur without overmuch thought.
Great video! Thanks for sharing this!
Good video, so many different opinions on how to do street photography. That was so funny with the girls bending down to get in your photo.
Good tips for better photography. I did notice he keeps saying reticulating screen it's actually an articulating screen. Reticulating is from a Latin word meaning a small net or creating a network as in the veins structure of a leaf.
Great, thank you!
Most lenses are sharper if stopped down just a little bit, especially at the edges of the image. The old twin lens reflex film cameras were great for looking down and turning the cameras 90 degrees right or left to photograph.
Really interesting - thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching, Paul
Great tutorial! I'm a photojournalist in Chicago which of course includes street photography with my Nikon D750. My two favorite lenses are the 50mm 1.8D lens and a 24-70,m zoom
and I feel they keep me ready for everything! ,Keep up the great work you're doing...
Digital cameras with focusing options make things much easier. I also use manual focus vintage lenses that are trickier to get in things in focus so tend to be more selective with my shots. Forcing me to think more. I'm a novice so trying different things. UA-cam university student ha ha.
Great video! VEry inspiring!
Gilden sounds like the guy that snapped the flash about four times in my face through the window of the Manhattan cafe I was having coffee in. If I could have seen where he went he would definitely had a lot of explaining to do. You hear my Lucy? :)
When I took up photography five years ago I determined that I would be considerate and not be so in your face.
thank you Maestro..
Great lesson !
Great video and the Bombay Bicycle Club name drop is 🔥🔥🔥🔥
What are the challenges of the privacy act? how does copyright act come into play? can you sell your street photos with out the consent of the subject?
It depends on the laws in the country you're in
Beautiful speech
Wow thanks for helping me get my mojo back!🤗
2 words.. Thank You!!
I have learned not to worry too much about iso. But I still set the limit on my cameras to 800.
good stuff!
Great video
Awesome - we like it ☺
Yeah, I also started back in the days of ASA
Any Jeff Cable videos coming?
EXCELLENT!!
Him standing there and shooting people pass by is a small part of framing. Framing is important to learn. Go to galleries, look at the pictures and learn composition. See that fruit in a basket? It took longer to arrange those fruit, than to paint it. Once you learn it, you will become not only a better photographer, but an artist, and a person that sees with their eyes open and free mind.
At 42 minutes. You may not believe how much hostility I've gotten from UA-camrs who say You "should" or "must" use a 50mm prime for street photography. Their arguments against a zoom are all off point. There is no such thing as should or must as a universal application in photography. Personally, my go to lens is the Nikkor 34mm-120 mm f4. I also carry the 14-24 f.2, which gives me 14mm-120mm instantly with 2 bodies. Background changes are possible with a zoom that are not with a prime.
Fairly certain the term is Articulating screen. Other than that, brilliant advice. Thanks!
very helpful
Thankyou
great tips!!!! mahalo!
love it
"What is it that these guys who want to be great photographers, that they start by living..." Cartier Bresson
Bill hicks is a photographer? He's alive!
1. Decide whether you want to shoot dogs dressed up like people or babies dressed up like flowers.
Love that he says "Bow-kay" and not "Bow-Kuh".
I know it's petty, but there you are...
Great but Nikon specific recommendations. Too much more available for the street photographer with the new sony line small compact and high ISO abilities. Why not mention those. But content was great. Thx
Sony. I thought they made tv sets
"Never give up!" Winston Churchill complete university commencement speech after WW2.
who did he say is the most influential photographer sounded like Cargie something tried googling it but didnt come up with anything
Henri Cartier-Berson
Cartier-Bresson
ASA was American Standards Association, I think. ISO, International Standards Organization, is the same scale. No difference.
Ansel said there were eleven steps!
There's only one step needed to become a great photographer, sales of your photo's, that means acceptance.
Sorry. Couldn't avoid. "Reticulating" screen? This is not a paint curing process: maybe "articulated"...(or tilting)
Steinberg's Supermarket, OMG, ancient history, alas.
There is a cool way to shoot street and that is, to pretend you are shooting selfie. Today is much easier, because everybody is shooting selfie.