3 Mistakes that Keep you From Getting the Street Photos you Want

Do you ever feel like you aren’t getting the shots you would like as a street photographer?

This week’s YouTube video shares 3 mistakes or things you can do differently to prevent you missing the photos you want.

1. Walking too Fast - things happen in front of you, behind you, all around you when you are looking for a photograph. When you walk too fast you run the risk of missing out on something.

2. Not Staying Long enough in one spot - be patient, wait for things to develop. Even though you may have taken some photos in a spot, pay attention because if you linger a bit, something better may just materialize.

3. Don’t wear headphones - I love music and wearing headphones while I walk, but when I’m walking the streets with a [photography] purpose I don’t want to miss anything. A sound can tip you off to something happening around you that you can’t see. If the music prevents you from hearing, you may miss something good!

Definitely take a watch - and let me know what you think!

Advantages and disadvantages for film/digital street photography

Let me get the important stuff first. Film and digital both have a reason to be and neither is wrong if you want to use it. Neither are perfect but I’ll let you know now that even as an old film photographer, digital has some distinct advantages that are hard to ignore. 

Read on for the defense of film and the disadvantages of digital.

Let’s start with Film. First of all, when exposed properly (a matter of taste and preference) it is beautiful and hard to match. People shooting digital have for years tried to replicate the look of film and have rarely achieved it. There is something to it that’s hard to describe. 

Successfully shooting film feels like an achievement because, among other things, it’s lack of feedback. You don’t get to see it until much later. You have to develop a sense for it. You learn your camera in ways you don’t with newer digital cameras (because you don’t have to due to the instant feedback).

With film cameras you get to know the sound and feel of your camera when it functions correctly and when something doesn’t sound or feel right then you switch to your backup and bring the other to get checked. 

Film makes you more conscious of what you are photographing. Not only because it has become so expensive to both purchase and develop (now you usually scan it too for another small fortune) but because of there only being on average 36 exposures per roll. You don’t want to know the frustration of running out of film just as the action starts to pick up either between roll changes or running out of film all together. 

Due to the number of years and the amount of film I shot as a professional when digital wasn’t an option, I tend to shoot fewer exposures than my contemporaries who were brought up on digital. I do shoot far more than I would back in my film heyday but far fewer than many that I see now that have only ever had digital as a seemingly viable option. 

There is a whole wave of young photographers that are keeping film alive. Due to the economics of it, I don’t see film ever being inexpensive again. There just isn’t the demand. It’s also sad to see how few of the film stock options that were available when I started are still around due to the radically decreased consumption. 

Film makes you feel like a craftsman. A member of a small and cool club that most people can’t understand. 

Lastly, unless you develop and scan your own work, easy with black and white but far more difficult with color. I know you can develop color film at home but it’s more of a pain than Black and White to do. 

Oh, and let’s not forget printing. I personally LOVED the darkroom. Printing from my negatives was one of my favorite parts of the whole process. Again, black and white is much easier to print at home than color. 

Digital has none of film’s drawbacks. The cameras are more expensive (at least for professional grade cameras). 

With that out of the way, a single, reusable memory card can hold far more images than any size roll of film. It can be reused too. The savings in that alone are huge in a very short amount of time. 

Digital of course gives you instant feedback which by itself has made digital so much more popular and accessible to people that were intimidated by the seemingly technical aspects of film and the wait to find out if what you thought was a great set of images instead turns out to be completely awful due to reasons you may or may not recall. 

Digital cameras record most if not all of the information you need for extra insight as to why an image was either a success or a failure. 

Digital cameras now have greater exposure latitude than film, allowing for photos that could not have been created otherwise. 

Digital takes the steps of scanning and developing out of the way and lets you work on and view them almost immediately. 

The downsides are as follows (in my opinion), I feel the look of an unaltered digital image doesn’t come anywhere near the beauty of its properly exposed film counterpart. That’s completely subjective of course but it’s a subjective medium. Once the digital image has been massaged in post it can look amazing. Different from film based images but amazing nonetheless. 

