(Not really) Street Photography Ideas Please??

Bilsen

Hi all,

I'll be wrapping up my World Tour project with Cyndi in New York City in two weeks. This IS NYC so that means no tripods, big reflectors, assistants or pretty much anything other than the camera and an on camera flash without huge permit fees and a bureaucratic two step of epic proportions.

We've decided to use Times Square as a highly recognizable NYC location. There will be just me and two models possibly doing high fashion (not the couture weirdness, just elegant rich NY women).

Any ideas on how to get the landmarks into the images and still feature the models? If I pull too wide I lose them. If too tight, I might as well be Des Moines.

Street people (and anybody else), I'm all ears.

divamum

You won't like my answer....

OPEN UP THE APERTURE!!!!!!!!!!! Pull out yer 2.8 zoom.....

Pay special attention to focusing on their eyes (single point/single shot) and shoot wide open.... Also, I suspect lower angles will work in that setting (and many/most fashion shots I've seen in Times Square are typically from low down)

lensmole

You might want to consider using a 35 mm prime and get in very close to your subjects and still have enough B.G in the scene.

jonh68

Use wide angle for some of the shots and have the models close to the camera. The key to having landmarks in the picture is not to put the subjects close to the landmark but use perspective to make them the same size as the landmarks. This could mean being a few blocks away.

I wanted to get the Mobile skyline in the picture so I got back maybe 100ft, shot at 200mm. The skyline is about 12 miles away across the bay.


For this shot I wanted to get the pier in the background. I matched the model compositionally and used wide angle. The pier was probably 100 yds away and I used wide angle kneeling down just in front of the model.

Bilsen

thanks all.

Jon those are great examples of what I want to do. I just have to figure out how to kneel down on a NYC street without getting trampled by the herd.

Diva, let's clarify our terms. I always LIKE your comments even if I don't always AGREE with what you suggest. In this case though I do agree that getting low and opening up can get me the colors and billboards of Times Square. Thus the suggestion of TS without the detail will probably be enough to ID New York. I also may use the theater district since the Marquees are clearly recognizable and high enough off the ground to get them in without a lot of crowds.

lens mole, I don't have a prime right now since my wonderful 50mm f1.4 has been on strike for the past few months and union negotiations are at an impasse. Still, it's not a bad idea to use my Tammy 20-70 f2.8 and see what happens even though it doesn't have close to the IQ of my two "L" lenses.

Hackbone

Go wide young man go wide.