Strangers

The most difficult part of this project is overcoming the original awkwardness. It can be uncomfortable to walk up to someone you have never met and ask to take their picture. I am not a shy or timid person and I still experienced a flash of nervousness every time I approached someone. The next challenge came from pacing. Now that the subject has agreed to be in a photo, I have to take the picture and allow them to continue on. This does not leave a large amount of time for adjusting to get the right angle or making sure the aperture is at the proper setting. One or two pictures are all there is time for before the subject begins fidgeting they are so anxious to leave. If the shutter speed or aperture is incorrect then the shot is ruined and the subject is gone. Better luck next time. The best technique I discovered to overcome this is to stay in one area and photograph several people in that same area. This way the lighting stays fairly consistent from subject to subject, allowing tweaking to get the picture just right.

Another thing I found difficult was making the pictures interesting. I did not know the people and did not want to freak them out, so I couldn’t exactly ask them to strike poses. As soon as I asked to take their picture they just look straight at me and smiled. My pictures of people who were not aware they were being photographed turned out much better. They felt more natural, and typically felt like they were a captured moment rather than a produced one. I just had to reconcile myself with the idea of being a creep.

ISO 400, f/8, 1/100

ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/100
ISO 1600, f/6.3, 1/60