Doing a Background Check

Three components constitute an interesting street portrait: (a) an intriguing subject, (b) adequate lighting, and, last but not least, (c) the right background. Background matters! One thing that wrecks a street portrait is a cluttered background which will swallow up the subject and distract the viewer’s eye. It will also make the image look flat because the camera can’t capture the depth that the two eyes can. Therefore the photographer has to create sufficient visual depth by means of composition and subject/background separation. Most times, the right background for a strong, compelling image can be produced by slightly changing your perspective or blurring out a background.

There are two different types of background for street portraits, (i) meaningful and (ii) "meaningless" backgrounds.

(i) The meaningful background:

If one wants to photograph the subject in her or his (cultural, natural or work) environment make sure the background is equally as impressive as the subject, is part of the story, and adds value to the image. This is called an environmental portrait; the aperture could be f/5.6 or even higher (up to f/11 and more, depending on circumstances). If there is sky in the image, one want's to make sure the horizon does not cut through the head of the subject. Choosing the right camera position creates sufficient visual separation between the subject and the background which is essential to draw the viewer's eye to the subject.

Examples (i) - Environmental Portraits with Meaningful Background:

(ii) The "Meaningless" Background:

If the street portrait is about an interesting subject, then one can try to fully eliminate the background, making it about the subject and her or his facial features. There are three ways to do this:

• (a) You blur the existing (cluttered) background by opening up to f/3.2 or even more (up to f/1.2 if you have a good lens) thus creating a nice, creamy bokeh.
• (b1) You direct and position your subject in front of a clean, colourful or uniform structure (e.g. a brickwall, a painted wall, a green or flowering shrub, a wooden fence, a roller shutter).
• (b2) You improvise and use any impromptu backdrop (e.g. an umbrella, a curtain, any large piece of clothing).

Examples (iia) - Blurred Background:

Examples (iib1) - Homogeneous Background:

Examples (iib2) - Impromptu Backdrops:

Background matters; an intriguing subject alone is not enough for an interesting street portrait. A piece of advice: find an interesting background and wait patiently for something to happen... Have fun!

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, precise geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Albums

Photographing Street Photographers

Street photography is photography conducted for art that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. "The (street) photographer is an armed version of the solitary walker reconnoitering, stalking, cruising the urban inferno, the voyeuristic stroller who discovers the city as a landscape of voluptuous extremes. Adept of the joys of watching, connoisseur of empathy, the flâneur finds the world picturesque..." (acc. to Susan Sontag). Framing and timing can be key aspects of the craft with the aim of some street photography being to create images at a decisive or poignant moment.

Street photography does focus on people and their behavior in public. This motivation entails having also to navigate or negotiate changing expectations and laws of privacy, security and property. In this respect the street photographer is similar to social documentary photographers or photojournalists who also work in public places, but with the aim of capturing newsworthy events.

There are two different types of street portraits, (i) interactive (aka "posed") street portraits, and (ii) so-called candid (aka "natural") street portraits (read more: Making Decisions in Tamil Nadu). Both types of street portraiture are interesting in my opinion and can produce awesome results. However, I prefer interactive street portraits.

Some ideas for shooting interactive street portraits:

• Find adequate background and good lighting.
• Be selective and be patient.
• Be yourself and be congruent.
• Get involved, build rapport and talk to people.
• Get consent for both (i) the image and (ii) the internet.
• Stay with the subject matter.
• Look for contrasts and contradictions.
• Take simple photographs.
• Vary views and angles.
• Get in closer.
• Make the subject feel comfortable.
• Reduce camera shake and shoot 1/250s or shorter.
• Shoot in aperture-priority mode or in manual mode.
• Use single-point auto focus and aim on the eye which is closest to you.
• Offer your email address and the URL of your website.

Anyway, street photographers who take candid photographs are fair game; candid photographs of them are the exceptions that proves my rule of taking interactive aka posed street portraits...

High-res portrait photographs with complete exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2016-03a Snapping Street Photographers

Touring Markets in Northern Vietnam

The weekly ethnic minority markets in Northern Vietnam are quite unique (and the photo opportunities are unrivalled). Local people gather for trading, gossiping and getting the basics of life for the week. In an area where there are more than 50 ethnic minorities, maintaining friendly social relations between different cultures is incredibly important. One can often see rugged hill-tribe men having a drink (of home-distilled moonshine), loudly discussing hill-tribe women in their traditional outfit, laughing and negotiating prices or eating pork in scattered groups, and many dressed-up young village beauties who want to be noticed by their local heroes...

My five favourite country markets:

• Cốc Ly Tuesday market at N 22.50 E 104.20 (tribes: Flower H’mong).
• Sín Chéng Wednesday market at N 22.66 E 104.23 (tribes: Flower H’mong, Tay, Giáy).
• Cán Cấu Saturday market at N 22.65 E 104.32 (tribes: Flower H’mong, Nùng, Phù Lá).
• Lùng Phình Sunday market at N 22.59 E 104.32 (tribes: Flower H’mong, Nùng).
• Bắc Hà Sunday market at N 22.54 E 104.29 (tribes: Flower H’mong, Black Dao, Nùng, La Chi).

I usually travel on a dirt bike and I do not take any lights, flashes or reflectors. My favourite lenses for street portraits of ethnic minorities are the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G and the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G, both prime lenses from Nikon. My preference is to use an aperture anywhere from f/2.8 to f/5.6 (in aperture priority mode) to have my subjects stand out from the background.

It’s extremely important to ask for permission and to be respectful to other cultures. I apply advanced NLP-techniques and connect with my subjects quickly, even if there is a language barrier. I also make sure to have eye-to-eye contact.

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

Flickr Album 2018-03d Motorbiking in Northeast Vietnam

Flickr Album 2015-10a Plucking Bangkok's Flowers

Flickr Album 2013-04a Savouring Thai Floating Markets

Flickr Album 2012-04b Kissing Batak Betelnut Women

Flickr Album 2009-03a Shopping at Local Markets

Doubling Down on Doubles

A double portrait aka duo portrait in portrait photography is a photograph of two distinctive individuals, in which their faces, their expressions and the relationship between both individuals are predominant. The intent is to display their likeness, personality, and mood, as well as selected emotional and social aspects of their interpersonal relationship...

When making a street or environmental portrait of one person, one usually focuses on the eye which is closest to the camera. When making a double or duo portrait, one usually focuses on the closest eye of the person which is closest to the camera and keeps the eyes of both people more or less within the preferred depth of field; unless one wants to divide the picture into a main subject and a supporting subject.

The selection of the aperture will influence the composition of the double or duo portrait, even if the two subjects are more or less at the same distance from the camera. A more shallow depth of field (e.g. with an aperture of c. f/2.8 ... f/3.5) can result in a double portrait of a more asymmetrical relationship (with one person being more dominant or important than the other). A deeper depth of field (e.g. with an aperture of c. f/4.5 ... f/5.6) can result in an similar sharpness of the two subjects and might emphasize a more symmetrical, balanced or equal relationship.

Cropping refers to the removal of the outer parts of an image to improve framing, accentuate subject matter (or change the aspect ratio), and it seems to be another key for double portraits; sometimes it’s as simple as cutting out the distractions...

High-res portrait photographs with full exif data, precise geotags and technical details in Matt Hahnewald's

 Flickr Album 2015-03b Doubling Down on Doubles