What is street photography and what makes it special?

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It’s always a great idea to try and express yourself, while pushing the boundaries with your style. Yet at the same time, you also want to take photos that help you showcase your identity and express yourself in a creative manner. That’s where street photography shines, because it’s extremely engaging, yet at the same time it provides a large array of ideas and unique features.

Another advantage is its broad appeal, combined with a massive popularity since many celebrities are doing it as well. However, while you may think this type of photography is a modern one, that’s not the case. In fact, street photography has been around for quite some time, and it continues to stand out as something unique as well as very iconic too.

Short history for street photography

It was around the late 19th century and early 20th century that Eugene Atget decided to capture the amazing street scene in France. He was trying to create documentary photography as a way to show the true, raw reality of those times. It was extremely interesting to bring in something new and immersive, and it was engaging and very iconic to try these amazing things. But that’s the important aspect, street photography was always about keeping things unique and real, while offering something very innovative and immersive at the same time.

However, Atget was just a starting point. Henri Cartier Bresson was also focused on this idea during the 30s, since he was always taking 4 cameras on him, trying to capture the reality of those times. It was in 1978 when street photography started being seen the way we know it now, since Bill Cunningham made a column for the New York Times named On the Street. The idea was to bring in a great and engaging perspective over how people feel regarding street photography and how we can present it in a creative way.

From that time, more and more people got into street photography and they wanted to bring in something creative and extremely interesting. But since 2008, more and more people in the blogging and social media scene started giving street photography a try, because it offers a great perspective, while also pushing the limits of creativity in an engaging manner. And nowadays you have a tremendous style and set of features.

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Standout names in the street photography world

Some of them major names within this niche include Carolina Blomst, which is a former model. She has been covering the street style scene in Sweden and she has a very loyal following. Her work is spectacular and so good that it managed to bring in a massive perspective into the local area. She does take a lot of pictures along with her husband. On top of that, she also gets in front of the camera, which adds yet another layer of distinctiveness and unique appeal to her work.

Scott Schuman is another major example when it comes to street photography. He made his own blog named the Sartorialist in 2005 and he is a well-known name within this niche. That’s what makes him a standout name, the fact that he constantly takes great street photography, and he also has 2 books already published on the topic. These are named The Sartorialist and The Sartorialist: Closer. These books feature his photos, along with his beliefs about the industry and many of the other ideas that he takes into consideration.

We can also name Timur Emek, which is known for having a very authentic style of pictures. He always likes the idea of freedom and taking pictures creatively without any specific boundaries. He pushes the limits every time, yet he also likes to retain a great sense of realism and quality. Which is what sets him apart from many other photographers within this niche. Of course, these are only a few of the great street photographers that you can find right now, and they truly stand out with their amazing growth and extraordinary focus on their craft.

street photography CANVAS prints

Is street photography legal?

Since the idea of capturing people’s ideas and emotions has always been challenging, it’s very difficult to understand the legality of street photography in some cases. Many times, street photography involves photographers taking pictures of people without their consent. That can be tricky and some might be worried that this is not a legal thing to do.

That’s not the case. While it might not seem ok to some people, the truth is that street photography certainly has its fair share of challenges, and it pushes the boundaries in a very distinctive manner. It’s legal to take street photography, however commercial use is where things can get a bit tricky. You really want to check the local laws and see what kind of issues might arise from taking these types of photos.

You will find countries where asking for permission is mandatory, but in other places that’s not really a demand. It always differs according to the location and other things, yet you don’t have to worry about people’s permission that much in most cases. However, that chances if they area the epitome/center of the image. That’s exactly what you need to take into consideration, and it can certainly have its fair share of challenges you need to face in a situation like this.

What makes street photography unique?

Your focus with street photography is to always have a subject or topic that you want to capture. Depending on the situation, it can be a variety of things. However, once you have the subject, you can use the rules of composition in order to define a story. It all comes down to showing authentic, raw emotions and creating a story that connects with the person seeing those pictures.

