You cannot do street photography if you are anxious about people's reaction....

'You cannot do street photography if you are anxious about people's reaction' . ( Gibson, 2014,p.20 ). 

I've been reading David Gibson's The Street Photographer's Manual as part of my research into street photography to help me with this area of work. While I enjoy getting out into the street to photograph whatever strikes me as interesting , I often feel a tension and expectation that I might be accosted by the folk that wander into my sightline. Of course,it does depend on the circumstances. For example, where there are crowds busy with their own activity on the high street or at events or gatherings or where one might expect 'sightseers' with cameras, then I don't stand out and feel obvious in what I'm doing. Whenever I have been challenged which is not that often, an explanation that I'm a photography student has always placated the person in front of me but there is always a 'what if '....

So I've been looking for practical tips...what can I learn from past and present street photographers. But my appetite has also been whetted and I'm discovering  more about the different strands of this genre and their exponents. 

I discovered that David Gibson is one of the founder members of In-Public, the first modern international collective, founded in 2000 ( www.in-public.com ).  His manual is a really good  introduction..well illustrated, presenting different approaches,  a visual delight of images from a wide range of street photographers and styles and profiles of well known street photographers e.g. Bruce Gilden, Jack Simon - photographers that I've started to look at more closely. 

So what is street photography?  Gibson gives an initial brief description as 'any kind of photography taken in a public space' (p.8). He says that it's core value is that it is never set up and interestingly, 'does not necessarily require people - evidence of people is just as valid' (p.9). I rather like Bruce Gilden's take on things, ' If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it's a street photograph.' (p.46).

And what tips have I picked up so far?

• Don't crop your images
• Better to slightly under-expose
• Use a quiet camera and one that is light and easy to hold in the hand  
• A medium aperture between F/4 and f/8 seems to be generally preferred for fast shooting in daylight
• Use an ISO 800 or 1600 in daylight unless using a tripod

Eric Kim in his street photography blog (  erickimphotography.com  ) post  'The Ultimate Beginner's Guide for Cameras in Street Photography '  at (  http://goo.gl/KCb7ij   ) also prefers small cameras. He uses a Ricoh GR with a fixed 28mm lens which fits into the pocket. He recommends using prime lens with the benefit of being 'smaller, lighter, and force you to get to know one focal length really well'. I have a 40mm prime lens so might take that out with me to see how it works for me. While his posts concentrates more on different kind of cameras, it does have some very useful tips ( with helpful pros and cons ), particularly :

• P mode  - I was interested in Kim's recommendation to use a "P" mode setting , using autofocus and an ISO 800-1600 during the day. 'You can focus more on composition, framing, and shooting'

Worth trying out....