Why do I shoot people?

As much as I love to present stories with my photos I love to hear stories from people I meet on my walks! 

Having the ability to approach a total stranger, start a conversation and get to know them, even for a brief period of time … it’s priceless!

It’s a human relation thing. Lot’s of people think that interacting with your subjects will affect your photos and it does. They are right! But it affects them in such a positive way. You are able to give your subject that personal element that will get viewer closer to them … it will make viewer start asking so many questions about face on the photo.

When you talk to them, you can catch those tiny tells about how they feel about certain subject, what makes them happy or sad … 

If you want to catch best smiles and emotions ask them about their family, grandchildren or anything that you think will make them shine. In the process they are starting to trust you and they open up. 

I meet one guy sitting on the bench, smoking cigar and having a beer. He was looking tough and I was looking for a challenge. I said hello, took a seat next to him and started to make a small talk. My camera was in my hands so at one point my intention was obvious even if I wasn’t photographing. We talked for 10 minutes about everything and then I asked does he mind if I take some photos while he talks … he nodded and I started shooting.

You want to approach with best intentions in mind and get it off slowly so you don’t scare them or something. Yes, they are like those little birds … :)

It really depends from subject to subject. That’s why there is no solid plan on how to do it. It’s your inner radar that you need to follow.

Most of the time they want to collaborate with you. It’s the curiosity thing. 

For me, it is the best thing that happened to my photography. To relate to other kinds of photography, talking to people and getting them to open up is like looking for the best Point Of View in landscape photography. It’s there, you just need to find it.

And it doesn’t have to do anything with your courage … it has to do with how you connect with people in your surroundings. 

If you pass that barrier, you are in for an awesome ride. 

One more thing. Don’t rush. You have time. Even if they stop for a brief period of time, you owe it to them to take the best possible shot. 

Mihailo

To crop or not to crop, the question is now?

Let me make it clear. If a crop will make your photo better in terms of effectiveness, you should do it!

I personally crop … a lot! Often they are small crops that allow me to position subjects more precise. 

As with all things concerning photography, it’s better if you do it properly when taking a photo. What that means is that you need to try and frame as best as possible on the spot rather then relay on cropping in post processing. In reality that is often not the case. 

Sometimes you have wide angle lens and you can’t get as close as you want to … so should you leave the frame original because you don’t want to crop? I don’t think my photo is what I see in viewfinder it is what I imagine in my head. 

With today camera you don’t even see a full frame in your viewfinder so you can’t exactly frame 100%!

There are people who are for cropping and ones that are against it … it’s the same as with any other thing in photography … at the end it’s on you as a photographer to decide how you want to present your photos.

Mihailo

Color or Black & White?

Talking about any specific rule in photography can be a double edged sword … because rules are not carved in stone. 

I will write this as my own reflection and how I handle this issue when I face it.

When color works for me?

When photo is about colors - Nature, landscapes …

When colors don’t distract you from what photo is all about - I usually do B&W portraits but this was an exception because of the nice color blend and the fact that it doesn’t distract you from his face

When I want to place an emphasis on something that has a very distinctive color when compared with surroundings - This must be my favorite use of colors, cause B&W really doesn’t work for things like this

When black & white works for me?

When I want to get a better defined shadow & light ratio - When doing B&W you can push contrast to get a better definition of shadows which automatically creates better separation from light.

When I want to present textures that are not color related - Nothing looks good as textures in B&W

When colors don’t bring anything to the table - This is the hard one, cause it’s a personal choice. I find it that people focus easier on faces and their emotions in absence of color because having no color is one less information to process

This is not my final answer! I am still learning and I might change my views on certain thing in the future, but for now … this is how I handle this!

Mihailo

Why did I start doing photography?

You want short anwser? I can’t draw to save my life!

I always wanted to draw things. Even tried to sign up into a specialized art high school but I didn’t work out.

On the exam we were doing for sign up, one of the professors came to me, took a look at what I was drawing and asked me: Son, do you see properly? I kinda new then that drawing will not be my calling in life :)

Photography was always present in my life and it seemed like a good way to present my views on life without too much trouble.

What seemed to be a easy thing to figure out became a journey that I am still on!

There is no long answer to this question in case you are wondering.

Mihailo