FRAME THE UNEXPECTED
Maximise your chances of capturing the perfect shot by ditching the viewfinder and blending in
As a street photographer, the ultimate goal is to capture candid shots of people who are unaware of your presence. Although this can be challenging, it’s not impossible, and to achieve this your camera should not draw attention to you. This is where smartphones come in handy, as they don’t stand out in the crowd. With almost everyone having a smartphone these days, people around you won’t take much notice when you’re snapping shots. There’s also a perception that photos taken with a phone are more likely to be used for private purposes, and that these devices aren’t capable of creating highquality images – however, that’s not the case with the latest and best phones.
The exact opposite happens when you start unpacking a larger mirrorless or DSLR camera, so to take successful candid shots without people looking into your lens, it’s important to blend in with the environment as much as possible, including by wearing plain-coloured clothing. Additionally, choosing a strategic location can be helpful; for example, you can sit outdoors at a cafe while enjoying your coffee, and take photos from there.
To capture photos discreetly, it’s helpful to avoid using the camera’s viewfinder, which makes it obvious what you’re doing. Of course, not using the viewfinder can make it challenging to take sharp images of people without adjusting the focus. Although some blurry images can be artistic and add a sense of liveliness and speed to the scene, it’s not usually what we intend to achieve.
To remain unnoticed, street photographers often use a technique called ‘hip shooting’. This involves making technical adjustments to the camera before taking the shot. The popular methods for this are zone focusing, hyperfocal distance focusing, and double distance focusing. All techniques have the benefit of not relying on the speed and accuracy of your camera’s autofocus, as you skip the focusing part altogether. This means that the focus is already set when the subject enters your frame.