"As long as there is asphalt, pavement and roads there will be street photography"

What is street photography? It is essentially a field of photography specializing in taking pictures on the street.

It is deceptively simple in its definition, yet inherently complex in its nature. Although street photography seems like a trivial matter (what is so complex about taking pictures on the streets?), street photography has provided some of the strongest practical purposes of photography. Much documentation work of the lifestyles and living conditions of different societies were accomplished through street photography. Famous photographers like Henri-Cartier Bresson were basically photojournalists recording the daily events of the street. Such photo documentation were vital in reconstructing the image of the era.
 
 

In addition, almost every photographer has done street photography before. Street photography need no be some grand attempts at recording the social aspects of the streets. It can just be taking pictures of anything on the street. A housewife hanging her laundry out to dry, some schoolchildren taking the bus, pictures of the fire hydrant, or images of the facade of a house. Because of the vague definition of street photography, there is practically no limit to the subjects you can take. Because the streets are accessible to anyone, street photos become the most common form of photography. And many amateurs start off with street photography.

 

If street photography is so simple and done by everyone, why do we need an article on it? Simply put - most people are perfectly capable of running, but it takes considerably more effort to be good at it. Which explains the presence of books on the proper jogging and breathing techniques. Similarly, street photography without planning or thoughts is not likely to yield any useful results. This article will look at the more simple techniques which you can pick up to improve your street photography.
 

A short story of my personal experience

My fondess memory of street photography comes from the early days of my photography, when my resources were limited to a SLR and a 35-70mm zoom. I was in Chinatown trying to capture some images of the elderly ladies selling vegetables at the market. Remembering the old adage of going in close to capture the essence of the subject, I foolishly ventured into the proximity circle of one of the old ladies with my trusty 35-70mm lens. She promptly looked up at me, muttered some expletives in dialect and proceeded to throw a bucket of water at me. I managed to retreat a few steps before the water was splashed all over my jeans.

I should have known better than to trust Robert Capa.
 

Here is one of my early pictures taken during a trip to Chinatown, when my enthusiasm far out-exceeded my longest focal length of 70mm.  When photographing folks intolerant of photography, either get a longer focal length, or train your sprinting skills.  Or you can simply respect their privacy and not photograph them.

 

Equipment

You do not require fanciful equipment for street photography, which may partly explain its popularity. The single-lens reflex which most photography enthusiasts own are perfect for street photography. In fact, you can even use compact cameras to shoot unobtrusively in crowded areas/streets. Your ability is only restricted by your own imagination.
 

Cameras
 

Nikon FM10

SLR Cameras The SLR camera is favored for its flexibility of applications. The ability to change lens and the wide range of lenses gives it unlimited potential. In street photography, you can use wide angle lenses to capture subjects up close and personal, or use a long tele lens to shoot from afar. The disadvantage of using SLRs in street photography is the relatively loud noise of the mirror slap, and the bulk of the setup which makes it easy for people to spot you (if you are photographing street life). Some SLRs like the Nikon F-series allow you remove the prism so that you can see the viewing screen and shoot without bringing the camera to your face. This allows you to shoot "from the hip", making it possible to take your photographs covertly.

 

Rangefinder Cameras Rangefinder cameras do not have reflex mirrors, making them smaller and much quieter in operation than an SLR. They are the preferred choices for street photography by many photographers, for discreetness and blending into the background. However, the choice of lenses is severely limited compared to the SLRs, and they are very specialized tools which limits their applications in other fields. In addition, you do not need rangefinders if your subjects are not going to run away or attack you if they discover you photographing them. The most notable rangefinder system is the Leica M-series. Easily the oldest and most established rangefinder system around, the Leica offers extremely silent and smooth operation. The Leica lenses are absolutely top-rate, albeit extremely expensive. A complete Leica M-6 system with 3 lenses will cost more than S$10,000. Cheaper alternatives include the Contax G2 which is an electronic version of the Leica with much less lenses. Personally, I dislike the amount of noise from the G2 and I'd give it a miss. The "freak" rangefinder is the Konica Hexar, which has a fixed 35mm f/2 lens which is reputed to be "Leica-sharp", and it is very silent. It is rare to see the Hexar on sale, and the world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz uses one herself.

Konica Hexar   Contax G2

 
 Affordable Compacts
The word "affordable" here means that the man-in-the-street can purchase the camera without mortaging the house. Compact cameras have some characteristics which makes them ideal for street photography. They are small and compact, so they will be less likely to be spotted by your subjects. In addition, most people don't feel as threatened by a compact camera, as compared to an SLR. So you are more likely to come across as a normal guy-in-the-street-with-a-compact than a serious photographer. Many places which disallow photography do not mind people taking pictures with a compact camera, such as shopping malls and museums.