Oh, don’t let me forget to mention how much easier it is to get through security at all airports when not having to ask for a hand inspection of all your film while the line behind you backs up.

Both film and digital are great choices for street photography. 

If it makes you happy then do more of it. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you there is only one way to do it. Use the camera, film, lens that gets you the results you desire. 

As a matter of practicality though, I would consider starting with digital if you are brand new to street photography. It’ll allow you to make way more mistakes while learning and then use what you know to jump to film. 

I am happy film isn’t dead but I do also really appreciate the conveniences of digital. 

The most important thing is just to get out, continue to make images and have fun.

Composition: The Definition con’t

[question I get asked alot: What software do I use to edit my photos?] I’ll start with a few that are well known and can be checked with Lightroom or Capture One Pro. I use capture One Pro for almost all of my work but Lightroom is a wonderful program and has more composition overlays so it’s a better option for compositional aid flexibility.

Let's start with the rule of thirds. It’s one of the easiest to learn and apply. It’s built into the display of most digital cameras and phone cams. It presents itself as a grid that annoys people that don’t know what it is. It lays across your image as a grid with two vertical and two horizontal lines. These section the image into thirds, going up and across.

The main idea is to place your points of interest on any of those lines and avoid the very center for placement of the main subject. Placement on the intersecting points is kind of extra credit. The idea behind this (and pretty much all the rules) is to give the brain a little workout.

The brain likes things to be easy. Once it’s figured out what’s going on it wants to move on to the next thing. Continuously looking at something when the brain is tapping its foot and wanting to move on is boring. With that in mind, the brain directs the eyes to certain points in any scene first. If it finds what it’s looking for there then it self satisfying wants to get on to the next thing. The points it sends the eyes to first are the center, and then to what is different. The center is obvious and what most of this is about but the concept of difference is interesting. If the image is predominantly dark then you will look at the lightest area first. Same in the opposite direction. Apply that to all sorts of things like color, quantity, focus etc. It’s built into us, don’t bother trying to change it. Understand and use it.

As for placement, when what’s most interesting isn’t in the center, your eyes start to wander. There are certain points in an image that seem to offer more visual tension and work the brain a bit harder (without it knowing it’s getting a workout) and that’s where the various placement guides come in.

You’ll eventually start to see the relationship in real time and place your subjects according to what you become most comfortable with. I started with the rule of thirds and then moved onto the golden ratio and finally to the golden spiral (also known as the Fibonacci Spiral). The golden ratio is basically the rule of thirds without dividing the image equally.

The Fibonacci Spiral seems impossible at first but with practice it becomes extremely useful. A quick story on the spiral. In the 80’s (when I was a kid) I saw a story about a cover of Sports Illustrated of “The Catch” . It was considered one of the best sports photos ever.

The question of course was why? It was a really good photo and it was hard to quickly look away from but again, why? The answer was Fibonacci. I had never heard of it or really cared since at the time I had zero idea that I would become a photographer. When the spiral was laid over the image, it was amazing.

Everything followed along the lines as if it were a painting and the photographer had time to place each element exactly in the perfect place. It was a single play in an NFC Championship game and of course the photographer (Walter Iooss, Jr.) reacted extremely quickly. He framed the shot as best he could given the speed it was happening.

Luckily as best he could turned out to be perfect in that instance. It could have turned out a lot differently and still have been a good shot but instead of good it was great. That is the importance of understanding composition. It can make good better and better great. You are still responsible for choosing the subject matter that gets composed. A bad subject with perfect everything else still won’t work of course. What is a good and bad subject is wildly subjective of course. That has no rules.

This article (or post if you prefer) isn’t intended to teach you how as much as why (with a little how sprinkled in). Why is always the most important question.

There is so much more to composition when you are interested and ready. It goes well beyond the simple guides I’ve mentioned, which are of great importance still. Let’s finish with a little assignment.

Put your favorite images into lightroom (since it has more options for composition tools) and cycle through the options. Don’t forget to invert them too since that is an option as well.

See if they line up with any of the tools, either perfectly or close (perfect isn't worth holding out for). Don’t stop thee. Crop into the image and see if you can get any of the other overlays to work.

