Before heading out to San Francisco last week to work on a commercial shoot, I had made the decision to work on a self assignment as well. You know, one of those GOYA assignments that are motivated by nothing more than the urge to create what you want to create with only the restrictions you've given yourself. And I gave myself plenty.
Working for newspapers and travel magazines I've always had to go out and shoot strangers in the streets. It's either grip and grins for the newspapers or low budget magazine assignments where they need someone doing xyz but can't seem to come out of pocket for a good model. Editors and DOPs are too often saying "just find someone who's already doing xyz and use them". It doesn't matter if it's someone shopping, cycling, dining in a restaurant, whatever; nine times out of 10 it's a stranger already in that situation. And it's our job as assignment photographers to be able to approach them, make them feel comfortable and get a great image out of it. In order to do that we have to feel comfortable ourselves and that's what this project was about.
So I decide that I would get up-close and personal with the different people of SF. My goal was to shoot 12 portraits of 12 strangers in 6 hours and I did it. Knowing that I wanted to be able to light my subjects if needed and I would be moving around the different neighborhoods alone and without an assistant, I chose my lighting set up carefully. I used one Speedlite attached to a monopod with no modifier, that was my set up.
I also chose to shoot exclusively with a 20-35mm lens. I did this for several of reasons; first, I wanted to feel comfortable getting into their space and I wanted them to feel comfortable allowing me into their space, after all, that's what the exercise was about. Second, I wanted to be able to show some of the environment that each subject was in and the wide angle allowed me to do that. Third, being close to my subjects allowed me to easily light them from above or the side holding my Speedlite on the monopod. And forth, I walked around the Mission, Castro, Haight-Ashbury and Golden Gate Park without ever allowing any of my gear to leave my hands. It was very minimal, a camera in one hand and a light on a stick in the other.
It did and always does get easier as I went along. I found that about half the people I approached would say yes while the other half would say no and of the half that said no, all of them were very polite and respectful about it.
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