ARTICLE-STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Street photography is a very popular genre that we all, more or less practice. But the genre also causes a lot of discussion about content and definition. Here I’ll give my own thoughts about street photography influenced by what I’ve read and discussed with others.
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The photographs, shown here as examples and spices to all these dry words, were taken in Stockholm by my wife Henny.
The Encyclopedia Brittanica does a good job of defining street photography:
“Street photography (SP), a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place”.
There must be some rules and a definition. You may argue that a definition is limiting, and you don’t want to be limited. Some people mean that there shouldn’t be a definition of street photography. Rules and definition can change over time. Everything evolves. Don’t be resistant to change. But you can be a travel photographer, a documentary photographer, a portrait photographer or a fine art photographer – so why not a street photographer.
Some people have tried to change the name to “Candid Public Photography”, Street photography is more easily spoken, and we must live with that, I think.
My favorite kind of photography is candid unarranged photography with people not being aware of being photographed, but to me street portraits and cityscapes are also a kind of SP. I like a broad definition with presence of parts of life is enough, but there is no need for direct presence of humans. The photograph does not need to be taken on a street, just on a public space.
SP can isolate and capture moments which might otherwise go unnoticed. It is a way to tell voyeurs of your photo what you have felt and seen in a certain moment.
I do not have a social or political message on purpose in my photos, but it can be interpreted so. My aim is to isolate and capture moments which might otherwise go unnoticed. Most of my photos are taken when I walk around the streets, and I first see them when I return home.
For me it is about our observations and is unique to each of us. It’s about the things that make us curious, that we find interesting, beautiful or funny, that we decide to capture. You can put a group of street photographers in one location, and they will all notice something different or at least interpret it differently unless you place them close to each other.
Candid doesn’t mean people are not aware of being photographed. There can be eye contact, but I rarely contact a person and ask for a portrait and afterwards use the photo as SP.
I think a part of the discussion about the definition of street photography is caused by the word street. Just a photograph of a street without a human appearance might be boring. So, there must be added a kind of life or human presence.
When I walk around in the streets I try to fade into street life. I dress neutrally and try not to be noticed more than necessary. I don’t hide and steal my photos, and I rarely shoot from the hip. The only form of stealing I sometimes use is when I after having taken the photo keep the camera to the eye.
I’m not a shy person, and I love social contact with other people, and I can advise you to do the same. If you are a bit shy yourself, you can practice it to disappear.
From my street photography life, I’ll tell you a couple of examples from Stockholm.
On the main street I noticed a situation with a father wearing his child on his arm. I took my camera to the eye, the father noticed me and turned around, and when I passed him, he said that I could have asked first. I answered, “yes I could, but then you would have been posing for me”. He understood that. I did not take a photo because the mood and the situation were gone.
As a street photographer that’s often a problem when you disturb people’s privacy. If you are dedicated like me, you have to shoot. When people afterwards complain my behavior, I show them the image and tell them why I took it, and most times they accept it. Otherwise, I offer to delete it even if it hurts.
On the same trip to Stockholm, I noticed a young man at a bus station with a neck tattoo. I have told you that I shoot first and eventually ask afterwards. But this situation was different. I couldn’t just line up one meter from him, pointing my camera at his neck taking a photo. I said to my wife that I wouldn’t take the photo. She said: “Why don’t you just go and ask him. The worst thing that can happen is a no”. That helped me, I contacted him and asked for a photo of his neck. He said yes and I got my photo. By the way he was from Australia and a tourist like me, and not a local.
