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Waist Level Democracy, a Guide

(This is meant for beginners. For you old hands, spy chicken.)

To overgeneralize, there are two sets of variables to consider when shooting on the street.

Ask Permission
or
Shoot Candidly

Use a Face Camera
or
Shoot Prefocused, from “Hip”

Asking permission can alter things greatly, but sometimes asking yields fantastic, unpredictable results. And shooting candidly might mean you’ll miss a portrait you could later stage, by asking permission. I used to only shoot candidly - now I do both, depending on the situation.

Mr. Cameraface

Not mine, mine's all beat-up. If you want to keep things candid with a camera to your eye, it’s best to learn how to move fast. If you’re not fast enough to bring the camera to your face and need to photograph from the hip, your pictures may look like they were made by a ten year old. Neither of these is a plus or minus, necessarily.

Sometimes I shoot with an old Rolleiflex. It’s a beast to work with - extremely narrow depth of field and occassional light leaks. Framing objects in motion is tough because of the image reversal on the ground-glass.

But lately, the camera’s been a blessing. It’s so democratic. I can approach people, get close, and photograph them in a way that achieves tacit permission, while keeping things candid. They see me, I see them (both by looking directly at them, and via the ground glass), and my intentions are clear. It’s obvious that I’m photographing. There’s nowhere to hide.

Unlike a face camera, I’ve found that the Rollei doesn’t affect the scene much. People are far less threatened or reactionary about it. If I need to gain permission, I can usually do it without speaking - with a nod, or a glance & a smile. Which means I can usually get closer, and be slower - the Rollei’s pretty slothy when adjusting focus and aperture.

There’s a specialness (or an officialness) to the camera that people seem to recognize. You don’t see people walking around with them. Kids ask what the heck it is. And because I can get closer and stay longer, I often use a strobe to get the most of what’s there.

Shooting with a waist level camera is difficult to explain, and it’s taken me two years to get comfortable with it, but it feels so much better than quickly snapping pictures from higher up. It requires patience, thoughtfulness and a kind of openness that’s new to me, as a photographer who once thought speed was everything.

There’s historical precedence, of course. Diane Arbus, Larry Fink and Rosalind Solomon have all primarily used waist level cameras (and each studied with Lisette Model). Basically, if you see an uncropped street picture that’s square, chances are it was made at waist level.

If you like flickr, there are a few people who post street work from waist level. I love Stuart Isett’s portraits from China. Check out Mike Peters & Michael Cinque. Howard French. John Brownlow has some night strobe shots, too.

You don’t have to shoot black and white with an old camera. Right now, I’m prefering color and flash. If you wanna give it a whirl, lots of people like starting out with the Yashica Mat. Good luck!

Last 3 photos © MDM, 2006-2007

Tag: How To