Many times, the success of a picture will vary, but you always want to define the success of your photography and push it to the next level. Establishing that is never simple, but once you do, you can easily add things up and define stuff the way you want. That’s what makes it great, because it helps define the experience and process, while still conveying a great source of ideas and pushing things to the next level.

street photography poster prints on canvas

Does street photography really need to capture the streets in any way?

The term is very easy to misunderstand, because a lot of people believe these pictures need to feature the street in some way. That’s not the case though. It’s more about the state of mind, way of being, and the attitude as a whole. It’s more than just taking pictures on the street. Instead, it offers a unique way to present yourself and your ideas, while bringing in your own take on what is happening.

Plus, you also get to have a subject matter and create a story around it. That’s why street style photography is usually covering more than one picture. It helps add in something different, while still offering an exciting and powerful perspective over the matter at hand. It helps push the limits in a creative manner, and at the same time you will appreciate the way it all comes together in an exciting manner.

While street photography has evolved over the years, in many ways it also managed to stay the same. It still brings a lot of creativity into the mix, and at the same time you get to show off everything in a very exciting manner. That’s the thing you want to focus on, to show a story and bring in your perspective. Once you have that with street photography, it becomes a lot more engaging and prevalent. You still get to show off your ideas, but at the same time it all comes down to creating a connection with the viewer.

Some rules related to street photography

There are a few unwritten rules when it comes to street photography. The main idea is that you don’t want street photos to be staged, instead you want them to be candid and unique. It’s a great idea to do that because not only does it set the tone in a creative manner, but it also offers an exciting set of benefits when it comes to the creative process.

Ideally, you also want to have evidence of life and show it off in a creative manner. The main focus with something like this is to showcase how incredible street photos are, and you don’t want to dismiss anything in any way.

Moreover, street photography needs to have something that peaks your interest. You don’t want it to be boring or unappealing. Adding in some elements that are interesting and empowering is what helps set it all apart. You can try to add something new and enjoyable, but also bring in a very unique perspective over the process. Once you have that, it becomes much easier to manage everything, and the results can indeed be second to none.

Then there’s also the fact that you want to harness various camera features. You can add filters if you want, or you can keep things raw and interesting. That’s the thing, you want it all to shine and stand out, while offering a very interesting process as a whole. Once you have that, it becomes much easier to handle everything and the process is second to none all the time.

Another thing to note is that you do want to avoid certain features. For example, distorted wide angles, noise, dark shadows, blur or flash are fine. What’s not good would be things like panoramic algorithms, or double exposure. Having these can have a negative impact on the process and it’s definitely going to leave a bad impression as a whole.

london skyline street photography

What kind of cameras should you use?

That depends, but many times you can go for a mirrorless camera if you aspire to be a pro within this field. Beginners can even try street photography with a smartphone/point and shoot camera. Of course, if you want to obtain quality images you always want to go for a DSLR. Those that want a more adventurous style can use a DSLR if they want, since it helps quite a bit and it can convey a much better result all the time.

When it comes to the camera settings, you do want to have a shutter speed motion and opt for 1/60 blurring and 1/500 freezing. The depth of field would benefit from Aperture Priority DoF, a wide shallow DoF and narrow Greater DoF. All of these can be adjusted, of course, but adding in a unique approach and perspective is what helps set it all apart. At the end of the day, you can always experiment with settings, as you try to ensure everything is customized the way you want to fit your needs.

The street photography process is all about making things your own and customizing everything in a creative manner. There will always be challenges as you try to narrow things down, and that alone has its unique ideas and features to focus on. At the end of the day, what really matters is to appreciate the process, focus on what story you want to create and just push it to the next level. Once you start doing that, it can definitely provide an extraordinary process and bring you the benefits you always wanted.

Conclusion

We believe that street photography is an exceptional style because it helps share a story and it’s not scripted. Instead, it offers you a fun and creative way to show off your ideas, while still pushing the boundaries and integrating a new perspective. On top of that, street photography is widely known for its creativity and how impressive it really is. That’s why it makes a lot of sense to give street photography a shot, because it’s unlike anything you will find out there. And at the same time, you still have lots of amazing features for you to try in order to make the experience even more exciting and engaging.