Nikon 28Ti Nikon 35Ti Contax T2

High End Compacts Most people will think that compact cameras are really cheap cameras for the ordinary folks. The recent trend in compact camera is the rise of the "posh" compacts. Manufacturers have been producing incredibly high quality compact cameras with matching price tags. These are made to satisfy photographers who want high quality optics without hauling an SLR around. And most of the compacts in this range cost more than a consumer SLR kit. The Nikon 28Ti and 35Ti are the coolest compact cameras around. With titanium dials and analog displays (swinging needles) on the top, the twins feature extremely sharp lenses and matrix metering. However, the high prices and less-than-ideal operations led to Nikon discontinuing them. They make very nice conversation pieces though. The Contax T2 is a excellent camera, with a superb Carl Zeiss lens (unlike the Yashica T4). The viewfinder is bright and crisp, and the camera is sheer joy to use.  The prize of this catagory should still go to Ricoh. Formally well-known for their rangefinder, the company became obscure in the 1990s. However, it produced an extremely outstanding lens - the 28mm f/2.8 which was so good that Leica requested it to be produced for their M-series! The Ricoh GR-1/GR-10 are extremely slim and light, making them ideal for covert photography. The GR-10 is cheaper (S$450/US$270)  than the GR-1 (S$650/US$390), but the latter features aperture-priority not available in the GR-10. For the price, the specifications and quality of the Ricoh is hard to beat.

Lenses

Focal length
Because of the wide variety of subjects possible in street photography, it is impossible to label any focal length as ideal. Some prefer the close-up approach of using wide angles like 24mm or 28mm, moving into the crowd to capture the atmosphere. Others prefer to stand far back and use a telephoto to isolate the person or the detail in a scene. There are also some people who use fisheye lenses to capture interiors or narrow spaces. Thus, there is no fixed focal length ideal for photography. Rather, you might like to experiment with a variety of lenses to suit different situations or your own style. For some, 200mm might be a great focal length, while for others, they might like using wide-angles. But for most people, lenses with the range between 24mm to 200mm are ideal choices to keep in the camera bag to deal with most situations.
 

"A long focal length lens will allow you to shoot the details, and slip away without being noticed."   Other photographers prefer to use a wide-angle lens and go for a up-close-and-personal encounter.

 

Prime vs zooms
Zooms offer the convinience of not having to change lenses whenever you need a new focal length. They also speed up the shooting process substantially, since you can now zoom in to isolate a subject rather than moving physically to crop the image. However, zoom lenses are more bulky than primes, and they are slower than the prime equilvalent. The prime lenses usually offer very fast aperture such as f/2 or f/2.8, while zooms typically have the range of f/3.5-5.6. This makes the zoom lenses less-than-ideal for low-light work. Many street photographers prefer fast prime lenses for this purpose, choosing to use lenses like 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4, When used with fast films such as Tri-X or T-Max 3200O, it allows the photographers to shoot in low light conditions using ambient light totally, preserving the atmosphere and not having to alert the subjects with flash.
Thus, both primes and zooms have their own pros and cons. It is up to yourself to decide between the two.
 

Flash
Should you use the flash in street photography? Again, there is no straight answer to this question. It depends very much on the situation and your intention.

For covert photography where your aim is to take candid pictures of the subject unnoticed, flash will definitely give the game away. The best alternative will be to use fast film and wide-aperture lenses. Flash will alert the subjects to your presence, and give the game away for sure. Flash photography also tends destroys the atmosphere of the scene.
 

However, if the situation is that of recording an event, such as street performance, where the subject's awareness of you does not matter, flash can help to bring out the vividness of colour and show shadow details. Some festivals such as Thanksgiving celebration in the States are good examples where flash can be used without problems. The performers are aware that they are being photographed, and they are not likely to shy away from you even if you use flash. In addition, the elaborate costumes and colourful makeup show up best with flash. This image is taken during the Thaipusam festival in Singapore, where Hindu devotees pierce their bodies with metal skewers to show their appreciation to their deities for granting them wishes come true.

 
 

Bags and dressing

Most photographers can come to agreement with the standards of dressing: low-profile and comfortable

For a street photographer to operate successfully and capture candid scenes, he needs to be able to blend into the situation and not draw to much attention to himself or his equipment. By behaving in the correct manner and choosing the attire carefully, a good street photographer can observe, shoot and leave without his subjects ever noticing. Of course, photographers are not ninjas, nor should they aspire to be like one. It only takes slightly more thought about the movement and dressing to remain low-key enough.

