How I shoot Street Photography with my DSLR in 2023
To use a DSLR in 2023 is like using film: a choice against the de-humanization fueled by the agenda.
But taking pictures with a reflex camera today is not just a choice that goes in the diametrically opposite direction from what is imposed by the market. It is a choice that can be extremely positive but also very frustrating. Thinking back to the past, there were no mirrorless cameras and the alternative to having a smaller and lighter camera body were the so-called point & shoot.
When I arrived in Mexico taking pictures with a reflex could be a problem: imagine a foreigner who finds himself photographing most of the time where he lives and this means a popular neighborhood in the northern part of Mexico City, on the border with the state of Mexico , the notorious EDOMEX which is often distinguished by its insecurity. Even if I later realized that it all depends on experience and your approach, it's still dangerous. But your body language can also attract bad guys who, if you think that working with a flashy camera, certainly more flashy than a compact, will end up making you more visible and exposed. It was for this reason that I decided in 2010 to switch to one of the first mirrorless cameras. And I stuck to the concept of more compact, maybe even vintage-looking cameras for a decade.
And this vintage look has been one of the selling points of the new cameras. Which, I don't deny, fascinated me a lot too. Even if I never thought only about that, the proof is the fact that while everyone was moving towards certain rangefinder styles I used Panasonic LX3, Samsung NX20, Canon G12, and later Leica X2 and Ricoh GRDIV. Cameras that few took into consideration, even if, especially for the last two, Leica and Ricoh, through my exposure to the blog many were convinced to buy. When the Ricoh GR (with a APS-C crop sensor bigger than the GRD series) arrived, there was a clear migration to that system which, let us remember, today is one of the most appreciated and sold fixed-lens compact cameras.
I'm not a wealthy photographer. And when I bought the only Leica in my life I was able to do it for a job I did for the red dot brand that brought me a lot of money. But X2 is a point & shoot. With an APS-C sensor. And with the undoubted advantage of the exposure dials. That was the reason I decided to buy it and that, marking a clear step forward compared to the Olympus Pen all focused on commands inside the menu, it allowed me to work better even for assignments with clients. From the point of view of the street photographer I could finally work full manual: there was not the focus peaking in that camera, but a distance bar allowed me to work using the zone focusing technique.
This was extremely revealing and so looking at certain cameras with dials that a well-known brand was producing was natural. You know the story, I became an ambassador of that brand for 6 years. Working with exposure dials can be very beneficial for a street photographer and it is the thing that brings these cameras closer to an experience more similar to that of shooting with film cameras. But it's also partly the main deception of these mirrorless cameras. Because the SLR system proposes a way of controlling the exposure triangle, by controlling it through buttons and wheels, This is why the system is faster for many types of photography. This is why I am not the only one today to prefer still the DSLR cameras. But not the only reason. Not the main reason.
The main reason is the optical viewfinder. Certainly exposure dials are a system that can be fun and even rewarding, and I consider them perfect and preparatory for use with vintage lenses that count with the distance scale, but are we sure they are the closest thing to a film-like experience? Hey, I'm not saying that if I shoot digitally I have to be interested in having an experience that approaches that of the analog era. I can already hear someone say do you want the experience of film photography shoot film! I do it, less than I would, but I do it. But here I am talking about the process. And the process is crucial to obtain what I want from my photography.
I'm also convinced that the discussion of the importance of an optical viewfinder may not be as relevant today for many photographers, but it is for me and still is for several photographers I know. There are also those who favor the electronic viewfinder which allows them to already see details of how the photo is exposed. It all depends on who we are and what is the process that leads us to a photograph.
