For this street photographer unit, I am selecting Lee Friedlander as my inspiration. This is because his photos have a lot of variety, whether the photo’s subject is a person, place, or thing. However, his works are mostly in black and white, but I hope to have photos in both black and white and color.
👆 Photo from The American Monument, published 1976
👆 New York City, 1971
In street photography, there are many moments that are captured within very short amount of times, so photographers must develop the ability to take a photo before or during the event/moment that happens.
👆 ‘Street Hunters’ by Mark Darbin, 2016
2. Work the scene – don’t just take the photo
Over a period of time, “the decisive moment” can also be captured within tens, hundreds, or even thousands of photos, and they must be selected carefully. It is near impossible for the perfect moment to be captured within one photo.
👆 Emily Allen’s contact sheet for decisive moments, 2014
3. Don’t move – The fishing technique
It is important for a street photographer to be able to stay in one place and take photos around them, like in an interesting corner or busy street.
👆 Henri Cartier-Bresson’s bicycle shot, 1932
4. Capture Gestures
To capture strong emotions, facial expression, eye contact, body movement can all contribute to the emotion of a photo.
5. Get close – one arm’s length
Moving close to the subject during street photography not only enhances the emotion of the people/things, it also builds confidence in the photographer, especially when they’re afraid to take photos. It is important that photographers aren’t scared to take their photo.
👆 Hollywood, 2011
6. Eye contact
👆 Trolley, New Orleans by Robert Frank, 1955
7. Framing
If framing is performed successfully, the photo becomes mysterious and evokes a story-like thought in the viewer of the photo.
👆 Katsura Villa Portfolio, Yasuhiro Ishimoto
8. High contrast color/tones
On sunny days, photographers are able to create photos with high contrast with the needed amount of light in the environment, which makes the photo spark and pop to the viewer.
👆 Untitled by Mike McCawley
