Real People Are More Interesting
Street Photography & Me
Street photography is something I don’t practice often; I need to be in the right headspace and physical space, mostly because photographing people is difficult. And there is a lot you need to get straight in your head first. Additionally, there has been some confusion over what street photography entails today. Personally, street photography captures everyday life without directly interfering in the action; it’s a subset of documentary photography.
It also means that you’re capturing people without their implicit permission. This is why I use longer lenses when capturing street photography, going with either the 85mm or 100/105mm, but nothing too long, like 135mm or 200mm or above. I still want the person I’m capturing to potentially know I’m capturing them, so that some level of permission is given. To explain, if I’m lining up the shot and the person notices and tries to hide, I’ll drop the camera because they are unhappy with what I’m doing. But if they don’t see or go about what they’re doing, I’ll take it as permission and take the shot.
Ultimately, it is a delicate balance between staying out of the action and letting the action know I’m there. And it is always at a public and open event, such as the one at the Cidery. Yes, it was on private property but open to the public, and no tickets were required to enter. In Canada, the law is technically on my side in a space with little expectation of privacy; you cannot stop anyone from taking your photo. Now, I do have some personal rules. The first is no children (except when their faces are obscured). As a dad, I don’t want random people taking pictures of my child and posting them online. Heather and I decided early on that we should not post photos of our son online. Second is the concept of implied consent, which I mentioned earlier. I often frame my shots to ensure the person cannot be identified by photographing them from behind or with slight obfuscation.
If taking photos of random people on the street isn’t your thing or you don’t feel you have the confidence to do so, you can get the same experience in other ways. Go on a photo walk with a local group and photograph the participants. You can achieve the same look and feel for a spontaneous portrait without it being with strangers (I mean, I wouldn’t do it the first time you attended; let yourself get to know the others). Additionally, there’s a strong likelihood that the attendees at the event expect to have their pictures taken. I’m also guilty of not doing this. I’ve been running photo walks for over ten years now, and I have only recently started taking the time to photograph the participants and scenery. And both are incredibly satisfying. It also means I might have to carry a couple of cameras —one for scenery and the other for people —with appropriate lenses on both.
In the end, the choice is yours; you are not required to do anything with your photography that you don’t feel comfortable doing. On the other hand, stepping out of your comfort zone might help you grow. I know that I can see my wedding work improve because I go out and capture random people in the street. Hopefully, this brief post will encourage you to give it a try, however you prefer to practice it.
