What makes good street photography

Picture by Peter Turnley

The term street photography is given to any image that is taken in a place where the general public has access to.  This may or may not be a street.  It can be just as easily a park, shopping centre or even a barbers shop.  Generally, it is anywhere where the general public have access to. 

Candid is another term that is often used to describe street photography.  In other words it is a photograph taken of someone without them knowing.

Picture by Martin Parr

I have to admit I do have issues with the terms street photography and candid much preferring something like public area documentary photography as a more apt description of this genre of our art form.

As someone that has a genuine love of photography I look at a lot of pictures, both of amateurs and professionals alike.  I do actively look at other peoples work on Flickr, I read other photography journals, magazines, blogs and websites.  I constantly search out photographs that inspire me or teach me something about the world I live in.  As a result I do see a lot of street photography.  What I see sometimes worries me.

Picture by Nick Turpin

Firstly, it is the way that some photographers go about taking a ‘street photograph’.

I have seen people walking around town centres with a nice DSLR around their neck.  Out of the front pokes a huge telephoto lens and you just know what they are up to.  Sure enough a few minutes later you see the said person poking the lens round the corner and snapping away that the full range of the lens.

Picture by Robert Doisneau

I do have issue with this for the simple reason it feels, well, a little icky.  It feels like we have gone back to the stereotype of photographers being dirty old men in rain macs, spying on people or even that of the paparazzi.

For me, Street Photography has to be up close, almost intimate.  Have a look at the work of Vivian Maier for instance.  Her shots of New York often are often shot a few feet away from the subject and beautifully composed.  Again look at the new book from Peter Turnley, French Kiss – A Love Letter to Paris.  There are some extremely intimate images in that collection but are shot close up.  Also, Martin Parr’s Last Resort offers a fantastic insight in to documenting life.  Although often misinterpreted as sarcastic The Last Resort tells the tale of New Brighton in the 1980’s as it was.  His choice of camera, lens, film and flash all add up to the overall feel that the camera is almost in the face of its subjects.

Secondly, I see a lot of pictures of people just walking down the street.  While this maybe valid to document the fashion of the time, I find it difficult to see what the point of the image is.  Likewise to a similar shot of people walking past a wall of graffiti art.  It is neither one thing nor another.  If you want to document the graffiti then that is fine.  Document it.  Shoot the whole piece sympathetically.  Avoid Photoshop tricks like colour popping etc.  Avoid distractions.

Good street photography is all about the moment, those little coincidences that happen, a look, a kiss or even something funny.  A master at this is Nick Turpin.  He has an uncanny knack of finding the unusual and again, it is all done up close and personal.

Of course there are other fine examples of street photography by the masters Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klien and Bill Brandt.

This is what I think, what about you?