1st Shoot - Bradford

I'm here with the first official shoot, candid styled. Here is a mini risk assessment of key factors to be careful about for all my shoots:

• People, if someone gets aggressive after figuring out that they're being photographed then explain to them what I'm doing and do not argue back.
• Equipment, as I will be walking around with a camera, ensure safety and keep out of sight after use.
• Falling, wear appropriate footwear and always behave well in public areas to prevent from falling or getting injured.

Let the shoots begin. So I'm here with my first official shoot for this project. In this shoot, I will be in and around Bradford and I will be doing a candid styled shoot for my street photography project. I plan to do various shoots in different areas throughout the project but of course, we begin with my town. Here are my contact prints from the shoot:

Phew. I just experienced a new craze shooting candid. I honestly felt the pressure when people became aware that they were being photographed. However, I managed to remain professional and made sure nothing negative happened. I thought it was tough using a standard kit lens 18-55mm because I had to go close up to the individuals and shoot, which eventually blows my cover. Besides that, I enjoyed the shoot and it's a first of many. I managed to get some good images that were inspired by my research, although these were taken all so quickly and fast pace, it is a crazy adrenaline. Here are my images:

The first time shooting candid took some bravery and I managed to capture this which I think is pretty good. I like how I've captured his facial expression as he just became aware that he was being photographed. I like the lighting in the image as it was a sunny day and the lighting was shining through, giving the floor all the shadows from the ceiling. I like how this image isn't staged and it's all casual looking. This gentleman is carrying his shopping whilst talking on the phone and he stands out from the background. This is initially a part of what I intended to do, capturing what I'd say is 'everyday life'.

Again, we have another image that has dramatic lighting with the shadows. If you look at this image in full size, you can actually see the 2 men's reaction as they noticed me stood there with a camera. I think this was the toughest image to shoot because it was in a quiet area so it was tough to not get noticed. I think it's a good image because of their activity, you can see them pull out furniture to put in the shop and I quite like the look of the old building which fills up the frame.

Have you noticed how her jumper is the same colour as the wall? This image here was shot whilst this woman was about to cross the road. I quite like the colours in this image because it's not overloaded and I find it interesting with the parking signs in the back while I captured her still. I think the lighting makes the image interesting because of the shadow that's in the foreground on the road. It makes the girl stand out more. With the theme of everyday life, you can see how she's carrying her shopping bags which I thought was ordinary and she's also looking out for cars.

Going more in to the town centre, I managed to get some of these shots of some of the youth that we are used to seeing in Bradford. I had to wait for timing and captured this whilst they were stood in a small circle and I think it's interesting how I portrayed the youth in my image. You have one guy on a bicycle and they're all wearing tracksuits with caps or hoods. It just fits with the stereotypes and I wanted to capture this in a positive way to show them socialising without staging the shot as they were unaware.

Out of this shoot, this has to be my favourite image because I just love how this moment was captured. They were walking fast and we had a bike rider so I had to make sure I shot this quick in sharp focus without raising awareness and I think that was a success. You can see their fashion sense that I've spoke about in the previous image and I think having the bus stop in the shot also really fits the aim of the project with capturing the essence of the town; which in this case is Bradford. I like the angle this was shot at with the Old Bank in the background and how they're all in a line. The image reminds me of Jeremy's work that I had referenced to in my further research post where the composition is good and in line with the frame. I will be considering to use this image as my final.