You may find an image within the image you already like that is different and maybe even better. Once you get comfortable with the images you like (which may change in time btw) try images you thought didn’t make the cut.

Something in them made you take notice in the first place. It seriously is frequently in our subconscious. I reexamine images all the time and find relationships I didn't see at first. Cropping is our friend, embrace it.

The editors of Sports Illustrated did with “The Catch” and so have countless photographers and editors to refine amazing images over the years from good to great and great to legendary.

Composition: The Definition

What is composition in terms of photography?

For that matter, what is it at all?

Firstly I believe it is the word that turns off a lot of young and inexperienced photographers.

It sounds boring, technical and just plain “not fun”.  All of that can be true.

The argumentative rule breakers will say that it’s not necessary to know because we’ve all heard that rules are meant to be broken so why not just proceed from there?

It seems logical enough until you start getting into it. You may have a natural eye for design and create a lot of images that you and others love. Cool.

Like in music. You listen and then play without knowing anything about music theory. It sounds good therefore it is good. If it looks good, it is good.

While true, it misses the point that you are still applying the rules of your art.

Once you get to a point where you care and start to notice the patterns of your work you’ll start to notice those same patterns in the work of many others that you didn’t think had any relation to you.

Now you are starting to understand there are forces at work that you can’t ignore forever.

There are reasons that go beyond the scope of this post that people like things. Whether art or other things, the composition of the thing in question will attract some, go unnoticed by some and even repel others.

Once you’ve figured out what those things are then you are closer to being able to consciously expand your repertoire.

The first definition (of many) I ran across online from the Oxford English Dictionary states that “it is  the nature of something's ingredients or constituents; the way in which a whole or mixture is made up”.

In photography, whether street or otherwise, the placement of the objects in your photo in relation to each other and their location within the frame is what we are talking about.

There are time tested “rules” governing everything from color relationships, luminance values and object placement that have made photographs and paintings before them compelling to look at.

It’s not random even if it seems so. If you are feeling a bit “cheeky” you can go and look at a lot of your favorite photos (paintings are relevant too) and see if you can notice what makes them similar even in seemingly dissimilar images.

If you are doing this I would strongly suggest you compare similar subject matter to begin with. It’s not very straightforward at first.

There are alot of things that can go into the composition of an image and I am not going to address all of it here. I will get you started and add more in another post.

Don’t worry though, you don’t have to cram them all into every image.

For what it’s worth, I have never seen an image in any medium that contained (or could contain) all the rules at once.

to be continued….

Street Photo Tip: Icebreaker for Street Portraits

Here's a quick tip that I think would benefit all street photographers to some degree but would be particularly helpful to those that engage their subjects more, like doing street portraits.

Make a business card for yourself.

Include a sentence saying that if they contact you you’ll send them a digital copy of the image/s. Include your contact info and your social media profile/s. I have all this laid over an image that has a lot of dead space but still represents what I do.

When I approach a person, I either already have it out or I reach for it shortly after I begin talking to them. It’s a gesture that gains trust but allows for them to get something back for the time they gave you. Make sure of course to respond and fulfill your promise to get an image back to them.

Luckily, you can get inexpensive business cards easily.

Upon moving to France, I had a stack made in French so I didn’t have to rely on relaying all the correct information in a language that I still haven’t mastered or asking them to understand english.

Keep a few in your wallet at all time and look forward to having to restock them. This of course helps build followers to your socials too. It’s an inexpensive win in every direction.

Magnum Photo Gallery | Paris (and London)

Magnum Photo Gallery Paris

It’s fun to wake up everyday and find out something new. I’m surprised this just came on my radar, not sure how I never knew about the Magnum Photo Gallery in Paris.

Next visit to Paris it will be right at the top of my todo list. You may get there before I do, so please share any commentary with me…

Here’s a little more info about the gallery as well as the current exhibition!

