"IMHO": The Joys Of Street Photography

The Joys of Street Photography
by Turerkan Ince



     This is the first issue of a new series (see the note at the end of the article). Before we begin, I want to apologise for my English, as you know I’m not a natural with that language.

     In this article I will talk about street photography, my main style in photography. I will try to define street photography and cover some important points about street shooting. The article will be accompanied by a fine selection of my street photography. I hope you will enjoy viewing them. Let's get going:)


Man standing on a bridge, watching the scenery. He might be feeling very peaceful, what do you think? Many street photographs lead the viewer to think about the scene and try to understand the feelings of subjects.

     1. What is street photography?

     One thing you should know about street photography is, it’s not about the streets! It’s about the life that’s found on the street, or anywhere else. If I was given the chance to redefine it, I would call this style “Life Photography”. Another misconception about street photography is confusing it with candid photography. While most of the street photographs feature people in candid moments, there are a lot of candid photos which can't be categorised as street photography.



This photograph was not taken on the street. It was taken in a beach, from top of a lifeguard's tower, yet it can be qualified as a street photograph.


     The main prerequisite for street photography is appreciation for life and a keen eye for small details. Life is everywhere, on the streets, inside the buildings, on the air and even beneath the ground. Life is a motion, an evolution, it constantly changes from one thing to another, it doesn't stay put and that is one of the most basic properties of life. So, surrounding us, we have a world that is constantly evolving, moving, singing and dancing. A street photographer is a mere guy that enjoys listening to the tunes of life, and by chance happens to have a camera at his hand. What he tries to accomplish is, using his medium of photography which by definition can only produce lifeless images, capture the motion, the evolution of life. He tries to put in more than a regular photo can take. If he is successful, the motionless photo will somehow be telling a story, story of a small fragment from life.



Looking at this photo, you can find yourself thinking about those road workers, the difficulties they face in their daily work and the hard lives they go through.


     The joy of street photography is not only obtaining the end result, but also the moments you experience on the way to getting the end result. You will go to places which you wouldn't, meet people, make discussions that you could never imagine -- sometimes in a bizarre way, sometimes positively. When you come home from your street photography trip, your soul will be satisfied. With a camera in your hand, and an eye looking for those fragments of life, you will notice and make memories of those small and subtle beauties which are, seriously, everywhere. I suggest every photographer to at least try doing some street photography and see if it appeals to them. If yes, you shouldn't miss the fun!



You can get very surprising reactions when you point a camera at people!


     2. How it is done?

     It is done with a camera! This is the only clear rule about street photography; the rest is up to you. Famous photographers from the golden era of street photography (such as Henri Cartier Bresson) used black and white film. This lead some people to believe street photography should be done in black and white. This is not true, at those times they had b/w film available so they used it. Today we have color as an option, and we can use it as well. Personally I prefer to have all my photos in color.

     There are some skills required -- the most important one is speed. You need good reflexes and ability to quickly react when a photographic opportunity appears. Because the perfect moment you need to capture is mostly very short and you don't get warned beforehand. Don't spend time to decide, just lift the camera up to your eye as quick as you can, don't get stuck with focusing for long, sort out the composition meanwhile and seek the moment. On most occasions you are already late when you are ready to shoot. If you are not, then you have overcome all the technical difficulties and now face the artistic challenge of capturing a good picture. At this stage we will need another skill.



Moments like this are priceless. You must react fast enough or nobody else than you will get the chance to see it.

     This one is a bit hard to define with a word, the best one I could come up with is 'perception'. We all can focus or compose through the viewfinder, but the street photographer needs to do one more thing; to perceive the scene as it is real. Make an emotional connection with the subjects, empathise their feelings and observe their evolution. This is required to find the right moment, the “decisive moment” as Henri Cartier Bresson put it. If you look at the viewfinder as if it’s a picture (something landscape photographers are probably used to) you will lose contact with your subjects, and as a result will not be able to pick a special moment of them apart from the others. You'll click the shutter at a random time and get funny facial expressions. Only the photographer that can see and feel through the viewfinder can sense the 'decisive moment'.



See the hands of the kid at work, and the old man behind reaching to his pocket, probably to get the lighter. The relation between the kid and the man is emphasised by those actions. Another photo taken a second later would not carry the same feeling.


     Apart from requiring some skill on photographer’s side, street photography also takes some courage -- simply because of the fact that you will be shooting people in their daily life. You may experience lots of doubts about to take or not to take the shot. In the beginning you will be shy, this is normal. After some time, you will realise that people are actually friendly, and doesn't mind their pictures being taken. This is for serious, you will be amazed when you discover this and will probably have a more positive view about society afterwards. I'm saying this because it actually happened to me!


     3. Equipment

     You are not limited in your choice of equipment. Almost anything will do, including small compact cameras to a bulky DSLR. If you are using auto focus, then I suggest you learn how to use it well. A lens with a high focusing speed is a big bonus. I prefer manual focusing personally. The decision is very personal so you shouldn't be affected by my choice.

     Do you need a large aperture lens? Mostly not, at least for day time street photography. In daylight, getting enough shutter speed will not be an issue and DOF control is not a high priority in street photographer's book. While you can use any focal length for street photography, you must rule out long telephotos for practical reasons. Any focal length between super wide to short telephoto is ok. Use of prime lenses is very common in street photography. Also many street photographers prefer normal lenses (refer to the Knowledge Base on normal lenses) for their natural perspective which gives the photo a more realistic look.

     In addition, we held a poll about lenses for street photography and the results are archived in our Knowledge Base in case you would like to learn more.


     4.External Sources

     Street Photography on Wikipedia
     Street Photography tutorial on Lumnious Landscape
     Magnum Photos, home of many famous street photographers.

An innovation for Dyxum, this is the first of what initially be a monthly series. We will be coercing or cajoling other members to write future articles -- call them think-pieces or editorials -- covering a wide range of topics. Some will be personal opinion, others will be of the same type as Turerkan has provided here. Enjoy, and hopefully be inspired -- if not, at least we may raise your aspirations.         - brettania

Edited by Kiklop - 16 April 2010 at 00:44

and a little bit more:

Street photgraphy

One of the best collection of examples:

In public

The Decisive Moment (by H-C.B.)

mipr, do you even need permission if you do not make any money from the image?

Nice article Turerkan.

Nice writing Turerkan, like your interpretation of things.

thanks for the positive remarks:)

mipr: its too bad to hear that. BUT, if we had such a law in turkey, that wouldn't stop me from shooting.

is someone going to sue me for shooting them? how?.. doesn't make sense!

Cool write up Turerkan!

The laws concerning photography in public places can vary from country to country, but as Turerkan says, street photography doesn't need to be in a street.

Our members have said that among the styles of shooting, their top two "weak points" are potraiture and street photography (see poll result here).

This well-thought out article deserves the attention of just about all in the Dyxum community. Read it and go shooting!

-

Edited by brettania - 14 September 2007 at 02:19