The only DSLR with an exposure dial so far remains the Nikon DF. The mistreated and underrated Nikon DF because many consider it ugly in appearance. And certainly, aesthetically, the Nikon Zfc is prettier, but…it has an electronic viewfinder. Like all the cameras of a certain brand with the exception of the compact rangefinder style, that X100 series countingwith a hybrid viewfinder able to switch from OVF to EVF, but this is why is a fixed lens system. Otherwise it has not sense…do you get me now? The OVF is something unique impossible to reply where the system is mirrorless. There is also a difference between an OVF of a reflex system and the simple Galilean viewfinder which are two pieces of glass. The OVF in a SLR/DSLR allows you that WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET, without parallax error. I think is clear how much is different the process o f shooting with a DSLR now.
Of course to photograph with a DSLR is not only benefits. In fact, it is quite a heavy commitment especially in the context of shooting street photography. My DSLR cameras are not bulky. I work with two of Canon's entry level Rebel series. This saves me the problem of carrying extremely heavy and even more flashy cameras with me, even if it is the very nature of the reflex that does not make it imperceptible. And maybe that's why I like it too. I'm not some sort of tourist with a compact camera using it, but clearly a photographer: it turns out now that what I least wanted to appear a few years ago I now like. I don't hide who I am and what I do on the street: I'm a photographer and I make photos. This exposes me. It exposes me to eye contact. It exposes me to being stopped and asked to take a portrait. And I love it. I take snapshots on the street but also more thoughtful photos. I do portraits and landscape.
How I shoot Street Photography
When it comes to street photography my approach relies heavily on instinct and last minute shooting. This is my method and I don't claim it works for everyone. For me, full manual street photography just doesn't work. I simply can't think of checking the entire exposure triangle every time I have to take a picture because the light conditions but also those relating to the different situation to be photographed change constantly.
Of course working in semi-automatic I favor the idea that only one parameter must remain auto.
Leaving the ISOs automatic doesn't work: the sensitivity is wrong many times and this happens both for the DSLR and in my little mirrorless. With an excessively low sensitivity the risk of a photo to be thrown away extends too much.
Shooting in aperture priority can work in many cases, but the risk of shutter speed failure is too high in my opinion. This is why I prefer on my DSLR the shutter speed priority.
Guys, I have to clarify one thing here: with the mirrorless M200 I work most of the times on the street in Aperture priority and with my DSLR in Shutter Speed priority. This is because the cameras work completely differently. The mirrorless software is focused on getting as much bokeh as possible: this means most of the time a very open aperture which amounts to detaching subjects excessively from the background. And this, even if it can have its own reason and to obtain a certain cinematic and pleasing to the eye effect, in my opinion it does not work well for most of the street photography I do. If I photograph in shutter speed priority with the mirrorless I obtain something noticeably different from the street photography that I want.
By using the Canon Rebel I can see how shooting in shutter speed priority the aperture, under normal light conditions during the day, closes a lot which is much better than opening everything. Using shutter speeds between 1/250 to 1/500 and 1/1000 if, for example, I'm traveling in a bus and want to photograph outside, I get a good result almost always.
I use 1600 ISO most of the time.
I help myself with the exposure compensation by leaving it at + one stop and this, I have noticed, also helps me to obtain brighter colours. I use most of the time the Pancake 24mm lesns that is equivalent to a 38.4mm in FF. But I don't mind going further if I have to photograph landscapes more than anything else: I have a 50mm lens (eq. 80mm). The pancake is my ideal lens when it comes to street photography but which I tend to use for a lot of my work. In the end, for me there is nothing better than a small, light, non-intimidating lens that, above all, approaches the vision of the human eye.
The reflex usually hangs from my neck: I have tried other solutions, from the wrist strap to the hand strap. I've even tried keeping the neck strap all wrapped around my wrist but I find it uncomfortable. it's a touristy way and draws attention to the camera, but I have the advantage of having my hands free when I want. And I also go shopping with the reflex, so...I donpt care if it lokks cool or no, I just need something I am not thinking all the time. I just need to be comfortable. In any case it is a neck strap with orange tones, with a slightly Mexican fantasy and therefore for me it's cool.
