Do you stage pictures, or do you just shoot what you see?

[Peter^]

Maybe I'm just lazy, or I lack the creativity, but I very rarely ever set up a picture using props, lighting etc. I don't even position models. If I see something I like, I shoot it.
I have the feeling - but I'm not sure - that a lot of us here work like that, at least in comparison to other photographers.
Is that true?

[jsrockit]

I generally just photograph things the way they are, but I also love to do full body posed portraits.

[Chris101]

It's a combination for me (and there is no option for that in the poll.)

Depending on the situation, and the reason I'm shooting in the first place, I often do an extensive set-up. Other times, I just shoot.

[stillshunter]

You have a brother in arms here Peter. I only ever shoot what I see.

[taskoni]

I move things around if I have a chance of doing it. There is nothing wrong with staging but again, depends what you are photographing. I am certainly not staging my street stuff I voted #2

Regards,

Boris

[Roger Hicks]

Ummm... Small Tibetan boys pissing on Chinese flag. I paid for the tea. Otherwise, no.

Cheers,

R.

[brainwood]

99% of the time I shoot as it happens too.

[Peter_wrote:]

with the exception of still lifes of course, i just shoot the situation, which is already there. but compose it through the viewfinder, which is some kind of arrangement too...

[nikon_sam]

in Nature I shoot as it is presented to me...with the rare exception of moving a leaf or two or maybe bending over a tall weed...
Street shooting I stage nothing...
In other areas I might move a slight distraction like a coffee cup, trash can, someone's sunglasses or whatever...as long as it doesn't change the original scene that caught my eye...just little things to clean it up...
Most times I will try another angle or lens to see if I can remove the article that way first...

[gho]

Mostly I shoot what I see, that is, I do not stage things, but try to get what I see in a compositionally good frame. Not staging things up and working with what is there is mostly part of the fun for me. I like surprises and I like documentary photography. But surely I have nothing against a well constructed and set up photograph, such as in fashion, still life and product photography or conceptual, artisitic work.

[Marel]

I shoot what I see, but I move myself around to compose.

And here is the obligatory (albeit IMO very true) quote from HCB:
„The thing to be feared most is the artificially contrived, the contrary to life."

[Keith]

I'll go to elaborate lengths to realise an idea in my head ... I really enjoy the process and it connects me with the art side of the medium rather than just documentation. I also like the other side of the coin though .. where what you see is what you get!

It's all good as they say.

[jwc57]

I struggle with deciding whether I should move something or clean up some debris on a lot of my projects. I had been taught to photograph as it is found. Maybe that comes from having an instructor who was a photojournalist for Bay Area papers. Whenever I look at a scene, as I think of how I want to photograph it, I remember Rothstein and the controversy of the cow skull.

Lately though, I have at least started to remove weeds and debris that gets in the way of taking a photograph as I want to see it. I have also started keeping a reflector and a stand in the back of the car....just in case I need it.

[zauhar]

I have mostly been shooting what I see, but I am not above shouting at a stranger , "no, look THAT way!"
Randy

[ebolton]

I usually shoot it as I see it, but I have been known to prune an errant branch, bait a squirrel, or encourage a cat to pose, so I picked the middle option.

-Ed

[gb hill]

I shoot what I see. probably why most of my photo's are crap.

[tbarker13]

Depends.

When doing documentary: Never.
When doing portraits: Almost always.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by gb hill

I shoot what I see. probably why most of my photo's are crap.

I remember you mentioning that you drive a truck for a living. I've often wondered why you don't show us what that's like photographically ... I'd find it fascinating personally!

[pakeha]

Originally Posted by slackercruster

I shoot what I see about 80% of the time. If I shoot people I may move them around unless it is candid.

mmm, its endemic round here..

[Jamie123]

When I do portraits or photograph models I obviously give them directions. Sometimes there are lights, sometimes there's someone holding a reflector, etc. etc.

Occasionally I will also stage shots so that they look natural, i.e. I will set up my camera and have someone stand somewhere and act as if they were doing something. When I shoot pictures without people in them I will move things around and arrange them if it makes for a better picture, especially when I'm shooting large format and take my time to analyse the picture on the groundglass. Most often I just move things out of the frame if they're in the way. Sometimes I close a door or open it depending on what I want to convey. It get's quite tricky, though, once I really start moving stuff around and placing them in different spots as it has the tendency to look too contrived. It's quite hard to arrange something so that it does not look arranged. It's a bit like telling someone to 'look natural'. Hardly ever works. For this reason I often try to make it work the way it is first before I move something.

[Lss]

I mostly shoot what I see.

[sreed2006]

Many small plants have been wounded or died while I was out photographing and they were in the way of what looked like a good picture. On the other hand, I have served as part of the food chain for innumerable insects, so Mother Nature and I are probably even.

Trash laying on the ground gets moved quite frequently. That comes from taking too many pictures that would have been acceptable, if not for the trash in the scene being a distraction. Once in awhile, the trash is the subject, but I have never arranged trash just to photograph it.

Sometimes, I set up a corner or room of the house as a studio, and that means manipulating everything - moving furniture, setting up the lighting, posing the person(s), or setting up the object to be photographed. It is a lot of work. I do get good results using that technique, and enjoy the process of creating the scene.

When I just grab a camera and go out taking pictures of what I see, most often I do not get any picture worth sharing or keeping. I cannot put an exact percentage to how bad it is, but I know it is over 99% non-keepers. So, as much as I like to photograph that way, I've cut way back on it just to save on film costs and/or disk space.

[OurManInTangier]

I've always just photographed what I've seen in terms of personal pics, the stuff I post here. However I've become bored and frustrated with photographing on the street and am looking to do something a little different but hopefully that different thing can involve a bit of both.

For work it usually involves both aspects but posing, arranging and lighting is a massive part of the job...thankfully I'm not bored of that!

[Gabriel M.A.]

I always shoot what I see, and I have one project in particular where I must stage more-or-less the subject (which of course I'd have to see). Outside of that, it's all "as it happens".

[jwc57]

I guess I should have mentioned that all studio work is staged. I was speaking about environmental/documentary work before. Food or people, everything else is staged in some way...including building small sets. I'm working on a "garage" scene now.

It is getting more difficult to do portraits on location and catch a few unrehearsed moments. I noticed on some of the more recent shoots that, as soon as the camera came up, they stopped whatever intimate moment they were sharing, looked at me and smiled. Shooting a true photojournalist/documentary wedding is impossible today. The brides expect "staged" shots. It also seems to have become more about the photography than the wedding. I've heard complaints of wedding photographers taking a couple of hours for group portraits, then stealing the bride and groom away from the reception for more. I try to find couples that want me to document the day, not become a part of it. It just isn't what sells today.