This summer, Magnum Photos presents iconic color photographs from the 20th century in the latest exhibition at its Paris gallery, located in the 11th arrondissement. It is the gallery’s first group exhibition to date, drawing upon the work of eight photographers in total: Werner Bischof, Ernst Haas, Alex Webb, Harry Gruyaert, Constantine Manos, Miguel Rio Branco, Bruno Barbey, and Gueorgui Pinkhassov.

Assembling eight different pioneering perspectives from the Magnum archive through over 40 works, the exhibition also pays homage to the traditional color printing processes of the era, featuring a large number of rare vintage dye transfer and cibachrome prints.

The Gallery

The Magnum Gallery represents all generations of Magnum photographers and estates, honoring the legacy of its 75-year-old archive whilst nurturing the careers of the co-operative’s younger generation of photographers. Operating in both Paris and London, The Magnum Gallery has a robust online and offline exhibition program and works with institutions, seasoned collectors, as well as amateurs in the art world, aiming at a wide public engagement for art. The Magnum Gallery is also present at leading art and photography fairs around the world.

Find the Magnum Gallery at 68 rue Léon Frot, 75011, Paris and 63 Gee Street, EC1V 3RS, London

Street photo tip: Don’t stand out.

Street photo tip: Don’t stand out.

I know that it goes against everything we’re told as people and artists and pretty much every endeavor. We should aim high as possible and stand out from the crowd. That’s still true but from a results standpoint. Street photographers are observers. We are not participants. We don’t aim to change the world but to document it. 

Through documentation change can be made but not directly. It’s similar, but without being creepy to a spy. It should be obvious that spy’s (with the exception of James Bond) are discreet. They observe and collect data while drawing as little attention as possible. Attention changes the dynamic.  Luckily, if we get caught doing our thing there are no major repercussions therefore this is where our spy analogy ends.

When you are gearing up for your walkabout, whether in a new location or the one you frequent most, don’t dress to impress. Don’t stand out. Be comfortable and mobile. Don’t wear what you might on a day or at a time when you are looking to attract the attention of those around you. Even if you choose to make street photography social, don’t tip your hand until you are ready. You don’t carry a sign that says “Hello, I am a street photographer, don’t mind me, just go on about your business”. If you dress in a way that draws attention to you and the camera in your hand then you may as well have the sign and take the guesswork away.

[Tip] look at as much street photography as you can handle.

 Absorb a lot of street photography.

 I can handle a lot and so, I am sure, can you. It’s not just fun and inspiring but it starts to inform how you see. Not just from one perspective but many. It doesn’t make you any of the people whose work you observe but it starts to help you align the elements of what you see in ways you may not have otherwise thought of. 

Look at all the work you can. Your tastes in the subject will undoubtedly transform and the work you wished you could produce may no longer speak as loudly as that of one that you didn’t formerly understand. It’s all good. You’ll see things you want to do done by some and things you’ll want to avoid done by others. With repeated and varied viewing you will incorporate a great many things without even noticing (for a while at least). 

Don’t worry about copying. You can't copy street photography. 

Each image and each moment are unique. They only happen just like that - one time ever. 

You can copy a technique but when, where and how you apply it are yours. Add all the influences together with a healthy dose of you and your backstory - and the mix you get will be uniquely you. 

It takes a while until it is more easily recognised as you but it most certainly is. 

I look at street photography all the time (as well as many other genres that I like) and I know I have been heavily influenced. 

My preferred viewing is of the classics. I hesitate to say masters due to the fact that there are some great photographers today that have mastered their subject. Classics are of course masters but you know they are older and have stood the passage of time.

As for copying, don’t worry. You can only really be inspired by the work of another street photographer as I mentioned earlier.

Each of the people you are inspired by was in turn inspired by someone else. Even at the beginning of the photographic age, photographers were inspired by painters and even, I imagine, writers. 

Many if not all of the greats acknowledge their inspirations. 

Having said all that, there is no substitute for practice. You have to create an awful lot of images to get to the point where you aren’t thinking but doing. 

One day someone will ask how you know what to photograph, where to place the subject(s) and many other things and they’ll want to know how you do it so quickly and effortlessly. 

When that happens remember to tell the truth, you were inspired by many and you walked a lot (usually with a camera).