My business consulting internship in Munich
Yesterday I did a thing I’ve wanted to do for some time. I played The Sartorialist. The Sartorialist, real name Scott Schuman, worked in the fashion industry and now runs a highly successful photoblog. He basically shoots random people in the streets who dress well. And the results are stunning. So I wanted to try it, and I did.
It doesn’t look that difficult after all. Photographically speaking, it’s just backlight, [not too] shallow depth of field, urban location, central composition, pretty wide angle lens. [Interestingly, most of those things would usually be considered bad practice/advice] Indeed, it’s not that difficult. But it’s not easy either. However, the results are encouraging. Here’s what I found.
Girls always think it’s a pickup attempt. Guys are surprised as hell, “apprehensive” is the word. You feel stupid asking if you can take a couple of pictures of them. But it passes, after the 4th or 5th attempt [at least in my case].
Actually, it takes a proper attitude on the subject’s part. The person needs to be very open, optimistic and friendly to enjoy it. It has nothing to do with you. Unfortunately, it is not all that common.
You can approach single girls, girls with their girlfriends, guys, but not girls with their boyfriends, at least I won’t try until I really get good at this game.
You need a really plausible reason to do it. It doesn’t suffice if you say it’s your hobby because people will not believe you. You’d better say a couple of sentences, they’ll be more open and willing to cooperate. And there’s the business card option [see below].
I usually had 3 snaps before the subject really wanted to go away. I mean, they wanted to go away after the first photo, but I managed to get three. It amounts to about 15 seconds. There is no time to think much, let alone play with your camera. Things like aperture, metering system, sensitivity need to be set before you ask anybody. It needs to be turned on, right in your hand, ready for action.
Try to spot a potential subject from far away. You’ll have more time to think about the background. Proper background is essential. If you wear glasses don’t even try to do it without them. Contact lenses would be better, because they don’t interfere with the camera’s viewfinder.
Scott Schuman uses Canon Eos 5D and 50/1.4. I use Nikon D70 and 50/1.4. I guess you need something in the range of 35-85mm, depending on the intended crop. Mind that if you walk away too far to get the right crop your model may start to walk away.
F2.8 is a good starting point I think. I wouldn’t stop down more, as we want to have a pleasant background, but at the same time i’m not into very shallow depth of field if background is interesting.
Indeed, background is probably as important as your subject here. You really need to think about it. In the beginning you’ll probably fail miserably, but it will get better. Just try to think about the background before you ask.
Because of the backlight and central composition I used spot metering. Sometimes I’d dial in some exposure compensation, sometimes not. It usually worked out well, or could be tweaked in postprocessing. You really need to be proficient in light metering as you need the time to think about the background.
You have to consider things like the minimal shutter speed. I had to stop down to f2.8 at iso200 to be able to fit within the limits of my camera [1/8000s]. Lens shade needs to be attached all the time [think backlight].
It might be a good idea to have business cards with you. They would make you seem more legitimate, more like a professional and not some guy who just wants to snap photos of hot girls. However, they are not essentials so I recommend not to make them until you are totally sure you need them. And don’t let them hold you back from actually trying the thing.
I always asked about the model’s email address so that I could send them the pictures. Half of them didn’t want them. Or they didn’t want to give me their email address [as if it was a pickup attempt]. If I had business cards they’d probably accept it, check out my site and maybe write me later to get the pictures. The deal is that if they did, and liked the pictures you could maybe arrange a less impromptu photoshoot some other time.
Please note that most probably I will alter my opinion on this topic heavily as I gain experience.
And here’s an interview with Scott Schuman