A compact digital camera is currently my best friend in the field! You can use it for the classics like Strauss' "3-photos" routine or as a great opener with room for playful negs, kino and conversation threads!

I mentioned in a Field Report that my buddy Sl3ven started opening sets on the street with "Hey! Can you take our picture?" I wanted to elaborate and hopefully give something worthwhile to the community. Also, I had skimmed through these forums but didn't see anything similar to our approach. If there are any previous posts similar to what I offer please make me aware so I don't come off as a PUA-Plagiarist! lol

Our town of Charleston, SC recently banned indoor smoking in the downtown area. This elevated the already high volume of "foot-traffic" to crazed levels. That is where we found the routine to work best since it appears very organic outdoors. There were also 3 of us whenever we used the routine, and it would probably be best to use this with 3 or more guys since only two would possibly send the wrong signal.

After asking a set to take our picture, they will either give verbal acknowledgement or simply accept the camera. While you turn on the camera and hand it to them you say, "We appreciate this! I haven't seen these guys in years!"

That will intrigue the set and they usually ask how you know each other (before the pic is taken). You can say either "Old high school friends" or something a little more interesting like "We used to ski Aspen together." Either way, try to get your stories straight beforehand!

Once they showed interest I loved setting up a neg by asking if they were from the south or just visiting (lots of tourists here). Pretty much regardless of the answer I loved to ask, "Do you need me to show you how to work that thing?" Saying that in a CF fashion with a grin on your face is pure gold. This would set up the girls to be comfortable (or just plain interested) enough to pose with us for a shot.

The kino oppurtunity comes when the photo is done and you feel they would be happy to pose with your group. Either delegate one of the girls (possibly the target) to take the photo or just open another set off the street to take it (the more the merrier, right?). At that point, you can throw an arm around her just as naturally as you would an old friend!

The last part of the routine is to gather around the camera and see what has developed. You can have a crew member make a funny face while the picture is taken so you all have something to laugh about or use the photo to neg again. i.e. "It looks like you have man hands in that photo, etc..."

This routine was enough to get the set comfortable enough with us to follow us to the next bar!

Again, we only utilized this outdoors where the pedestrians are many and the sets are bar-hopping. We had just been looking for ways to exploit the new outdoor dynamics and found a great one!

-Happy hunting

p.s. Variations (especially for indoors) and critiques welcome, I always want to get better.

I love my elph. My camera is about the only "prop" I'm bringing out these days besides pen and paper.

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I don't usually use routines, but I may try this. It'd be a good oppurtunity to get some new pics for my myspace page. It's one place where I lack because I don't have a lot of pics with other people in it.