How I focus with my DSLR
I am sorry but I think zone focusing is not to consider when using a DSLR. For Zone focusing I need a lens with distance scale. It is better to use back button focus. Do you know that wildlife photographers use this feature? By selecting in the preferences of your camera this functionBack button focus removes the focusing task from the shutter release button and moves it to a dedicated button that is on the back of the camera body. The button iscalled AF-ON on pro-level cameras and is situated on the back of the camera, where you can easily reach with your thumb. On my Rebel is hidden…it is the zoom out button. The only issue is that you need to get used to work with because you can forget to press the button and you can obtain out of focus or completely blurred images. But it is a function that proves successful if you become familiar and the closest thing to zone focusing which works automatically. Easy and fun for me.
WHAT IS SEE IS WHAT I GET
Nothing is able to compete in this sense with an SLR. Why do you think cops engaged in investigations adopted SLRs so easily? A reflex is much more accurated for framing than a rangefinder. This can be the pro and the cons at the same time. After deep analysis on myself I consider that the SLR is better than a rangefinder for me. I think many photographers also choose a rangefinder because it's cool. In fact, a rangefinder is fine for those who know how to keep both eyes open while framing (that would be the advantageous game of the rangefinder) but if like me the dominant eye is the left, a reflex is much better.
This is closely linked to the type of street photographer I am and, therefore, the speech is quite personal. Sometimes I need my photography to be extremely clean. Clean in the sense of framing and composing a scene. It is the case of the urban landscapes that occupy a significant part of my visual research.
When I amframing and composing a scene like this,anything needs to work perfectly. I am not talking about that perfection sought by those approaching academically but certainly who take into account the elements and obtain a rigorous composition to allow the content to emerge. In certain compositions the distortions of the lens can mark the difference in negative and the world of working and therefore framing changes significantly from a rangefinder to a reflex.
Framing by seeing through the viewfinder of a reflex allows me to know what I am framing and that everything framed is inside the frame. I don't crop images. This needs to be clarified..
The process is focused on prints
As a professional and as an artist I cannot conceive that the photograph should remain as a digital file. A photograph exists and has meaning if it is encountered on a physical level which is given by the print. In its print dimension it involves a process that is above all mental and influences the approach of the photographer who already thinks with the focus of creating images, therefore a reality set within four sides.
As a street photographer I never forget that capturing a certain scene will then have to respond to the evaluation criteria of how it turns out as a print and this inevitably pushes me to photograph in a certain way.
There are several ways of approaching photography. Clearly when you are in a busy city you will click click click all the time, because many things happening. In a country road the approach would certainly be more meditated. Maybe I will happen to photograph the same subject from different angles. As I repeat often Street Photography is not that kind of thing many think now, with the erroneous consideration of fending in a genre. I personally consider that my street photography includes landscapes, portraits and candid shots. The ultimate goal is to collect images that can turn out to be excellent prints. I owe it to my clients but above all I owe it to myself.
Conclusions
Currently 63% of professional photographers use a mirrorless camera, while 36% of them use a DSLR camera. Just 1% uses both. This means that there is a clear division. A division that I don't agree with since I use both. I think I have explained the reasons for my preference for DSLRs in this post. I have no problem shooting without framing through a viewfinder, using the shooting from the hip technique, but if I do, I definitely prefer an optical viewfinder and not an electronic viewfinder.
Matt Stuart made his famous photo of the pidgeon using a DSLR. Martin Parr made the most of his well known projects using DSLRs. A terrible misunderstanding, artfully created by marketing, suggests that reflex cameras are not the best choice for street photography. And the rangefinder isn't for everyone. It's not for me. Even with film I would choose a reflex rather than a rangefinder.
Photography is not about coolness. Photography is working with the cameras that you feel better and allowing you to make the photos you want, the photography that is more close to your inner voice. This is the sense of this large article. I hope you appreciate it.
