Trying to define 'Street Photography' for me

I do quite a lot of street. I usually say that it is street if you feel you are part of the scene. to schieve that you need to be close to your subject, so shooting with 24mm on a crop is something I love as I really need to get into the scene I want to capture (and helps to grow your balls as well :P )

You can check some street work I've done here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ikirlappos/
 
birrew said:
stunning photo's hopefully mine can get like that at some stage
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Two things to improve your street photos:
- Check out other street photographers (there are many groups on Flickr)
- Make sure you have a camera with you all the time. you'll see your photos improving much more quicker
 
Some nice shots there, but a lot of them don't say "street" to me. Like the ones where you simply grabbed a quick shot through a window of someone sitting in there ... they're not exactly exciting 'street' images, no offence. It's a lot harder take candids out in the open, not shooting through windows as you pass by - others in the set seem to be shot 'from the hip' - a technique I consider a bit weak, and sneaky. If you're going for candids, you got to be brave, engage - not hide and click as you pass. It's easy to tell at times.
 
Street portraits I would call them.

Your slideshow is cutting some heads off on some images btw
 
Can i just ask the OP that if you don't think what you shot was "Street", then what do you think it is, it's not landscape, or architecture (ok, maybe the first one is), or portrait

As has been said many times, it is all "Street" photography, just some are better than others, surely this is the same as any category of photography
 
rpsmith79 said:
Can i just ask the OP that if you don't think what you shot was "Street", then what do you think it is, it's not landscape, or architecture (ok, maybe the first one is), or portrait

As has been said many times, it is all "Street" photography, just some are better than others, surely this is the same as any category of photography
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I thought I had explained my thinking clearly throughout this thread - but apparently not :(

Dave
 
I can see what you class as Street, but what is a photo of a guy on the street that doesn't fulfill your criteria?

To me, any candid photo of people on a street/cafe etc is what i would call "Street"

I only read the first 3 pages and the last page, but couldn't see anything, hence asking the question, i'm not being arsey, i'm genuinely intrigued as i sometimes find it hard to catagorise some of my own work
 
People are still getting hung up on difference between good and bad rather than whether it is in a category.
Again, a bad landscape shot is still a landscape shot. You cannot say it is not a landscape shot just because you don't like it just as any shot taken in the street is a street shot (good or bad).
A shot doesn't need to be of a certain quality or to your liking to be in that category.
 
From what I can make out 95% of the time "street" = a fairly dull picture of someone not doing much with a laboured supporting explanation. But in a street.
 
exactly, the 5% is the good stuff which is very hard to actually get (right time, right place combined with composition etc,.)
 
ivandobski said:
From what I can make out 95% of the time "street" = a fairly dull picture of someone not doing much with a laboured supporting explanation. But in a street.
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that's defining a bad street photgrapher though, someone who doesn't know how to showcase their best work, and instead wants to upload everything.

I reckon for every roll of film I shoot street with, I'm lucky to get one decent shot that I'm genuinely happy with.

iced_jacob said:
Two things to improve your street photos:
- Check out other street photographers (there are many groups on Flickr)
- Make sure you have a camera with you all the time. you'll see your photos improving much more quicker
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I'd argue that using flickr isn't the best way to view street photography, whilst there is the odd good photo, the majority (inlcuding my own) are average at best.

Photography books are where to look, if you wish to seek high quality street work.
 
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Everyone has, and should have, their own version of "street" - I don't shoot enough of it I feel, I'm just lazy about it. I have no issues going out and banging away on a murky street when the mood takes me. Here's a few I deem "street" from my own humble collection, feel free to disagree:


The right idea by Cagey75, on Flickr



Chillin' by Cagey75, on Flickr



Sing up by Cagey75, on Flickr



Manchester rain by Cagey75, on Flickr



Street killer! by Cagey75, on Flickr



Get a room by Cagey75, on Flickr
 
Difficult to define.

I see it as walking around being an opportunistic photographer. Sometimes can be a bit distasteful for me (taking photos of the less fortunate and trying to put it to the world as of the creator was doing something good and similar shots to that nature).

I guess it's taking shots of strangers ultimately... well that's how I see it anyway.

I've tried a few times just taking shots of strangers and I can never connect with it. No idea why, just doesn't do anything for me.

I can appreciate a good shot or something that really does tell a story but I rarely connect with it.
 
I rarely ever take pics of homeless/beggars/needy. I'm with you on that front. I mean, I have done, when you're out in a city it's hard not to, but I've always, Always! given them something - and very rarely ever even used the end shot. It just isn't me.

Looking at my own shots I guess I like a bit of dark humour, maybe.

The guy with the brolly was motoring along, nayr a bother - and there's the guy incoming with a T-shirt on! that was Manchester, sure ye'r all mental over there :D - The 2 guys chatting on the steps were aware I was shooting right at them, didn't phase them, they were beggars, and I went over and gave them a few euro right after - The wee guy that looks lost in the crowd was singing his heart out - I don't think I captured that well. Often it is your own memory of the scene that makes it feel more than it probably is in the end. I get that. The guy with the mini sword, well, he was a random punter pulled out from the crowd by a street performer, again, not obvious, but made a good photo I thought. The last one, well, as someone posted under it on flickr said Canon guy gets the girls again :D which I thought funny, though my "get a room"title said enough.

It's about capturing moments, that happen, on the street ... timeless they should be, which is why I prefer B&W for such images.
 
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:thinking:

They don't have to be timeless at all Cagey. for me its important they are contemporary documentary as well as street. so I prefer colour and modern processing styles.

Its not about moments that happen in the street as i see it, its about 'the street being caught in the moment' so you can shoot street anywhere, as long as the intent is to capture a street type story within the shot, then it must be street.

Street is a genre not a location.
 
Simon photo said:
the book, street photography now is pretty awe inspiring
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Thanks, I'll check it out.

this week I picked up a couple of books by Jon Gutmann. Worth checking out if anyones interested, some very nice images from 1930's America, and some during WW2.

Bruce Davidson's subway is still my favourite street book.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
:thinking:

They don't have to be timeless at all Cagey. for me its important they are contemporary documentary as well as street. so I prefer colour and modern processing styles.

Its not about moments that happen in the street as i see it, its about 'the street being caught in the moment' so you can shoot street anywhere, as long as the intent is to capture a street type story within the shot, then it must be street.

Street is a genre not a location.
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For me, I just prefer black and white. I did mention earlier it's your own take on it that really matters. I shoot some colour street too.
 
I generally prefer black and white but especially for street shots as it masks the complete mess of colour from adverts, shop fronts etc,. that detract from the shot.
 
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