Street photography is a widely used term covering a very broad range of photographic styles.
This is one person’s perspective and processes with a look at some other styles and approaches.
First a bit of history.
Following on from it’s roots as a form of social documentary, generally of static subjects due to early technical limitations, street photography really became the form we recognise today with the advent of the portable medium format and 35mm cameras. Once the photographer could work fast, real life, the capture of moving images could be achieved.
The earliest exponents, mostly American or European, mixed free form documentation with more formal environmental portraits to tell the stories unfolding in front of them. It is these early pioneers we have to thank for images such as Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother-nipomo-california-1936/,
Max Dupain’s Sunbaker,
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/115.1976/
or Robert Capa’s falling soldier
http://100photos.time.com/photos/robert-capa-falling-soldier
which cemented these points of history into our consciousness.
With the improvement of gear and film, street shooting, especially documentary style became more defined and defined the core form of such publications as National Geographic magazine and the popular in-depth Sunday news essays. For the majority of street photographers, fame and fortune came late or not at all in their life time. It was the purest form of photography for the photographer.
More recently, street imaging has become a very broad genre. From Kate Kirkwood’s RuRural influences to Dirty Harry’s gritty abstract’s, the overall form has become as varied as the people producing it, but they all have one thing in common; documenting the influence and importance of people on their world as they see it.
Styles
Street photography is hard to strictly define. It has had many faces as technology and styles have changed, but three distinct types have emerged. Most are shared by working street photographers, but some specialise and many steer clear of one definition or another (personally I do not do portraiture, but probably would if covering a long term documentary topic).
Street Portraits
The street portraitist approaches their subject with full disclosure and open intent. The best approach for this type of imaging is person first, camera second. Introduce yourself, soak in the subject, their perspective on life, then produce the camera only when you have reached a point of mutual comfort. With practice this may come quite quickly.
Being observed by others may also open up a whole group after an initial contact, but if not, accept defeat and move on.
Try not to “steal” images and be respectful of local customs.
Take the image quickly and efficiently. People, even cooperative ones, can only keep a genuine look on their faces for so long.
Once the initial image is taken, the subject will often be more comfortable with you, allowing you sit back and observe their interactions with others. A Polaroid style camera can also open the communication channels and offer a rare gift.
Some street photographers are comfortable with flash based “shock and awe” style of image making (first used by Weegee in the 1920’s), but in these days of moral and legal complexity, the gentler approach is generally safer.
Be fully conversant with your legal obligations especially if you intend to sell your images. Release forms protect both you and your subject.
Gear and Technique
Gear wise, avoid big lenses, big cameras and showy gear. A simple bag (see below) holding a small camera and portrait lens (or two) is ideal and all that you really need. Street portraiture can be made with regular portrait shallow depth of field, but often a bit of environmental context can add to the image, so don’t be afraid to break from normal portrait conventions and use lenses wider than the usual 70-135mm (full frame equiv.) range and apertures smaller than f1.4 to 2.8 to increase depth of field and inclusiveness. Lenses wider than 35mm (FF equiv.) can add some distortion, which may or may not be what you are after.
Be open and clear in your intent. Carry a card or offer up a web page for viewing if possible to show people you are serious and not just a nosey opportunist.
The advent of mirrorless cameras has bought with it small size and often small lenses. They also offer face/eye focus detection and some have silent electronic shutters, making them even less invasive.
A case of breaking the rules and being caught out.
I am not personally a portraitist, so none of my own images fit into this category. Any portrait style images I have captured fit into the style below.
Documentary Style
Seen by many as the first and one true form of street photography (although most profess to doing a bit of all styles), the fundamental difference between documentary and portrait style is the subject’s awareness of you.
A candid portrait. The intention is to share a moment of someones life in an empathic and respectful way.
The documentary style shooter is the invisible, “fly on the wall”, observer of life as it is happening. To guarantee spontaneity and natural and uninfluenced images, the subject must be unaware they are being photographed or have become so used to it they have learned to ignore you. Often documentary shooters will spend days with their subjects without a camera present, just to lower barriers, learn and gain a clearer perspective.
Your own comfort level with this will vary, but the mantra “If I go unnoticed, then I do no harm” is a good one to go by.
