I feel like this shot had so much potential

[pentahedron]

I was shooting about where my chest starts and out of all the shots I attempted that was the best one I felt in that style. The one thing I noticed most was that I wasn't able to capture the whole subject in a lot of them since I couldn't see what I was doing. I also kept checking my exposure to make sure it was right as I was walking so sometimes I would set it correctly only to find it it was on a long shutter speed so the image came out blurry. How can I work around this problem? For the image I noticed the thing most off is that it's out of focus. I was using auto at first but realized that it if I waited for the camera to find something then I would probably miss an opportunity so I put it in manual and did a guestmation of how far my subjects would be. Are there any solid tips to to ensure what I want to capture is usually in focus? And one last thing, in a lot of street images I view, they are usually close up, what's the suggested length I should have my lens in?

ISO 100
Aperture: 4.5
Shutter speed: 1/40
Manual mode
WB: Cloudy
30 mm

Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

(1) ISO 200 or even 400 - This will low you to shoot at a higher shutter speed so camera motion is not a problem especially if you don';t have the camera jammed up against your face..
(2) I would go shutter priority with a shutter speed of around 1/250 so camera motion should not be a problem
Take what ever aperture you can get. Good light will get you F16 at least so lots of DOF.
(3) I like to shoot wide & fairly close so lens at around 18mm.
(4) if shooting from the waist (and I don't) manual focus set to a distance of about 15' (4m)
This will give you a DOF @ 18mm & F16 from arms length to infinity.
or @ F8 from ~ 6' (2M) to infinity.

Some examples.
From looking through the viewfinder and auto focussing (centre focus point only active).
All with a full frame camera
(1)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 200

(2)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/11
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -1 EV

(3)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias 0 EV

Hope this helps.

[Michael_2010]

This is kind of cool. Are you guys making clandestine candid shots?

[RichardTaylor]

@ Michael_2010

Not clandestine shots for me, just street photography.

All is not as it seems - the first one is of my wife.
The second two are vacation snaps.

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

@ Michael_2010

Not clandestine shots for me, just street photography.

All is not as it seems - the first one is of my wife.
The second two are vacation snaps.

But, you are kind of shooting from the hip?

[pentahedron]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

(1) ISO 200 or even 400 - This will low you to shoot at a higher shutter speed so camera motion is not a problem especially if you don';t have the camera jammed up against your face..
(2) I would go shutter priority with a shutter speed of around 1/250 so camera motion should not be a problem
Take what ever aperture you can get. Good light will get you F16 at least so lots of DOF.
(3) I like to shoot wide & fairly close so lens at around 18mm.
(4) if shooting from the waist (and I don't) manual focus set to a distance of about 15' (4m)
This will give you a DOF @ 18mm & F16 from arms length to infinity.
or @ F8 from ~ 6' (2M) to infinity.

Some examples.
From looking through the viewfinder and auto focussing (centre focus point only active).
All with a full frame camera
(1)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 200

(2)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/11
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -1 EV

(3)

Camera Canon EOS 5D
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias 0 EV

Hope this helps.

Thank you! I'll keep those tips in mind

[RichardTaylor]

@ Michael_2010

As far as actual shooting goes I very rarely shoot from the hip, especially whist on vacation as I don't have too many frames to waste.

Aesthetically it is "shooting from the hip" in that you are capturing a fleeting moment. You may wait for that moment, as for waiting for actors to enter the stage, or it my be spontaneous. The main thing is to recognise it and be ready for it as you will not get a second chance.

I feel the same principals apply to action photography (a lot), wild life photography (can be a lot), and even occasionally to landscape photography (how long does that magic light last?).

I do use a tripod etc for some of those planned long exposure landscape/cityscape shots but I am not primarily a landscape shooter.

There this a 4 part tutorial of mine, on this site, (mainly aimed at sports photographers about this).
Part 1 is here:
Capturing the "moment" (1)

[Michael_2010]

After reading this thread, I took a look at some Street Photography on DPS. I didn't realize there was a name for it. lol

I've done this sort of stuff at outdoor events and never knew what to do with it. I felt a little like I was invading privacy. This one is a little out of focus, but there is something about it....... lol

[navcom]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

After reading this thread, I took a look at some Street Photography on DPS. I didn't realize there was a name for it. lol

I've done this sort of stuff at outdoor events and never knew what to do with it. I felt a little like I was invading privacy. This one is a little out of focus, but there is something about it....... lol

Hey Michael. Can't quite pin point the subject...the dame or the food?