Street Photography Quotes (XIII)

«How to approach

The right approach is pretty important while doing a candid street portrait. For me this is one of the key elements to success. First I have to find an interesting character while walking through the crowd. The average person is not interesting. I have to find the character faces. People I don’t see every day. People which stand out of the masses. Then I only approach people which are standing still. Good places are bus stops, zebra crossings, meeting points, etc. I approach them from a side they don’t notice me. People tend to look towards the side where traffic approaches. I never look them into their eyes, never ever (only through the viewfinder). I point my camera to the persons face before he turns his head. I press the button halfway down to pre-focus. When the person turns around, I press the button down and make 3-4 frames in a series. After 3-4 shots I turn around and walk away. Don’t talk, don’t look, I don’t do anything else...»

Leuthard T. 2012. Street Faces: The art of Candid Street Portraiture. Zug, Switzerland: http://www.thomasleuthard.com/. 53 pp.