Runnin’ Around Snappin’
Phylandra McFaddin Snap shooting can be considered as amateur photography. You shoot what you see with no regards of following basic photography rules such as the rules of thirds, leading lines, depth of field, balancing elements, and many others. However, if you manage to capture a quick shoot that includes one of those rules, that’s even better! The main goal of snap shooting is taking a photo of someone without them noticing. Being in Philadelphia, there are many interesting subjects to shoot. Being able to shoot them without them know-
ing can be difficult, believe it or not. It’s best not to bring your DSLR up to your eye, because everyone will notice that you’re taking a picture. So my plan was to use my smaller camera, Canon Sure Shot 35mm., which happens to be a very old film camera. I have never actually used this camera before, so I decided to test it out. I felt a lot more comfortable shooting with a smaller camera, because it made me less noticeable. It also was easier for me to take pictures on public transportation, because the shutter sound wasn’t as loud as my DSLR. After a couple of shots, I got more comfortable of just actually bringing the camera up to my eye, as soon as my subject was in the frame. After I got the shoot, I just swiftly walked away, smiling. Since I was using a film camera, not being able to look at my images right away was frustrating in the beginning. However, I decided to just trust my eye and my hands. My film was a 400 speed, so I had to be in good lightning in order to get a good shot. I often forgot that lightening was crucial, so some of my images on the train turned out darker. Overall, I do enjoy the outcome of some of my images. My only issue is that because I chose film the images are quite grainy. However, stylistically I kind of like the grain. I wish I could have been more comfortable with snap shooting close up’s of people. I was disappointed in myself that I had to let more than a couple of good shoots go, because of my nervousness. Nonetheless, snap shooting brings about a spontaneous freedom that I do enjoy.