Introduction to Street Photography

I define street photography as photographs that capture authentic gestures and scenes in order to tell stories.

Techniques

Based on the Unit Introduction PowerPoint, I chose five street photography techniques I wanted to practice on our hutong trip, in addition to the original six skills.

The original six techniques are “the decisive moment,” working the scene, fishing, capturing gestures, getting close, and making eye contact.

“The Decisive Moment.” This technique was popularized by Henri-Cartier Bresson. It requires perfect timing for an unplanned event that allows the audience to see the event’s significance. It is the spontaneous moment where everything in the frame lines up perfectly.

Working the Scene. Essentially, working the scene means taking multiple photos from one angle, location, or of one object. This is done to have a selection of images to choose from, a minimum of 1000 photos total.

Fishing. This technique involves staying in one place and people-watching to capture various people, gestures, and interactions. As a result, there should be a wide variety of photographs to choose from. Photos often search for a “decisive moment,” however, sometimes it is essential to let these moments come to you. Slowly, people will ignore you, allowing you to take an authentic photograph.

Capturing Gesturing. Gestures can be facial expressions, hand movements, or someone slumped at a cafe doing work. It is essential to capture gestures as they can convey various emotions, creating an interesting photograph. Sometimes, framing is sacrificed to capture exciting and unique gestures. Gestures can also create lines and dynamic movement and draw the eye to different areas of the photograph.

Getting Really Close. Getting close requires a one-arm length distance (70-100 cm) away from a person or subject. This forces the photographer to build confidence in their photography and become intimate with their subject. It also causes interesting gestures and expressions from subjects and captures objects in an interesting manner.

Eye Contact. In order to take pictures in which the subject looks directly at the camera, it is important to get directly in front of the subject and frame the shot to create a candid look. Often, photographers wait until the subject spots them then snap a photo, in order to create an unaware and genuine reaction.

Additionally, I chose the five techniques of focusing on the background, lines and dynamics, juxtaposing directions, out-of-place objects, and focusing on depth to practice on our field trip next week.

Focus on Background. Whilst looking through many examples of street photography, I found photos with an interesting background made a very powerful picture. I like the framing that most photographers have when they focus on a scene in an image, and I think the background of a picture would help convey ideas regarding China’s culture and people. I think focusing on the background will highlight the area around 后海 Lake as well.

Lines and Dynamics and Juxtaposing Directions. This technique involves moving the audience’s eye and focus throughout the picture. Lines and dynamics create movement and motion within a photo, as well as directing the eye to a subject. Juxtaposing directions allow the picture to be more interesting and appeasing to the eye in comparison to a static image. I think these two techniques will elevate photography in 后海 Lake by conveying the busy life many experience throughout China.

Out-of-Place Objects. I find this concept the most interesting one, as it is merely taking photos of things that are unusual in the area. I think this technique is probably the most fun, as it creates amusing and thought-provoking questions, as well as a story. For example, Robert Doisneau’s photograph in which he found a man holding an umbrella over his cello. This image is funny and makes you question what exactly the man was doing and why he values his cello case being dry rather than himself. Unusual things can also be shooting through glass, or focusing on reflections and shadows, both of which I think create interesting and original photographs.

Inspiration: Sally Davies

I have chosen Sally Davies to be my inspiration for street photography as her framing and attention to background are remarkable. I enjoy the normality in the setting that she uses as well as the clear, to-the-point style of photography. Her simple ideas of capturing what she sees whilst paying attention to colours in a scene create coordination. Furthermore, I think that the setting of 后海 Lake is perfect, as it is filled with small storefronts, bicycles and culture. I want to recreate the clear, parallel framing that Davies uses, and aim to highlight the culture of China, its people, and its everyday life.