Started by xNightOwlx, 10 Feb 2026. 11 replies, 289 views
Gear in this topic: Sony A7C, FE 35mm f/1.8
i've been doing night street stuff around downtown la with my a7c and the 35 1.8 and i love it but i only ever shoot people from behind or really far away. the second someone looks at me i panic and pretend i'm photographing a building lol. how did you guys get past this? do you ask first? i feel like asking ruins it :)
Shoot from closer, not further. A long lens from across the street looks creepy. A small camera at a normal distance looks like a person taking pictures. And stop pretending. If someone looks at you, nod and smile. Most people genuinely don't care.
Second thing: decide before you go out that you're going to take the picture. Hesitation is what people notice. If you lift the camera, take the shot and lower it, that looks normal. If you lift it halfway, freeze, look at a building, then lift it again, that's exactly what makes people ask what you're doing.
And don't start at night. Night street is hard mode, you're slower, closer, and everyone's a bit more on edge. Go out in daylight on a busy Saturday and get your reps in where nobody looks twice. Then take it back downtown after dark. And leave the headphones at home. You need to hear the street.
xNightOwlx said:the second someone looks at me i panic
Smile. Keep walking.
xNightOwlx said:how did you guys get past this?
honestly it took me like a year. what helped was going out with a friend who also shoots, way less self conscious when theres two of you
streetsofjon said:A long lens from across the street looks creepy.
ok this is very fair. i have been the creepy one lol
Go somewhere busy where everyone has a camera. Markets, festivals, tourist spots. Nobody notices you there. Build up from that.
the panic goes after a while, promise. i still get it sometimes with the x100v and i've been doing this years. if someone asks what your doing just tell them the truth and offer to show them the photo. nine times out of ten they think its cool, the tenth one you delete it and walk on
HannahC41 said:offer to show them the photo
This. And delete it if they ask. Every time, no arguing. That's the deal you make for shooting in public. If you can't live with that, shoot something that can't ask.
xNightOwlx said:do you ask first? i feel like asking ruins it
Ask sometimes. Not always. A portrait of a stranger who agreed is still street photography, whatever the purists say.
petra_n said:A portrait of a stranger who agreed is still street photography
It's a street portrait. Different thing. Not worse, but different.
went out tonight and shot like 5 people from normal distance, didn't pretend to photograph a single building. one guy saw me and gave me a thumbs up lol. one lady asked what it was for and i showed her and she said it was nice. small win :)
xNightOwlx said:one guy saw me and gave me a thumbs up lol
Small wins are the only kind there are on the street. Good on you.