How to make street photography if you are a shy, quiet, introverted photographer? How can you start taking street photos of strangers if you are afraid of capturing pictures of people?
Being shy and possibly scared of taking pictures of others can be a big issue. It is a big problem being intimidated by what people may think of you while doing street photography. And you can also be nervous about what may happen while taking images of people. Maybe they don’t want you to take pictures of them, and they may even ask you to delete the photos or get angry with you.
And there are also many wrong things that you can do to make everything even worse. So I want you to be able to do the right things to help you feel more comfortable in the street. This way, you will start taking compelling street photographs and feel more trustful of yourself by practicing street photography daily using these tips.
Even if I am now used to taking street photos and working with professional models for fashion photography, I am an introvert who managed to overcome this. So let’s see how you can challenge the issue you can find doing street photography and how to become more confident while doing street photography.
Choose the right camera
The camera is the first thing that can help you if you are shy about taking photographs of people. A small compact camera can help you to be more “stealth,” less visible to others. This way, you will feel more confident that no one pays you that much attention. On the contrary, a big full-frame DSLR camera can be intimidating for others who may argue with you about being photographed. So try to choose the right camera, or at the beginning, you can also consider using your mobile phone to start and switch to a camera as you feel more confident. Everyone has a mobile phone in his/her hand, making videos and capturing images, and no one will pay attention if you start doing street photography with your iPhone.
Choose the right lens
We can say the same about the lens to use in street photography: a small lens will be less intimidating than a telephoto zoom lens. That’s why most photographers use mainly a fixed prime lens, such as a 28mm focal length or a 35mm focal length. These lenses are small and less intrusive, allowing you to take street photographs without being too intimidating.
If you feel uncomfortable being too close to people to take photographs, you can consider starting with a 50mm focal length so you can stay further away from your subject to take the same image of a 35mm focal length.
Know your gear
If you understand how your camera works, you won’t be in the street in trouble with your camera settings, especially if you feel uncomfortable just because you are scared about what people may think of you. You want to look and be relaxed while doing street photography with everyone around.
For this reason, you must know very well how to set your camera’s most basic and essential parameters: shutter speed, Iso, and aperture. In addition, you need to know how to focus and take a photo quickly. This way, you will obtain better results, and you will also look confident, and people won’t notice you, probably.
The more you struggle with your camera settings, the more you get into a tease putting yourself under a lot of pressure. So study your camera, read the manual to understand how things work in your camera, and get the best performance.
Use the fishing technique and start shooting images where people are not recognizable
Use the fishing technique and start shooting images where people are not recognizable.
Use the fishing technique, as it is a great way to practice street photography if you are a shy photographer. This way, people won’t think you were taking photographs of them, but they will figure out that they come into your frame.
With the fishing technique, when you find a location with an exciting background, people, and excellent light, you choose to use this scene, wait for a compelling subject to enter the scene, then capture your street photo. This way, no one will think you were taking a picture of him/her.
This technique is terrific when you are a shy photographer or when you are uncomfortable about taking pictures of strangers. This way, you can use the fishing technique by adapting street photography to your style, avoiding doing street photography in a more traditional method where the photographer engages directly with the subject of the street photograph.