Try something new and change up your lens game when shooting street photography.

Did I really say 400?

Well, if you made it this far and clicked into my blog post then you are probably wondering what I mean with “400 or bust!”. Could this just be a catchy title to lure you into my web of words or is there something behind this. Technically it would be fair to say it is a smidgen of both and entirely both. Dare I explain myself? Sure, after all, that is the purpose of my current scrawl.

I have a soft spot for street photography and an equal hankering for a good 35mm or 50mm lens when roaming around town with my camera. It is rare for me to stray into the city without my camera. I am by nature a people watcher. I can’t help it. Humans are fascinating. I am fascinated by how they rush around, their attire, always curious to figure out what they are doing, what their story might be. I have a jolly good time just making up their background stories too.

Asian lady walking down a side walk under some trees — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Sherlock Holmes

Mock me not please but as an impressionable young teenager I ravishingly read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories of the immensely talented and abrasive “consulting” detective: Sherlock Holmes. His uncanny ability to gather evidence based on his honed skills of observation and deductive reasoning had me enthralled. Not to mention his famous sentence: “When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” How can you not get wrapped up in these masterfully written stories. “Elementary, my dear Mr. Watson” I would quote here, a reverent way to state my fascination with this singular character.

Fun fact, this last quote, “Elementary, my dear Mr. Watson”, while always associated with Sherlock Holmes, actually never appeared in the stories written by Conan Doyle.

It was these stories that ignited my passion for people watching. I was so curious, was it really possible, through acute observation, to gleam such clues as to be able to deduce a person’s story. Was a scuff of the side of a shoe or the wear on the sleeve of a shirt a telltale sign of someone’s profession or hobby? I wanted to believe it was so. A 12-year old’s mind is capable of believing that anything could be possible.

Man in jeans with a water bottle walking in front of green trees — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

So back to that 400 number

It had been some time since I had last meandered around Manhattan and done any street photography. It was going to be a wonderful spring day today. Which always draws people out onto the streets. So, time do some people watching, to shoot some street photography, get my steps in, and use “keen” observation skills make up the back story of the people I see.

As I was pulling my camera out of the photography closet, trying to decide which lens I wanted to use, I, on the spur of the moment, decided to try something completely different. How about shooting street photography with a 400mm lens. Crazy right?! That is a massive lens. Not easy to hide and go unnoticed with you might say.

Well, here is the trick as it turns out, while this lens is quite outlandishly large, no one expects you to be taking a picture of them with it. For two reasons, on one hand they do not expect it, most probably assuming you are bird watching or something of the sorts and on the other hand, you are really far away from them.

So, there you have it…that is the 400. I wished I actually had a 400mm prime lens, but that lens is just ridiculously expensive. So out came my trusty EF 100-400mm L lens, add the RF converter and voila. Sure, I could zoom out to 400 and then lock the lens at that focal length, but why rob myself of the other focal lengths. Although I did end up mostly shooting at 400mm anyways.

Girl with backpack walking on a sunny day — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Why shoot street photography at such a focal length?

You are probably wondering why in the world would I burden myself with such a heavy camera setup to go out and shoot some street photography. I would have to agree, but I do like to try different ideas every now and then. Sort of challenge myself to shoot something in a different way. In theory there is really no wrong or right way to shoot street photography. Any setup can work. You just have to figure out how to make it work. There are some interesting advantages to longer focal lengths.

Girl with baseball cap, sun glasses, and cute freckles — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Magnification

A lens with a long focal length, such as my lens at 400mm, magnifies objects, making the subject appear closer. It allows you to photograph subjects that are further away. That opens a whole different perspective in street photography. I can now stand much further away from people. I no longer have to quickly run to the other side of the street. Heck I can even be a block away at times to get my shot.

two woman crossing a street in New York City — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Perspective Compression

I think the biggest advantage of using a longer focal lens for street photography is perspective compression. Focal lengths affect how objects look in relation to each other. Longer focal lengths compress the elements in a scene and make them look closer to each other. This is basically a visual illusion that you might often hear referred to as “flattening” or “compressing” an image. It is a great way to control how the background in your image relates to the subject of your shot.

framed between trees and walkway the view of people talking a walk with Manhattan buildings in the background — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Shallow depth of field

Another great aspect of using a telephoto lens is how useful it can be in creating photos with a shallow depth of field. I will see if I can explain this. Most of our fast lenses, with extremely shallow depth of fields are of shorter focal lengths. Most f/1.2 lenses are 85mm and under. The secret of telephoto lenses is that out of focus distant objects are magnified as well, thus are much larger, which enlarges their blur as well. This lends a softer out of focus blur to these elements.

A couple in front of the MET museum with the woman taking a cell phone picture — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

Conclusion of using 400mm lens for street photography

It turns out that the aforementioned effects, magnification, perspective compression and shallow depth of field, are a great boon for street photography. I managed to capture photos that normally would have required me to move closer to my subject, which so often can result in missing a shot, as your subject is also moving. People walking around in a city tend to move about you see. I was also able to deal with unwanted objects in my composition better. These visual distractions became more out of focus and blurred.

I will definitely grab my EF 100 - 400mm L lens more often now when I take a walk through the streets of Manhattan. Will it become my go to lens for street photography? Maybe not quite, it is really heavy and very bulky. So, I think, I will mostly keep using my 24 – 70mm, 35mm or 50mm lenses for street photography. But I am no longer afraid to use much longer focal lengths.

Go try it for yourself. Take a longer focal length with you. Even a 70 – 200mm or 70 – 300mm lens is good. Grab your longest focal length and go out and shoot. If you have a telephoto zoom lens, challenge yourself to shoot at its longest. Experiment around and enjoy the challenge it poses as I bet the resulting photos will reward you enough to have schlepped the heavier equipment around.

Couple sitting on a stone bench waiting for their coffee — *Photo by Robert Schall Photography*

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400mm OR BUST!

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