Ex 11: Standing Back

There are several advantages to photographing people using a medium-long focal length. From a confidence point of view you are sufficiently far away to be undetected and don't have the trauma of having to ask to take the picture. I think my confidence has grown as a result of undertaking this course but I still find it incredibly difficult to ask a complete stranger if I can photograph them. From a photographic point of view you are capturing the moment and importantly a facial expression that is completely natural, un-posed or forced.

Working with these longer focal lengths also affords creative opportunities to work with a shallow depth of field, often important to isolate the subject from a busy background. I think the images I took for exercises 9 and 14 show this to good effect. With regard to the pictures below,  it was a bright sunny day at the Botanic Gardens so I was able to work in aperture priority using F4 and F5.6 to get a reasonably shallow depth of field. I have a 105-200mm zoom which limits me slightly and I am aware I could stop down further if I had a prime lens. I intend to do some reading to see how other photographers have used telephoto lenses creatively.

I encountered three specific practical difficulties. The first was being able to react quickly enough to capture the moment. The second was feeling uneasy about using an SLR in a public space, its size not easy to hide. Probably nobody even gave me a second glance but I felt very self-conscious at times. The third was intrusive factors which from a distance you have no control over, such as location, traffic and/or other people which spoiled the composition of the shot.

These two shots were taken with my Canon compact camera at maximum zoom. A much smaller, less conspicous camera, so easier to take candid shots from slightly closer than using an SLR.

 F6.3, ISO 200, 200mm

I like that this image has three planes of interest and that the diagonal leads you through the picture. The main focus is on the artist, looking the part in his beret. The man reading is slightly out of focus, creating depth in the picture and suggesting that people are enjoying various realxing activities while passing time on a sunny day. The pigeon in the foreground appears to be looking at whatever the artist is drawing.

F5.6, ISO 200, 200mm

I liked the way the light was catching this girl reading under a tree. It was interesting that she chose to sit on the grass while the benches behind her remained empty.

F5.6, ISO 200, 145mm

What have they spotted up there?

 F5.6, ISO 200, 200mm

This man was working hard in his outdoor office. I liked the way he was sitting, totally engrossed. There was lots of activity around him but he never once looked up.

F4, ISO 200, 55mm

Taken from the same position with a shorter focal length. The picture doesn't seem to hold as much interest at a 'normal' focal length. We don't engage with the subject as he is too far away.