When taking photos, do you ever just point and shoot? Now I realize that there is an entire class of consumer cameras with mostly automatic settings that are referred to as “point and shoot cameras,” but that’s not what I am talking about here. What I am asking is whether you ever just point your camera in the general direction of a subject and engage the shutter without actually framing the shot with the viewfinder or even the LCD on the back of the camera.
Why would you do that? I have a fascination with street photography. Conceptually I like the idea of taking photos of strangers, often at close range, in interesting urban settings. However, I have not been able to overcome my inhibitions and fears about capturing these kinds of images.
As I was returning by Metro back to my Northern Virginia suburb from a trip to the District of Columbia, I noticed a guy with a bicycle standing in front of me. He had a racing-style bike and was carrying what appeared to be a fully inflated spare tube in his hand. It was an intriguing scene and I decided to try to capture it. With my camera balanced on my camera bag on my lap, I pointed the camera in his direction and took a number of shoots, zooming in and out with my 24-105mm lens. A few times, I peeked at my results and adjusted the angle and direction of my camera. I slightly adjusted the angle of a couple of the shots you see below, but kept the one that was really skewed just like it came out of the camera—I just like the different look that it has.
I felt safe and secure in taking these shots, because the sounds of the moving train more than covered any noise coming from my shutter. I even felt emboldened to take some shots of a young lady sitting across the aisle from me. She had assumed what I consider to be the classic Metro pose. She had headphones on and was sitting upright, absorbed in her own world. There seems to be an unwritten Metro code that strangers do not interact with each other, and usually go to pains not to look each other in the eye.
I think I will try my experiment again to try to get used to the idea of taking photos of strangers, albeit surreptitiously. I am not ready to become the next Cartier-Bresson, but it’s a start.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
fabulous idea……great pics. I seldom take public transport, but I will keep this idea in my kit so to speak. Would work really well at an outdoor cafe too. I too share you aversion to openly taking images of strangers, but this seems ‘safer’
Thanks. It worked especially well here, because the shutter sound was totally obscured by the sound of the train. If you have a camera with an articulated LCD screen, you probably could discreetly frame the shot without bringing the camera up to your eye. My DSLR is big and black, like most of them, and it’s pretty obvious when I point it in someone’s direction, but I kept it in my lap for these shots. I like the idea of trying this at a cafe or other outdoor setting.
My old camera had an articulated lcd….but not my current one. It was handy
When birds have launched before I am ready, I will sometimes fire away without looking in the viewfinder in their general direction in a last ditch effort to get something. So far nothing!
Yes, I’ve done that in various places during my travels–with several of considerable success. In fact I think I’ll revisit them in a new post soon–and I’ll give you credit for the inspiration.
I just did the same thing in Tokyo Mike! It was so much fun, and not my normal subject, I’ll be posting stuff in the next few days.
That’s cool to hear, Joel. For me, it f
always feels a bit strange to take photos of different subjects in totally different environments–it’s a whole new challenge with a different set of problems. I look forward to seeing your Tokyo shots.
I’ve done it a few times. I am short and I have raised my camera as high as I could to try to get a photo past the taller people in front of me. 🙂
I think I have seen that technique used by press and sports photographers for that very reason. It feels strange for me not to be able to compose a shot more accurately, but sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone to have a chance of getting a shot.
Yep 🙂
The only time I’ve done a point and shoot was when a mink ran past me. It was a terrible photo but it showed that the animal was a mink.
I love seeing what life dishes out in this manner, some really interesting shots.
Thanks, Charlie. I think it is beneficial o try out different approaches to photography and see what happens. Some experiments fail (and I had lots of blurry shots of the cyclist), but sometimes you get unexpectedly good results.
Shooting from the hip. I rarely do “street” photography, but when I have I’ve put the camera lens to focus within 10-30ft and shoot when something comes in that range without looking in my view-finder or moving the camera from my waist. I’ve not had many keepers, but like you I feel very self-conscience taking photos of people out doing their everyday thing. I’m more at home walking down the street with a tripod and shooting anything else but people!
Your cyclist images are great! I like the skewed one best.
Thanks so much for your feedback. I may try your waist-level approach as I explore a little more the idea of street photography. I included the skewed image because it had a strange appeal for me that was hard to describe and it is gratifying to learn that it found resonance with you as well.