Knowing the subjects and place will allow you to figure out the appropriate clothes to wear. Wearing t-shirt and jeans in a business district is sure to draw stares, and while a Amarni suit may look great in a meeting room, it looks absolutely ridiculous at a barbeque party. The point is - dress in a similar fashion like everyone else. And in addition, bland colours such as pastel, dark checkered and white/black will help to lower your profile. And avoid applying scents if you can, because some people are especially sensitive to smells. It may seem like a lot of trouble, but it is easier said than done. Of course, it will definitely be more fun if you are imagining yourself to be a secret agent photographing some secret activities. It is important that you are comfortable in your dressing too, since you will probably be moving arouind quite a bit. Nothing puts you off as easily as uncomfortable dressing!

Because you want to remain inconspicuous, the bulky camera bags like Lowepro and Tamrac may not be the best choice in these situations. You will want something that hugs to your body, not a big black chunky box on a strap. Personally, I like the Domke canvas bags, which are very comfortable and low profile. Of course, if you are rich enough, you can consider Billingham bags too. You might like to remove the hard board base from Domke bags to lower their profile even more, but take note that the protection against knocks is at the minimum then. Another alternative will be to use ordinary bags to contain your camera gear. Not only do they hide the fact that your're a photographer, it also lowers the chances that your belongings might be stolen. A note of caution though - ordinary bags do not offer as much protection, nor  are they as accessible as camera bags. They might not be able to take heavy equipment as well too, so do use them with caution.
 
 

Techniques

The following are practical tips on how to improve your chances of getting a good shot in street photography:

Knowing your equipment
There is no way for you to capture good images if you don't know your own equipment well. This applies to any type of photography. Thorough knowledge of your own equipment allows you to spend your time and energy on watching the subject, focusing on the situation, and taking the pictures. You should not be trying out to figure how to set the exposure compensation dial in the field. Handling the camera should be second-nature to you. Fiddling with the knobs and buttons while the subject stands up and walk away is hardly a good start in street photography. This applies to packing your bags too - know where you store the different lenses and accessories, so you won't be mucking around your bag for that crummy lens when you need it.
 

Knowing your subjects

Usually, sports photographers are frequently players of the game themselves. Imagine a non-soccer fan asked to cover a match between Liverpool and Manchester United. He will not be able to predict the moves of the players, nor understand that a corner kick will result in a possible goal. A soccer-fan photographer understands the rules of the game, and the movement of the players. Through his understanding, he is able to predict the possible moves that a player will make, and thus adjusts his equipment to suit the situation. He might be able to pre-focus his lens more accurately, or set up his shots more carefully to exclude obstructions. Or take nature photography for example. Only a nature lover will understand the migratory patterns of certain birds, and he will not wait in vain for the bird in the wrong season!

Particular subjects have particular forms of behaviour, usually due to certain factors such as age, situation or culture. For example, wedding photographers usually know the standard wedding ceremonies, and they will position themselves at the best location to capture certain shots (e.g. cake cutting or exchange of vows). Because they understand the behaviour of the subjects, they have the advantage of taking better shots.
 

Concealing your camera

Not everybody loves having his picture taken, regardless of the purpose. And sometimes, when you are after candid images, you will not want the subject to know it either. In these cases, it is best to conceal your camera.
 
 

For starters, you can hide the camera away from the view of the subject, prefocus the lens by estimating the subject's distance (so that the camera takes less time to focus), and keep your camera in automated mode (either program, shutter-priority or aperture priority). When you sense that the time is right, just lift your camera up and shoot. Try not to look at the subject too intensely while waiting for the perfect moment, because people can sense that someone is watching them if you do it too obviously.   If you are using compact cameras, you can just hold it in your palm and shoot away by pressing the shutter release button. Just point the lens in the direction and gauge the composition, and fire away. Such "blind" shooting will probably not raise the suspicion of the subject, and you are usually surprised by the final images because it is the first time you're looking at the image. In addition, if your subject hears the whining of the compact camera, just look at it with a puzzled look, as if you are wondering why the camera is malfunctioning and firing away at random.

 

There was a interesting story told to me by a friend. He was in Vietnam on a trip with a compact camera, when he saw a man urinating in a back alley. He thought it was a good image, and he proceeded to shoot with his compact. Unfortunately for him, the compact camera decided that it was too dark, and fired the flash. The man swirled around and glared at my friend, while he tried the "malfunctioning-camera" trick. He returned safely back to his hotel room. Moral of the story - turn the damned autoflash off!!