Human dignity is a precious thing, so try to avoid base humour or anything disrespectful.
Empathy, coincidence and social commentary are generally safe forms of humour.
Different places, cultures and times will have an influence on your productiveness. Some days are diamonds, some are cold hard stones. Sometimes you just have to walk away.
The set below were all taken within minutes of each other along with dozens of others like them. On another day in the same place I have had no luck at all.
The reality is you will miss the “decisive moment” more often than not, but the keepers are worth the effort.
Taking your time and retracing your steps can also net you good results. Repetition may seem counter productive, but often produces more refined and decisive images. Light, expectations, people and moods change. I bet, even if you went to the same place every day for a year, you would have difficulty emulating previous results, so it follows that you will get different ones.
Taken on our first trip to Japan, but only noticed days into our stay and taken from the bed in the hotel room, this image was the first featured on this blog page.
Gear and Technique
As with portraiture, small size (especially low profile) and responsiveness are key. When you are “in the zone”, images will come intuitively and pretty much instantly so don’t complicate things. Half a second is often the difference between a so-so or no image and a keeper. I often find the first couple of days of intensive shooting are a bit jittery, then I settle and it comes more naturally. Conversely, as the trip wears on, I become less aware of some things and more in tune with others.
Manually pre-focussing using the zone focus* technique cuts down on misses and wasted time, but only works for shorter lenses and working distances.
Setting the exposure manually can also be useful in tricky light**.
The minimum shutter speed needed to avoid blur when photographing on the move is 1/125 or 1/250th although your own mileage may vary. Generally the wider the lens the slower your possible shutter speed.
An example of the even handed depth of field treatment possible with the zone focus method (17mm lens, f5.6 manually focussed at about 5ft).
Some lenses have useful Bokeh characteristics that could be called old fashioned. Instead of offering fast and silky depth of field drop off, they create elongated-coherent transition, which is a real boon for street grab shots. The Olympus 17mm f1.8 and 14-42 kit lenses and the older Canon 35 f2 and 28 f1.8 lenses are some that I have found share these characteristics. The Panasonic 20mm f1.7 on the other hand shows the more modern fast drop away Bokeh style, that looks nice for portraits, but highlights focus errors.
Fixed focal length lenses or zooms with the focal length pre-selected remove the temptation to re-compose by zooming before the image is taken. If you have time is fine after the initial image then have another go, but not before taking the first shot.
Usually the favoured focal length for on the fly grab shots is from 28 to 50mm (full frame equivalent) depending on the average shooting distance and style desired, but if you want to reinvent the wheel, go for it. Sometimes a short telephoto for candid portrait shots covers all bases.
What you want to be able to do is see>shoot in one fluid action.
This was the first of several images made. A split second later the elements changed totally. This is also a good example of the benefits of manual exposure technique (set for the light in the main street).
Lifting the camera to the eye is not often possible or even desirable. The 5+ foot view is only one way of seeing the world and is often not the ideal one. It also advertises your intent. Shooting high or low or from the hip are all legitimate points of view. Indeed, some view the slightly lower angle of view to be more natural. Flip screen cameras can help here.
Shooting from just above waist high made this scene neutrally balanced without unnatural perspective.
Try to avoid editing in the field. Sometimes a near miss becomes a favourite, or at least the best you have to work with.
Crimping (reviewing your image immediately after taking) can also break your flow. Looking later is fine (we all do it), but what is taken is taken, don’t let it effect your chance of getting the next image.
Cropped too tightly on the right and the extra arm on the frame edge is “messy”, but after cropping square to balance the image better, the elements first responded to (blue/white/blue/white/blue) get a chance.
The Urban Landscape
Urban landscape has more recently become a recognised form of street imaging. Photographers such as Joel Sternfeld, Stephen Shore and Gregory Crewdson have carved a solid and defined niche out of the general umbrella of street.
They are not the first, as very early equipment meant you could only capture landscape style street shots. Eugene Atget (1857-1927) is possibly the first recognised street photographer, well before the title was coined.
