Tips to Level Up Your Street Photography With Marion Mou
Sony Kando 2023
I recently had the honor and pleasure of attending Sony Kando in Snowbird, Utah. Kando is an unbelievable artistic working experience that Sony hosts just about every year, bringing with each other some of the most proficient creatives in the market.
Although at Kando, I ran into some incredible creatives and was lucky sufficient to job interview a few of them.
Marion Mou is a freelance photographer whose aspect interest is road images. I’ve been admiring his do the job for a though and was super enthusiastic to have an possibility to interview him at Kando.
Marion’s cinematic avenue photography and exclusive design has garnered more than 106K followers on Instagram. I actually adore his moody style, which he describes as “scenes from a film, or comic reserve.”
Our Kando interview presents precious insight into Marion’s imaginative workflow and how he pushes his creative competencies to the limit. It can be loaded with remarkable advice that can be utilized to other genres of pictures, but is primarily handy for those people of us who are seeking to amount up our road images procedures.
Some of the street photography suggestions that Marion shares involve:
- How to look for emotion in your illustrations or photos
- Why you shouldn’t overthink things
- How to choose your equipment for road images
- What to be expecting when you are out in the subject
There are numerous additional useful ideas that Marion shares in the interview, so test out the edited transcript and the entire movie job interview below.
The Interview
Marion: My identify is Marion Mou, and I am a freelance photographer. I have shot a handful of weddings in the previous pair of many years and it is really been a great knowledge. I do a whole lot of loved ones sessions, maternity, engagement shoots, and even album handles for specified artists. This has been my occupation for the past a few yrs due to the fact COVID began. On the aspect, my passion is shooting avenue images. That is what I love to do.
Reza: I feel that is how I obtained to know you. I noticed a person of your pictures, and I was like, “dang, which is a banger.”
Marion: That’s way too type of you, guy.
Reza: And then we fulfilled in San Francisco, proper, at the group occasion for the a6700? I’m a large admirer of your do the job. Your avenue images is attractive, and I was curious, you know, I preferred to know how you believe as a result of it.
Marion: You know, to be truthful, you just gotta go out there and shoot. I do not assume about compositions. I search for other items, like the way a person dresses, or how they wander. A thing about a certain person on the avenue generally grabs my consideration, and then I just go come across my way over there and get a image of them. It’s normally candid, so I attempt not to be observed, but sometimes when you get that good eye speak to, it unquestionably delivers out a unique form of come to feel for the photo.
Reza: Good, so you have that relationship, you know, with the image that you’re taking?
Marion: Indeed, it’s ordinarily not a pleasant one particular, but I will take it, simply because an emotion is an emotion.
Reza: That is what you want to convey with your imagery, proper? Like a experience.
Marion: Certainly, a specific kind of temper for every se.
Reza: So, when you’re out, what’s your system like, your workflow? Do you just decide you want to shoot a particular subject or a certain digital camera, or how do you operate as a result of that?
Marion: Yeah, so normally, the night time prior to I go out to shoot, I’ll line up two lenses. The next day, when I wake up, whichever lens that I really feel like taking pictures, I will just get that one and shoot the entire session with that one particular lens. It truly is commonly a primary lens, and I shoot the entire full session with that one key lens. It forces me to uncover various angles and push my techniques to the limit.
Reza: Pleasant, so it is really a good way to self-motivate, ideal?
Marion: Definitely, it forces you to be more inventive when having pics of the subject. You gotta come across much more sneaky ways to get closer to strangers without having freaking them out, because you never know how they will respond if they truly feel like you might be stalking them.
Reza: Yeah, so there is certainly an factor of becoming discrete, and there is also an aspect of staying inspired, appropriate?
Marion: Certainly, you’re completely suitable.
Reza: It goes both equally methods. You have the proper instrument for the occupation, but then you happen to be also helping by yourself by not getting to be bored of observing the similar factor.
Marion: Certainly, it certainly keeps it super, super attention-grabbing, because you problem you. You’re commonly capturing from the hip, or you might be placing the digicam down at a specific angle, just hoping that you get a good body, and then immediately after a though you get made use of to it, and then it gets to be like a new accomplishment unlocked, that you will not even genuinely have to search at the viewfinder to shoot anymore.
Reza: So, you kind of get a come to feel for the sorts of illustrations or photos you happen to be likely to be equipped to count on if you might be shooting on a certain lens, correct?
Marion: Just.
Reza: What type of suggestions would you give someone that’s just starting up out in road photography?
Marion: Most of the issues that I get are about how to go out and just just take photographs of strangers. A lot of people notify me that they are super nervous. They will not want to get caught. They you should not know what to do when somebody ways them and states, oh, why did you just take my photo? They really don’t wanna be confronted by a stranger, you know? I feel for most men and women, having photos of a stranger is not genuinely a organic experience, for the reason that they really feel like they are invading someone’s sense of privacy, but just so you know, it is authorized to consider photos of people today on public home.
When it arrives down to it, there’s no other way but to just go out and do it. I went out there and did it. I felt awkward for a long time. I even still feel awkward when I go out and shoot correct now, but that all goes away immediately after 10 minutes. After you get the heat-up, you’re great to go, and you’re on a roll.
Reza: So mainly, you should not overthink it, right?
Marion: Don’t overthink, just do it. If you see a little something, just just take a picture. Step by step, you can build the courage to get nearer and nearer to your matter. If you might be experience not comfortable, you can constantly shoot with a more time lens, these as an 85mm or 135mm prime. They’re generally actually fast, and you get actually good depth of industry, and they’re tremendous crispy.
Reza: Good, we have some wonderful assistance there. Really do not overthink, go out and just really shoot right until you’re in the zone and sensation relaxed.
Marion: If you happen to be a very little timid, a minimal shy, it’s ok. Get the big lens.
Reza: There is certainly also an factor of respect and discreetness, ideal? You’re not out there sticking your lens in someone’s experience.
Marion: Oh, totally not. Most of the time, you really don’t really want to be discovered, but you can not assume to by no means not be found. Just test your most effective. Get the candid pictures. What you see from me are like scenes from a comedian guide or a scene from an immersive motion picture, like a candid instant of lifetime.
Reza: So like every single graphic is a story in and of by itself?
Marion: Effectively, hopefully that’s what you men feel when you see my pictures. I would say that’s the target.
The Video
Check out out my total online video interview at Sony Kando with Marion Mou down below:
https://www.youtube.com/view?v=tTvalSXrUD0
Images applied with authorization of Marion Mou.
