Let me state it directly : on a full day street photography outing, there will be five scenes that provide the elements for a good photograph. All the rest will be about you surrendering to "click addiction", and produce shots that will inescapably join the 99.7% of crap pictures category. (related article : Robert Frank shot 99.7% of crap too.)
Five is evidently not an absolute number and my underlying point is that good scenes don't come up often during an outing. Indeed, street photography is more than a long procession of people walking, sitting or "lost in their thoughts" (though it represents the vast majority of pictures posted online). What is more then? Well, let's put it this way : I know when I see it and you know it too. Indeed, some scenes in life are just special, be it in terms of interactions, aesthetics, humour, mystery, poetry or emotions. But as talented as you might be, these are few, and you'll need to hunt the streets for long hours to find them.
King Kong contemplating a giant Oregon State University basketball player. Quite an unusual scene in front of the Eiffel Tower. Yet I feel that my timing was slightly off for the scene to translate into a good shot.
And then, even if you do spot these five scenes that matter during your outing, it won't automatically translate into five good street photographs. Indeed, you'll mis-focus some, be off timing on others, or simply not be able to translate your initial sight into a worthy two dimensional frame. This is where technique and vision step in and will eventually allow you to convert these five opportunities into one, maybe two good shots. Obviously, we are not talking about great shots yet, which probably come in only in a handful during a year.
Yes, street photography is extremely challenging so you need to maximize your keeper rate when these scenes do happen in front of you. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you getting ready and convert on these opportunities :
- Don't get frustrated. There are very few street photographers that can make a living purely out of street photography, which means that our time to shoot is often scarce. The odds to stumble on a great scene during the few hours you'll dedicate weekly to shooting are pretty low. Don't fall to frustration and "click addiction", patience is also part of the game, so accept it. Time spent on the streets is the variable that most impacts your keeper rate. Technique and talent only come afterwards. In the end, It is probably better to come back home with a few average shots than dozens of lousy ones that will just increase your frustration level.
Yanidel – I have been following your great photo blog for a while, but this is the first time I post on it. I totally agree with your list. Like you, I see tons of photographers carrying their cameras with lens caps still on their lenses, or lazily around their shoulders while they ignore the thousand little scenes taking place all around them. If there's anything I would ask to your list, though, it would be to always look at your sorroundings with a photographer's eye. That is, have your brain computer always looking at composition, colors, shapes, people, expressions, and backgrounds, to name a few. I call this the art of seeing the unseen through a frame, as if we were always looking through the viewfinder.
Hi guys, first of all I want to add that I also agree on the list, and perhaps it is needless to say that you work is very inspiring Yanidel, but I think it can not be said often enough. I always get greatly motivated to improve by just looking at your images.
Then again, and this is not meant to be as an attack on either of you, I think one should be careful to judge people walking around with the caps still on their lenses or anything. We all have different desires when it comes to photography, and though I do think that it is quite a waste to walk around with expensive cameras without using them for what they are made for, I don't think it is appropriate to label these people as not being true street photographers or anything. I think in that way you tend to put yourself above many other photographers, who perhaps do not even intend to be a street photographer but just like to take snapshots.
For long I have forced myself to take many photos and to 'see the exceptional', while a friend of mine just took photos when he felt like and when the moment felt right to him and in that way he enjoyed photography much more, because it came as a natural desire, not a forced need. To him I was just wasting a lot of energy which I could have spent enjoying certain moments I missed because I was thinking about the composition. I'm not saying I necessarily support his view, but all I'm saying is that the pros and cons depend on the perspective you take on.
I think it's best not to try to impose a certain criterion for a street photographer, because you might also limit yourself in your creativity. But again, this is not meant to be as an attack, because I admire the fact that people like you can be so dedicated to something and seem to have true passion for it. Though I always have a camera on me, there's enough moments I force myself looking for interesting things in dull locations or locations I have visited so repetitively already. There's enough moments I could have captured, like a lovely couple cuddling near me now in the university library, but I also think that some moments you should just enjoy for yourself (ok, I might be one of those fearful photographers, wishing that some day we can take photos by just blinking our eyes :-) ).
I consider this article to be a good basic advice for beginning photographers, like myself, and really enjoy reading them, in my own way :-) keep them coming, as well as the inspiring work! (that holds for you as well, Eric, as I just took a look at your images).
Sorry for the huge reply :-)
Cheers!
Thanks for the huge reply Daniel ;)
I have to admit that this article was a bit provocative, and I did it acknowledgedly. Yet I never meant to create a hierarchy of street photographers and you are completely right when you say we all have different goals and ways to enjoy photography. Nevertheless, my real point is that street photography is highly influenced by maths, hazard and the way you prepare for it. Whether you want to be prepared is up to all of us and I fully understand that some prefer a more laid back approach to street photography. I just say that results will show. If one is happy with producing a good shot now and then, then indeed it is fine to walk around with the lens cap on. ;) Yet if someone wants to produce consistent good quality, then he needs much more discipline in his way to approach street photography. While in Paris last month, I had some full days in the streets where I got basically 0 good shots. Another I got 3 in the same hour. Part of the game, but without a discipline, one could probably come with even less than that.
Anyways, thanks for your input, it also reminds me that different audiences read this blog and probably should be clearer in my messages.
Cheers, Yanick
Yanidel – I agree with your article. In one day you don't have a lot of opportunities and some photographers confuses "doing street photography" with "to photograph the the street". Absolutely, in my opinion, 99% of the street scenes aren't photogenic.
Great article, Yanidel. It's always encouraging to read about the same frustrations of other street photographers, and know that it's not only me who, after spending hours on the street, will sometimes fail to get even one decent shot. Keep the posts coming!
One decent a day … this is my target. And as you just stated … not an automatic one ! Cheers.
Hi Yannick,
I'm an avid follower of your wonderful work. I apppreciate what you have highlighted in this blog article. I try to go out and psend time in the streets, but living in a small city, I always end up going to the same streets. And after a while, you tend to meet the same old people, same old scenes and you tend up getting uninspired. What advise would you give? Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury to travel extensively like you did…
Hi Dhanesh,
I regulary run into the same problems like you when out shooting. The city I live is relatively big (Frankfurt, Germany) but it's mostly dull in my opinion.
Finally I solved the "problem" for me in just going to the city to shoot the city instead of only shooting street.
That means shooting people, shopping windows, backyards, details etc so I can shoot all day long nad have fun instead of waiting for that one or two shots a day and getting frustrated.
When you click on my name (Thorsten) you should see my Flickr page (which is a kind of scrapbook for me) so you can get an impression on what I'm talking about
A 5% success rate is probably about right. Here are two more tips to help you get better shots:
1. Go to the poorer areas of town. Avoid the more affluent streets. Middle class and rich people make for worse pictures.
2. Find a place where you can sit, and shoot from that one position as people come towards you. This is a different strategy from what many photographers use. but it works.
Check out more ideas here: http://streetphotographyguide.com
Kit
Hi Yanidel,
Thank you very much for your input and clear explanations of what the aspiring street-photographer should expect and prepare for. Having recently been in Zanzibar and Athens, I kind of understand what you are saying, albeit in retrospect. My wife has kind of made peace with the fact that I see most of our vacations through the lens of my camera :-).
Please keep these posts coming as my wife and I will be in Paris in February and I would love to bring back as many memories and (hopefulle) good shots from there.
Hi Terrence, well, if your wife has made peace with it, than you are a very lucky man ! You’ll enjoy Paris, it screams photography ! Cheers