It is also possible to further sub-divide this category into on the fly urban grunge and fine art traditional landscape. The one thing this form has in common is intentionally marginalising people by either removing them from the image or using them only as landscape elements. The point is to tell the story of people through the places we inhabit.
Most of us take images that can be classed as urban landscape, especially as the “filler” or context images used to flesh out a longer story.
These images have the same poignancy as regular landscapes, but come from completely the opposite perspective.
Gear and Technique
This one has no easy answer. Most will take static scenes on the go, but for others, the traditional kit of big camera, tripod and as much time as it takes are more comfortable.
Gear I Use
The Bag.
Even if I am not using much gear, I still carry a bag for the times when you need to put the camera away, have other lens or camera options if needed or for the you may need/accumulate over a day. Most of my street imaging is made while travelling, so preparation for changing weather, possible purchases and the odd snack or water bottle have to be considered.
It is fine to take a wide variety of gear on a trip, but don’t leave the hotel with more than a basic working kit.
They are all shoulder bags for maximum access, but can be slung high on the back for comfort.
Some of the contenders over the years. All have a separate bought camera insert inside, but are often used as is, with lens bags and an ever useful “lucky” scarf to protect gear. All are comfortable, none have “camera bag” written on them and generally have a lower profile than squarish, over padded camera bags. Others I have used are the Filson field or field camera bags, Domke F3x, F5x and F2 and TT Turnstyle 10L bags (see reviews in Bags and Books), but these are less useful for general haulage.
Camera gear may vary, but my core kit has become quite tight lately. Often my gear angst (documented) has been unbearable for my wife and I, but generally becomes irrelevant when I actually get there. Over the last couple of years it has really only been a struggle between weight and depth.
The core kit is a shadow of my available resources. The Pen mini (or an OMD) is on a 60” Gordy strap that reaches to my hip and does not limit fast movement. This is the right hand camera, usually used with zone focus and from the hip or at chest level. Nobody takes this one very seriously, letting me blend in. The 17mm lens has excellent Bokeh characteristics for street photography and an accurate manual focus range scale with easy application. At night I will shoot wide open with AF. The results from this little combo can surprise me still.
The OMD (camera varies) has a small strap on the left side, as this is the left hand or up-to-the-eye/waist level quick candid portrait camera. This one is used with a longer lens (40-150 or 45 depending on the light), and auto focus. The bigger form factor is ok because of longer working distances, but really it is not a big rig. I have removed anything that is unlikely to stay put such as the pesky eye cup.
This setup frees my natural right hand easily for other things and can be ready in an instant. I found a long time ago that having a camera bound to my right hand limits my options.
Processes.
Most of my images are taken while walking at a slow and considered pace. Sometimes I will loiter, often at a point of sublime light or stimulating traffic flow, but generally I keep moving.
I cannot explain what makes me react to an image, it just simply feels like it may happen.
The elements that tend to attract me are;
Light. Contrasty, dramatic, mysterious,
Convergences or divergence of groups of people,
Quiet moments,
Interactions, as genuine as possible,
Symbols of humanity, be they present or not.
Sometimes two or three separate things happening at once in the same image.
One of my favourite images and the image that woke me up to the “stolen moments” many Japanese take in a busy day. The different elements in the rear, the deep contrast and the angle all add to the feeling of separation.
I hope this (my) perspective has shed some light for you on a vibrant and challenging form of photography. The lessons learned here are often applicable to all other forms as well.
*Focussing at a point most likely to be ideal then letting depth of field do the rest, in this case 2 meters at f5.6 on a micro 43 camera which nets me about 1 to 5 meters in focus with a 25mm lens).
**Manual metering is applied like this; Decide on the light that is important to you (usually the majority or lighter area). Put the camera into manual mode and set the desired settings to expose correctly in that light (live view on an SLR will preview this). Once set, the camera will always expose the selected light properly, even if the camera’s light meter is screaming at you to change settings.
Without setting exposure manually for the light hitting the street, the camera was likely to over react to the shadowy areas of the image, resulting in a lighter, less moody (and accurate) image. Light meters are incredible devices, but are easily tricked as they read light reflecting off the subject which may vary from image to image. The reality is, light falling onto the subject is usually consistent, but reflection and shadow variations are not.