The f/8 and Be There Skill

Hello everyone. I have a new training and development opportunity for you. It may actually be new to you, but it is very old indeed and is ideally suited to shooting quickly in a dynamic environment like street photography.

It’s also harder than it should be as camera manufacturers have removed depth of field scales from lenses that irks me to no end. In their goal of simplification and saving money, they all make it more difficult to build skill. Yeah, I know, old man shouting at clouds.

Anyways, here’s. how to do it. First I will describe the process and then I will tell you how to set your camera up presuming it is autofocus.

Getting Ready

You start with your camera and a lens locked in to deliver the angle of view of a 35mm lens full frame equivalent. That would be about 17mm on a micro four thirds and about 24mm on a camera using a crop sensor. If you are using a zoom lens, you will lock the proper focal length in place with gaffer tape or something similar, although every serious photographer should have a roll of gaffer tape at home.

You will set your camera to Aperture Preferred Mode and lock in the aperture at f/8. As this exercise requires you to go outside, set an ISO of 400. Your camera will then pick the optimal shutter speed based on what the exposure meter reads, so the onus remains on you to know how your meter works and that it is going to deliver an exposure that will deliver the overall luminosity at middle grey.

The practice is to then go out and find a subject about 17 feet away. Focus on the subject and when you are certain that it is in focus, put the lens into manual focus mode, and tape the focus ring so it does not move, effectively turning your lens into a fixed focal length and fixed aperture. Just like your smartphone, only with a much better sensor.

Ready to Go

Now comes the really difficult part. You have to go outside and make images. You take NOTHING else with you. Just the camera and lens on a strap. No bag, no backpack, no trolley, no shreves to carry your stuff. You, your camera and lens and that’s it.

You will then walk around and when you see something that strikes your fancy you will raise your camera, compose quickly and squeeze the shutter release. Then you will let your camera hang and move on. You get only ONE SHOT of any subject from the same position. You are learning to work quickly and efficiently and are actively not futzing around with settings and drawing attention to yourself. You just walk around and shoot. Only composition and speed enter into the photography.

The setup uses the principle of how aperture and angle of view impact depth of field. I use the 17’ method to accommodate the larger full frame sensor. Those on crop sensors will have a bit more depth of field and those on M4/3 sensors will have more. The point is that with the lens set this way, everything from about 8.5 feet to infinity will be in focus, so there is NO need to touch the focus ring. Trust the science and the math, DO NOT focus the camera for each shot.

Role Playing Add-On

If you try this exercise and find it fun, and your camera has an EVF, change the rendition on the EVF to Monochrome. The RAW file will still be in colour, what you do with it in post processing is your business, but by changing your viewfinder to monochrome it allows you to role play the 1940s street photographer. You can even get a fedora and stick a Press card in the brim if you like. If someone asks your name, you can say “Snapper Carr”. And if that name means anything to you, congrats on the inside comics joke.

Wrapping Up

This exercise is only as hard as you make it. You will likely have a high number of discards because you are working at speed. As an exercise it helps you develop rapid compositional practice because it focuses your attention on getting an interesting composition quickly. And if you really like street photography, this practice will dramatically improve your results when you commit to it.

All of the images used in this article are properly licensed and all of them were made by real human photographers. There is no AI fakery here.

Please become a member on Patreon to help support this channel. A big thanks to all the existing Patreon members! Send in comments or questions, I read and respond to all. If you shop with B&H Photo Video, please use the link on the main page as it pays me a small commission and does not cost you anything to do so. Thanks again and we will see each other again soon.