The London Festival of Photography defines Street Photography as “…un-posed, un-staged photography which captures, explores or questions contemporary society and the relationships between individuals and their surroundings”. It has been suggested that Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, amongst others, are the fathers of Street Photography. Research Street Photography and produce work based on your observations of individuals and their surroundings.

This definition is one that I mostly agree with. I believe that street photography should definitely explore contemporary society and the relationships between individuals and their surroundings, which can be achieved with an impromptu (un-staged) setting. A staged photograph, e.g. Review by Andreas Gursky (https://www.andreasgursky.com/en/works/2015/rueckblick), definitely presents different emotions to the viewer than a photo taken while one is actually in the act of doing something, like reviewing a painting. Said elicitation of different emotions is what I think really defines street photography.

My definition of street photography:

“Street photography is capturing an unstaged action or emotion, which typically is done by taking un-posed, un-staged photographs. This style of photography, as its name suggests, often takes place in urban areas and streets and explores themes in contemporary society.” – Jack, 2024