Street Photography Tips

According to Wikipedia, street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and other settings.

Street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding up a mirror to society. Street photography often tends to be ironic and can be distanced from its subject matter, and often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment.

Now, walking down the street and shooting with a camera in tow is already street photography by any means. But, the challenge is to raise the bar and create art pieces that matter. For last Saturday’s Tagbilaran Group Worldwide Photowalk, we walked the streets of Tagbilaran from the plaza to the K of C wharf. For the local walkers, especially the first-timers, it was a real challenge to take.

Top Tips

Scanning through last year’s photowalk winners, I sorted out what the judges were looking for. Most of the photos were street photographs and were amazingly outstanding pictures, too!

1. Light matters. Light sets the mood whether harsh, poignant, fun, gloomy or mysterious. The mood creates the canvas for which the other elements can be comfortably framed in. Usually, light has to be directional. It may come from the side, left, right or from the back of the subjects. A lighting situation where shadows are casted and light dramatically slithers through the scene can be pretty amazing.
2. Color. Color if used wisely is always a winning element. Whether the red-orange sky or a cobalt blue wall or the yellow head wrap of a girl walking down the street shot in close-up, colors play mind tricks and sucks in the eyes of the viewer never straying.
3. Shapes and Textures. These elements formed through smart lighting and color choices create the characters of the photo narrative. Look for shadows, contrasts, exciting geometric shapes and interesting textures to make your photos come alive.
4. Street Life. Whether in an urban or rural street setting, life on the street offers a lot of subjects to shoot. From the street vendor, to the busy shoppers, to the poor beggars or the rushing yuppy hoard in a late afternoon traffic rush, street life is always alive and bursting. That is why you can never get bored with street photography. There just simply are a lot of things and people to shoot!
5. Moments. Henry Cartier Bresson, a celebrated street photographer and photojournalist, calls this the decisive moment. In the sporadic, random and busy milieu of the streets, it is up for the photographer to “call the shots”. The decisive moment of when to press the shutter and capture a scene for posterity is a skill that needs to be honed by all street photographers. One second early or late, the moment is gone as well as the perfect picture.

Happy shooting!

(For questions and comments regarding this column, please email me at ryanmacalandag@yahoo.com or look me up on Facebook. We are conducting regular basic and advanced photography workshops through Sideroom Workshops. Please visit www.facebook.com/sideroom to inquire.)