robvisual - photography

Long story short: Here are five of my favorite street photographers directly from my bookmark collection: Christopher Reuter - www.christopher-reuter.com Ed Amsterdam -  www.instagram.com/edamsterdam Jürgen Bürgin -  www.juergenbuergin.com Jaime Bird -  www.instagram.com/jaime.bird Marco Täuber - www.marctaeuber.com Share what you like... Cheers, Nils

You love photography? Then share it with other people for free. Not every job should get paid. Just imagine you are sitting in a nice cafe and enjoy a good cup full of liquid gold. Maybe you can do the owner of the cafe a favor in taking a portrait of the staff or creating shots of the interior and load it up to your Instagram account (or share it directly with the owner). Just ask them and give something back for free. Owner of "Gang und Gäbe" Café in Munich This is great for many reasons: You give something back for free without expecting something in return.  You learn more about people and their life.  Maybe one day you want to share your art via magazines or exhibitions and those people will help you with that. Had a nice chat about his coffee project after showing him the photo. So don't be afraid and think about what you can give, instead of what you can take. This will lead to new connections and adventures. Trust me! Cheers, Nils

Sure, there are even cats and dogs to be photographed (just kidding). But think a bit out of the box. Sometimes things can be seen in a different way. You don't need to take shots of people walking on the street make to call it a "street shot". In the shot above I just photographed the shadow of a man walking down the steps. So there is no real person in the shot, but the shadow tells a story that looks even more interesting. This is just one example of how you can play with your with a scene. The same thing here. Lines, strong contrast and a cyclist riding upwards. The real scene was not that dramatic. And sometime a backyard can help us seeing mankind from a philosophical standpoint ;-) Try to think a bit out of the box...or just forget what your have learned! It is hard to unlearn things but after a while your photographic style (composition, exposure, lens etc.) will become daily routine. And then you might eventually miss a great shot ...

Yesterday I enjoyed my beginning Xmas vacation by walking through the city of Hamburg. These are the results...

From time to time you should do a self portrait like Else Bing, Vivian Maier and other well known photographers did before. It is good to put yourself from into the context of the time and space you are operating in. BTW: have you noticed the great analog film look of the X-Pro1 in the photo above? It was taken with the great 27mm pancake.

He is an expert in roasting the brewing the perfect cup of coffee. And my X100s is an expert in doing a great job at ISO 3200 ;-) Sergey the barista - X100s (f/2, 1/50, 23mm, ISO 3200)

I know...Halloween is over. But I found this older iPhone-street-photo by looking through my archives.

Because no one wants to be the creepy guy taking photos from far away like a spy and then quickly run away. Be open and friendly. Smile and share compliments to the people who notice you. When someone is angry and don´t want his or her photo taken then agree with them. Don´t try to ruin their day. If law is with you, you can keep this photo anyway. But don´t be an asshole! If you want to take a portrait, tell them what you like about their outfit, a certain look or something else. Most people just want to know why are you doing this kind of stuff and what is it for. And the most important thing is to be honest to others and yourself. Try to enrich your life by learning from others. Listen to other people and their stories. This will maybe inspire you to take more photographs in a different way or about a special topic. And you can give away a free smile to someone else making their day a bit brighter and better. Be kind to other people. Because you are not alone.  You a...

I am not a businessman, but I always have some cards in my messenger bag. I print them on my own with a color laser printer and cut them out of the sheets with a scissor. I put my name, my website at 500px and my email on it. big visual business ;-) Out in den streets I also take some portraits and you save some time if you have your card ready after the photo is taken. That will also put some serious trust into the whole thing. I always tell people that they will find their photo on 500px and that they can send me an email if the want the photo in original size for their own. And maybe you meet another photographer and want to exchange contacts on the go. dance - X100 @ f2  And don´t forget to tell them that they don´t have to pay for the photo and what street photography is all about (the short story). Because street photography is a kind of a life style and you do a great job when you tell people more about this form of art.

I was at the Stadtpark in Hamburg last Friday. We were on our way to an open air concert in front of the Planetarium. This building is quite impressive made of red bricks. I tried some photos from different point of views, but the results were boring without any visual attraction. So I focused more on the surrounding crowd that was gathering from all sides of the park. And there was my photo of that building: just through the display of the smartphone of an unknown woman. Planetarium Hamburg - X-PRO1 (60mm @ f2.4)

When I was young I was a very shy guy. I can´t look into other peoples eyes and had trouble doing simple things like buying a cinema-ticket. And then I made some new friends and started with skateboarding. That gave way more self confidence. After that I were a new wave/goth for a longer time. I did my own parties and become a DJ and later a VJ. About 10 years ago I discovered photography and all the possibilities and tried all kinds like studio, architecture etc. But as I saw the work of great street photographers like Henry Catier Bresson I was fascinated by their work. And then Ricoh (500GX) and Fuji entered my life and changed the way I take photographs with a camera that is always with me. These small cams are not between me and the subject I want to take shots of. A great start to take better photos in the streets without a bulky cam. Today I met this great guy who is a real rocker who lives his alternative lifestyle. TOM - a real rocker (X-PRO1 / 18mm @ f2.8) I saw him...

Yesterday was fantastic. The sky was overcast so I had perfect light. It was warm enough to feel comfortable and I walked just across the city without a destination. My entry point was the warehouse district (Speicherstadt) were I took this shot after waiting for something good happening at the long end of the bridge. And it happened! cyclist passing by - (X-T1 / 60mm @ f2.8) The I decided to head over to St. Pauli by and then Karolinenviertel that is very close to St. Pauli. There is a place called Schlachthof (sloughterhouse). At the backyard I met a funny guy. I saw him and he asked me to take a photo of him. He had a bit of rest-alcohol in his veins. He smiled at me and I decided to take some photos. After taking the first shot I asked him to stand up. So he did and opened his jacket and showed me the little sock he pulled over his knob. I instantly laughed and he smiled back. What a crazy guy. Then we talked about the musical genius Michael Jackson and I gave him my card ...

Sometimes you see a great backgrop like this mountain-scape. The only thing to do is setting your camera right and wait for the decisive moment. vacation (x100s)

A good question. I was a shy guy more twenty years ago. I was always in fear of rejection etc. But then I made some new friends and we loved to loose some rubber on the streets with our skateboards. That made me more self confident. I did skate-videos at home and later I became a DJ and a VJ. That helped me a lot in overcome my fear to get in contact with other people. You have to go out and do something you love. Always imagine how great a portrait could look like and how much fun it could be to post process the images. That gives you power! "best friends" - (fuji x100s) Here are my tips when you want to take a portrait of a stranger: know the law - in many countries it is forbidden to take portraits without a contract (if your want to use them in commercial way) etc...so do some research. When you know your rights you are even more confident. have a reason - don´t say: "can I take a photo of you?". There is no reason. Say: "Hey! I love your style a...