By Skippy Sanchez

22 July 2007

There was something magical about the photographs my grandfather Cliff made when I was growing up in the 1950s. After fumbling around with cameras of my own I understood what it was: his twin-lens reflex camera with the waist-level finder.

Tall people such as myself have many advantages in life: better pay, a wider selection of women who might be interested in us, easier access to amusement park rides and so on. Photographically speaking, we can shoot over the heads of the runts in front of us and we can always take better advantage than short people of the "Hail Mary" approach by holding the camera at arm's length over our heads to get the picture.

Shooting photographs from the hip, however, provides a perspective only very short people --and the rare person sporting a camera with a waist-level viewfinder-- enjoy. Perspective is crucial to good pictures, and shooting all your photographs at eyeball level eliminates the possibility to make a so-so photograph a little more interesting.

Contrary to what many photographic know-it-alls may tell you, content is not everything. Neither is perspective, but combine interesting content with interesting perspective and you're on the right track. Sometimes the right perspective is at eye level, but I think usually it is not.

Personally, my favorite genre of photography are pictures of people in public places, so much of what follows with the accompanying images, will be from the so-called street photography approach. But the considerations of perspective applies to everything from pictures of your dog catching a Frisbee to making a boring Disney World vacation photos of your whiny kids less boring when you insist on showing your slideshow to soon-to-be former friends.

Since I gave my whiny kids the heave-ho several years ago, I have been able to travel to more interesting places than Disney World, and have always had a camera with me. Even when going to the local drugstore for dramamine and an ice cream bar, a Leica has been at hand. My travels in Latin America provide exotic opportunities for pictures and, for reasons I have yet to figure out, Latin Americans are very aware of the presence of a fat Gringo with a camera, no matter how small or inconspicuous the camera. They are friendly and gracious people nonetheless, and quite photogenic but they like to pose. Hip shots work very well there.

I believe wherever candid photographs of people are made the best and most interesting pictures are when the subject is unaware of the camera. Shooting from the hip minimizes that awareness and adds an interesting perspective to boot.

So here's some ideas:

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

Meaning a hand-held camera that can be comfortably and inconspicuously held and operated with one hand. I use Leicas, but most point-and-shoot cameras will work just fine if you can override the autofocus (unlikely) or hone your skills so that the focus is on your subject and not thrown off by the background. Certainly, one will have more success with something smaller than a motor driven three-pound SLR, which will call more attention to itself than a fat Gringo in Oaxaca.

KNOW YOUR GEAR

The more familiar you are with your camera, the better the results. This applies to all photography, but particularly when shooting from the hip. You should have a very good idea what field of view a particular lens includes. The best way to do this is stick with that focal length, and only that focal length, for maybe 200-300 images. Experiment with jpg file sizes and ISO settings to understand their different limitations and advantages.

For clandestine street photography, turn off all the beeps, bells and whistles if you're using a point-and-shoot digital camera. And turn off the flash with that annoying, red-eye reduction disco stroboscopic effect.

EXPOSURE

Really very simple: expose for the shadows. Read the meter in the shadier part of your potential scene and set the camera accordingly. Your shutter speed should be fast enough to minimize camera shake and subject movement, unless that's what you're after. Get to know how to pivot your body or wrist as a subject moves past your viewfinder while shooting at 1/30 of a second or slower. You'll likely get some very interesting results, but more than likely you'll get a lot of unusable frames.

Keep in mind, when shooting from the hip, you'll encounter more bright backgrounds -- usually the sky -- throwing auto exposure for a loop and causing the subject to be a dark silhouette.

FOCUS

If you ditch the autofocus, a little technique known as hyperfocus works very well. By the way, we're talking about lenses here, not ADD.

"The hyperfocal distance is the point of focus where everything from half that distance to infinity falls within the depth of field." (John Shaw's Landscape Photography, John Shaw, 1994.)

Essentially, any given lens with a given f-stop will produce an acceptable range of focus between a short distance to infinity. The wider the lens, the more range of acceptable focus. For instance, at f16, a 28mm lens focused at 5.5 feet will provide usably sharp images from just under 3 feet to infinity. To see a chart with all the variables, go to http://www.dofmaster.com/charts.html.

However, I think the easiest way is to pick your f-stop & set the little infinity marker engraved on the lens barrel to the chosen f-stop, also marked on the lens barrel. My personal favorite is f8, because that's where most lenses are sharpest.

LENS CHOICES

As I said earlier, wider lenses are generally the best choice for both field of view and image sharpness. But not too wide. Anything from a 12mm to 50mm (we're talking 35mm camera equivalent here) will do, but 28mm to 40mm will get your pictures in the ballpark more frequently.

My personal favorite is 35mm. For one thing, anything wider begins to have major distortion problems because when shooting from the hip, the camera will be pointed up most of the time and vertical lines will converge big time). Also ultra wide lenses tend to make your subjects look further away than they really are.

That being said, I'll use a 21mm lens when I'm in a crowded area, like art gallery openings, biker bars or crowded markets.

