Street photography techniques

decisive moment

The decisive moment is that one fleeting click of the shutter when all the chaos of life in front of you suddenly comes together into a perfect, balanced picture. It ain’t just about capturing an action, it’s about geometry and feeling and human gesture all colliding at the exact same time, creating a story that feels both spontaneous and natural.

Close-up

A close-up shot isolates an object, drawing the audience’s attention to its specific texture, wear, and materiality. By filling the frame, it transforms an ordinary item into a subject of significance, revealing the stories embedded in its scratches, wear, and form. This intimate perspective focuses on the quiet details often overlooked, highlighting how objects serve as extensions of the people and the environment they inhabit.

Visual element – Lighting

Lighting sculpts a scene, defining its mood and dimension. Hard light creates stark contrasts and sharp shadows for a dramatic, graphic feel. Soft light wraps gently around subjects, revealing subtle textures with a quieter, more intimate tone.

Layers

It build depth and complexity within the two-dimensional frame of a photograph. By strategically composing a beforeground, middle ground, and background, you add different depth to the image and creates seperation between the backgorund and the foreground. This separation adds a sense of volume and space, making the image feel immersive.

Concentrate on framing

To concentrate on framing is to carefully define the boundaries of your photograph, deciding on what to include and, just as importantly, what to exclude. It is the conscious arrangement of visual elements within the four edges of the image. This process involves observingthe background to eliminate distractions and paying close attention to the edges of the frame, ensuring that no unintended elements creep in to break the composition’s integrity. Effective framing directs the viewer’s eye and strengthens the photograph’s narrative focus, transforming a random snapshot into a deliberate and compelling statement.

Focusing on background

Focusing on the background is a critical aspect of photography. A disorganised or distracting background can compete with your subject and weaken the image’s purpose and story. By consciously assessing the background before taking the shot, you are able to ensure it complements the main point of focus. A clean, simple background isolates the subject, giving it prominence, while a background with relevant context can add layers of meaning to the narrative.

My plan for the hutong is to be quiet and watchful. I want to capture the everyday China. Not the big monuments, but the small moments. The real life happening in those old alleyways.

I will focus on how people live with their environment. How the hutong is not just bricks, but a home.

I will use only my phone, so I don’t disturb the peace. My goal is to blend into the street, to become a part of it. I plan to find a spot and just sit, to watch everyday life unfold around me. When people get used to you being there, they forget about you. And that is when the real moments happen.

I am looking for those interactions between people and their space. A bicycle leaning against a wall with peeling paint. Clothes drying on a line, telling a story of the family inside. The way a grandmother’s hand rests on the stone doorway, smooth from years of touch. I want to find the children’s toys left on the ground and the steam from a kitchen window.

My goal is to find the beauty in the ordinary. To show a China that is alive and breathing. I am not there to take a picture. I am there to see, and to hopefully understand a little piece of this life.

•What makes a particular photograph a portrait?

A photo of a subject that goes beyond being just a simple head shot, it should be able to represent that certain subject’s stories, culture, and experience.

•Are Selfies Portraits?

In my opinion, it depends on the quality and intention of the photo, instead of how the photo is taken, if the photo taken from a selfie is able to represent all the qualities stated in the question above then i think it is a portrait.

•What should or shouldn’t be included within a portrait?

A portrait should depict a individual’s head, down to their shoulders. The enitre face should be in the frame of the photo, and the subject’s face should be depicted clearly. Another thing is that the emphasize should be on the subject, instead of the enviroment. which means that portraits often have only plain or minimally decorated back ground to accentuate the person.

•What makes a “good portrait?”

A good portrait should be able to accurately represent the subject and the photo should include details that tells the audience information about the subject, such as his emotions, his story, or his culture.

•Can a portrait consist of a small detail only, such as a close-up of a hand?

No, the main point of the portrait is to accentuate the subject’s face along with other features such as their hair style and clothing being less dominant. While the face is not the only way to represent someone, the point of the portrait is still supposed to capture mainly the face.

•When does a more abstracted representation cease to become a portrait – for example a blurred figure, or a photograph of a person that has been torn, ripped or faded?

When the subject stops being the main subject of the photo. Abstraction could help in ways such as making the portrait more expressive, but any abstraction that goes beyond that or takes the spotlight from the individual depicted affects whether the photo can still be considered a portrait.

•Is it possible to represent a person photographically without them being present in the image – for example, through a Still-life, an arrangement of inanimate of objects? And if so, can this continue to be called a portrait?

If the series of inanimate object is able to portray the individual that you want to capture, then of course, it could be technically considered a portrait. It more about your intention, because if the image is able to represent and capture a subject’s identity, then it is as good as any portrait of someone’s upper body.

•Does a portrait have to be a single photograph? How about a sequence of images?

If a series of images is required in order to properly tell the the identity and storeis of a subject you are trying represent, then it is allowed. but it still cannot be considered a single portrait.

My statement of intent:

Capturing subject’s authentic and unguarded interaction with their natural environment, and immerse my photographs into the rhythm of the street. The photographs will capture subjects in the immediate moment of their emotions, which will be chaotic and intense.

My chosen artist: Bruce Gilden

Bruce Gilden’s photos often focuses on someone’s facial expression, and the shots seems to be taken close to the subject’s face. Most of his works is in black and white with high contrast, including the one shown above. He’s method to street photography is unapologetic and sometimes even considered rude, because he is known to use his camera flash to startle his subjects in order to capture their genuine, surprised expression.

man driving a carriage on a modernised road

two local man fascinated by the prescence of foreigners

Carriages and mopeds sharing a quiet road.

carriage driver enjoying his break with a cigarette on the back of his vehicle

Playing with highcontrast and shadows

Locals in fashionable attire

Strangers posing for the camera after spotting foreigners

Public service workers

Despite not being able to take shots using my intented methods, I was still able to get some photos that uses Bruce Gilden’s style of high contrast and black and white, and capturing the authentic and unguarded interaction with their enviroment. I wasnt able to get close up shots of people’s expressions, so instead I focused on creating a bigger picture that put more emphasize on the enviroment and the body language of the subject. Using this method, I captured people going through their everyday life and the background around them.

Street photography is the art of being a visual poet for the public stage. It is the practice of seeking out unscripted, human moments that reveal the emotions, actions, and connection inherent in everyday life. It’s about creating a meaningful story out of everyday life, using just a camera.