Street tips.

I know this topic has been covered extensively before, so my aim here is not to give a definitive guide to street photography but rather to share my recent experiences. I strongly believe that failure is the key to success, and it is with my recent failures in mind that I undertake this post.

To begin with, it would be inappropriate to write a brief on street photography without mentioning Chris Weeks. His guide would certainly appear to be the definitive in this genre. A fair bit of what I plan to share has come about through my interpretation of his work.

I’m not really interested in providing a definition, but it is fair to state that essentially street photography takes place on the street, with candid unposed shots for which permission has not been asked. Most countries laws protect the photographer in this sense, implying that people in a public space where there is no expectation of privacy are fair game. An exception to this is if you plan to market the end product in a commercial sense, in which case you need permission and a model release form. In this case the product can no longer be classified as street, but rather an impromptu photo shoot.

Candids. One of the main purposes in street work is to capture ordinary people doing ordinary things. By singling them out for art, we not only celebrate life, but we recognise that each of us thrives as a result of interaction with each other. To ask permission for a shot merely ruins that naturalness that exists in all the great shots from the masters. If you feel uncomfortable not asking for permission, this is a pretty big sign that street shots aren’t for you. Keep in mind that the best cure for this is to get out and shoot. Start small with a specific goal in mind.

Homeless people are not fair game. Keep in mind this is my personal opinion, though the sentiment seems to be shared by seasoned photographers in the Flickr community.

Jim Graham left a comment on the only photo of a street person I’ve ever taken, and it sums up how I feel about shooting street people:

Shooting homeless people well deserves the emotional investment you describe.
A photo taken during or after an actual conversation gets you the individual rather than the mere social statement.

Shooting homeless people for the purpose of creating a photo essay in order to raise awareness of their situation without emotional investment is hypocritical. Shooting homeless people with emotional investment becomes an impromptu portrait session between new friends.

Anyone else on the street is. As long as the previous mentioned privacy concerns are kept in mind (only shoot where people have no expectation of privacy), then this statement is true. More to the point, the main limiting factor is what you feel comfortable with capturing. Sure that kissing couple looks great in the rain, but do you feel comfortable sharing the moment? Would you feel comfortable if someone took a candid of you in the same situation? How close do you dare go to create your art?

Technique is important. Or not. There is divided opinion on this. The Lomo crowd would have us believe that shooting from the hip is the way to go. Great shots can be obtained this way, (for the obligatory shameless self promotion, see the above shot of the barista), however it is very much down to hit and miss. If you don’t think before you shoot, it is highly likely that you won’t get anything worth wasting film on. If however you plan your shots, and practice a technique you feel comfortable with - be it shooting from the hip, or through the viewfinder - you’ll end up with some winners.

Know your equipment. This is of the utmost importance. Especially when shooting from the hip.

Cameras. The Leica is often touted as the street camera, however, the truth is that many aspiring street photographers are not going to have the finances for this. Generally a rangefinder is the socially accepted tool for street work. There are reasons for this, ones I wish I’d read in Chris Week’s guide before I tried street shooting with a Pentax 6×7. I figured that with such a large camera, no one would bother me as they wouldn’t be able to comprehend anyone would be stupid enough to walk around with such a large camera. It also gave me a certain amount of bravado carrying around such a large toy. Stupid me.

While I got two decent shots out of the roll (one contained in the previous post), my street shots were rubbish. The subjects were there in perfect form but none were close enough to give that intimacy that is the key to street work. The main cause of this was the lens. I was using a 105mm lens which effectively translates to a standard lens (50-55mm) on a non medium format SLR.

Secondly the size was restrictive. Touting round such a large camera may have improved my bravado, but not to the point where I could happily stand a meter away and snap of a shot. Adjacent to this is the size of the mirror. With such a large mirror, the sound produced by taking a shot is huge. I heard it even through the music I had blasting in my ears.

The mirror cause more problems than just noise. As many of you are aware, when an SLR takes a photo, the mirror must flip out of the way thereby causing the photographer to lose sight of the situation. This is problematic particularly with film as there is no way of knowing whether someone walked in on the scene and spoiled the shot, as is the case with this shot:

So, how to rectify the problem? Rangefinders. They’re quiet, and there’s no mirror to move out of the way so you never lose sight of what’s going on. However, even when using a rangefinder it is vital to know your equipment inside out. Know your field of view, if you don’t your subjects will be too far away - ruining a potentially good shot. Like this one:

Know your parallax lines. Know how your camera will react in different lighting. Unless you know this, you’ll fail.

Film. Often overlooked, but quite possible more important than your camera. You must know your film intimately. Know how it reacts in your camera and the lighting conditions. Knowing its reaction to light is no good if you don’t know that your camera always underexposes by a 1/3 stop. If you use a filter, make sure you factor this in on the ASA dial. Know how your film will react with that filter. And it must be your film. I can’t stress that enough. Experimenting with film is great, but for that defining shot, you need to know that you’ve got in the bag before developing and a major part of this is knowing your chosen film as intimately as the rest of your equipment.

Anything I’ve missed? Leave a comment.