FROM THE HIP, LITERALLY SPEAKING

Adjust the strap so the camera hangs over your shoulder about waist level. I hang mine over my left shoulder, casually holding the camera with my right hand across my belly and using my thumb to trip the shutter. If I'm standing around on a sidewalk (usually waiting for my wife) my left arm will be bent at the elbow, resting on top of the camera so it sorta looks like my arms are crossed. Now, if I'm walking down the street that way it looks like I have a stomach ache, so I just hang on to the camera with my right thumb poised on the shutter and walk around looking as inconspicuous as possible.

VERTICALS

If your subject might be better as a vertical, wrap the strap around your wrist so your finger can trip the shutter. Be sure you don't have excess strap dangling over the lens. Again, tilt the camera upwards as you walk around. Get the feel of the different pitches your wrist is in in relation to your subject. Because the camera is now below the waist, you'll probably find yourself shooting a lot of knees and headless torsos until you get the hang of it.

If you're shooting digital you can get immediate feedback from the LCD, but if clandestine photography is your plan, don't chimp after every frame or you risk tipping people off that you're taking pictures. If you're shooting film, obviously you'll have to do your chimping later at the light table.

TABLE TOPS, BARS, KNEES, ETC.

These are great places to rest the camera if you're sitting around having a cold one while waiting for your wife. The chief advantage is the ability to use a much slower shutter speed, but it also gives very interesting perspctives. Before you sit down, scout the room for potential subjects and position yourself accordingly. Remember that lighting -- overhead, windows, beer signs etc. -- will throw off your meter, so go manual. Remember, too, that if the camera is sitting flat on the table top, 50% of your image will be the table top. Point 'er up about 20-30 degrees.

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

As you're mastering your stealth technique you should also be mastering your vision. What looks interesting? Should I be moving or lurk in one spot? How will what I see at eye level translate to an image taken three feet lower? Is the background going to help or hurt the image? Do I stick around or move on? Does that big guy coming at me intend to harm me?

Related to that last point, I'd suggest you have an answer ready when -- not if -- someone asks you what you're doing. Honesty is the best policy here, or you can pretend you don't speak the language. In Guanajuato a few years ago I took a hip shot of a young woman as we passed each other on a sidewalk and she launched into a tirade in what I think was either French or Portuguese. Since I don't speak either language, I just shrugged and smiled and said in Spanish that I was sorry. But there was no appeasing this woman; she'd walk away and then turn around and continue haranguing me. Finally I just walked around a corner and a young man who had been watching the spectacle laughed and said I should pay no attention to her. "Ella esta loco en la cabeza," he chuckled.

PICK YOUR SPOT

I recall hearing Elliott Erwitt saying something like, "If you're going to shoot fish in a barrel, you might as well pick a barrel with a lot of fish in it." Good advice. The more people around, the more opportunities for candid photographs and the less you'll be noticed.

Not being noticed, by the way, has more to do with those wonderful, candid moments of people in public places than with getting yelled at for taking pictures of them.

THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT: AN ASIDE

At least in the United States, you can pretty much take photos in-- or of -- any public property except perhaps military installations and the like. Note there is a difference between public property and private property with public access, like stores, malls, bank lobbies or public events held on private property. On public property one can safely assume he/she has carte blanche, at least on legal grounds, unless a sign is posted prohibiting photography, such as inside courtrooms. Another exception are places where people would have "a reasonable expectation of privacy," like restrooms or dressing rooms. Private property owners can restrict photographing on their property, but not restrict pictures of their property from public property.

Beyond the legal aspect, what and who you take photographs of, whether surreptitiously or not, depends on how comfortable you are when doing it and what your motives are. Some people enjoy the adrenalin rush, some get queasy by it.

BE CREATIVE

This is perhaps the most important point. Doing something a little off beat and out of your usual routine, photographically speaking, can add spark to your images and perhaps open new ways of noticing the world around you. Again, Elliott Erwitt: "All the technique in the world doesn't compensate for the inability to notice."

Practice. Expose lots of frames. Stand on a busy street corner and take pictures of cars and people as they move past you to get the feel of it. Keep the viewfinder away from your eye, except maybe to check exposures. Don't worry too much about being discrete; if people ask what's the big idea, tell them you're just trying something different for a change, something you learned in prison photography class.

Expect to get a lot of clams. This holds true in any kind of photography, but especially when shooting from the hip. Digital images are free; film carries a small price tag if you don't print every frame.

The late, great Garry Winogrand said in an interview once, "It's all about the photograph."

Indeed.

While some purists, Winnogrand included, might deride the idea of not composing an image in the viewfinder, I can only ask, "why not?" Others are adamant about not cropping, as though there is something sacred in the original composition. Again, why not, if it makes it a better photograph? If "no cropping" is their mantra, then how about no dodging, burning, toning, etc.?

Yes, it's all about the photograph, but it's also about how you want your photographs to look.

Good luck and have fun.

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