CANDID STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Covert captures
Many attractions don’t allow tripods
and human subjects can behave
differently around them too. Candid
street shots require photographers to
draw as little attention to themselves as
possible. Tabletop tripods are small and
inconspicuous, making them an ideal
solution for sneaky street shots.
Short and light
We used Manfrotto’s PIXI EVO tripod.
It features an impressive payload of
2.5kg, which effortlessly supported our
hefty Nikon D800. Despite the little
tripod’s strength, we’d still advise using
a lens with a small form factor for
maximum stability. The Nikon AF-S
50mm f/1.8G proved ideal.Live view
Unless you’re set up on something like a
wall, your mini tripod won’t lift your camera
far from the ground. Use Live View to help
and, if your camera has a vari-angle screen,
use that. To ensure your framing is straight,
press the ‘info’ button (‘DISP’ on a Z
camera) until the horizon overlay appears.
Camera settings
We shot at ISO Lo 0.7 (equivalent to ISO64
on our D800) with an f/16 aperture on an
overcast day, enabling us to shoot at 1/5
sec. The trick is using a slow enough shutter
speed to blur the subject, while keeping it
fast enough to retain the figure’s form so
that it’s still recognizable as a person.Focus first
As the main subject is going to be blurred,
we’d recommend using AF-S and moving
your single focus point onto a static object
within the frame. We focused on the right
pillar, knowing that our narrow aperture
would provide sharpness right to the back
of the composition.Mono masterpiece
Monochrome is a popular look for street
photos. This type of photography is all
about capturing the fleeting moment,
even if the image isn’t technically perfect.
Black and white is not only timeless, it’s
more forgiving than colour. We converted
our shot using Adobe Camera Raw and
enhanced the image further by reducing
highlights and increasing contrast.
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Purists will recommend shooting
at base ISO, however dipping below
this to a ‘Lo’ ISO setting enabled us
to use a suitably slow shutter speed
to blur our subject. If you’re really
struggling in bright conditions, use
an ND filter (just one or two stops
could make all the difference).