Another trick is the "get-lost-I'm-shooting-something-behind-you" method. This is one of my favorite tricks, because it usually works. It goes like this -

You are shooting this stranger smoking a cigarette. He happens to turn around and see you. You continue focusing, and pretend to check your settings, then continue focusing again, pretending that you are photographing the background behind him. He turns to his background and wonders what you're shooting. After a short while, you look satisfied that you have the shot, and walk off. And he will be left wondering what the hell you are shooting! But this trick only works if there is something in the background that you might possibly want to photograph. White walls and blue skies will not work obviously!
 
 

As mentioned before, some cameras like the Nikon F-series (F, F2, F3, F4 and F5) allows you to remove the pentaprism to view the ground glass. This allows you to focus the camera and see the scene without lifting the camera to your eye. It lets you shoot without the subject noticing you, because people don't seem to believe that you can shoot without "seeing". You don't even need to look in their direction - just point the lens at them! In addition, if you're hiding the camera underneath a sweater (leaving an opening for the lens), it is quite difficult for the subject to notice the entire activity. This shot on the left was shot from hip level, using estimated focusing and a wide angle lens.

 
You can also use sweaters and bags to conceal the camera, and shoot "blind" without looking at the viewfinder. It requires that you set your camera to automated mode, and preset the focus (preferable with a wide-angle lens). Hide the camera in a bag or sweater, and fire the camera without looking. make sure that the hole for the lens is large enough, otherwise vignetting will occur.
 

Spending more time on the streets

First of all, spending more time on the streets will allow you to know the subjects and understand their behaviours and action better, leading to better photographs.

In addition, street photography is not a scheduled performance. Photographic opportunities happen randomly at various places, so spending more time on the street will increase your chances of success. Edison said that success is 95% perspiration and 5 percent inspiration. For street photography, I'd say that it is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration!

Know that not every trip will result in great images. Sometimes, you can roam the streets for hours at a stretch and return home with nothing significant, while other days just seem to overflow with photographic opportunities. Street photography's magic lie in the unpredictability of the subjects, and you will learn to enjoy the surprises if you are able to control your impatience.
 
 

Knowing your limits (safety and precautions)

Even as you are photographing, you should be aware of your environment and surroundings. Some places are more hostile than others, and you should always be on the alert for changes around you. For example, it is dangerous to venture around in some cities after dark. In Singapore, the streets are usually pretty safe even after mid-night, but you should never assume it is always safe. Especially in foreign places, it is tempting to discover the night-life without regard to your personal safety. Always err to the side of prudence - if you are not sure of the safety level, don't go. No photograph is worth your life - as Robert Capa would testify.
 

The Decisive Moment

Henri-Cartier Bresson was probably the most famous photojournalist that ever lived. He was famous for coining the term "the decisive moment". Bresson believed that for most actions, there is a single defining moment that sums up the entire action of the performer, and capturing the decisive moment will convey the story to the reader with the most impact, reducing the need for wordy explanations.

Bresson's images captured the peak of the action,  and in one glance the viewer is transported to the scene itself and all seems self-explanatory. The peak of the action does not refer to running or jumping, but rather the essence of the action that the actor is performing. One really needs to take a look at his images to conceptualize the decisive moment.

Learning to capture the decisive moment is not easy to accomplished, even for established photographers. However, it does not mean that one should not try altogether. We may not be able to reach the standards of Henri-Cartier Bresson, or even come close. But attempting to capture the decisive moment will be an excercise to focus your observation skills and a training for the the photographic eye.
 

Anticipation

Above all, the decisive moment is about anticipation. How do you gather that this is the decisive moment, not before nor after? It requires that you have prior experience about human behaviour and you are able to anticipate the unfolding of events with reasonable accuracy. Consider photographing a peace negotiation talk between two warring nations. The initial handshakes before the talk starts will be covered by hundreds of journalists, but that is hardly the decisive moment. It does not say anything about the event, other than the fact that both nations have agreed negotiate. As the talk progresses, differences arise which seems to be unresolvable. You realize the widening of the gap, and watch the rise in tension. Finally, both parties look away in disgust. You snap the image, and it becomes the decisive moment of the talk. By actively engaging with your subjects, you are attempting to put yourself into their shoes and anticipate their behaviours. This requires some active thinking and deliberation. Anticipation, with patience and knowledge, will help you capture that decisive moment.
 
 

"Anticipation is the key word" You should have a rough gauge of how people respond to various situations, through observations of everyday interactions. By anticipating responses, you are able to wait for the best moment to occur, and capture it when it finally happens.  In this picture, I watched the kid climb all over the railings as his Dad searched for coins. I guessed that a picture might be waiting to happen, so I waited patiently as the man slotted in the coin and started viewing. As anticipated, the kid got curious and wanted to look at the scenery. I watched through the finder as the kid clambered up the viewing port, and as his Dad moved his face away from the viewfinder, I clicked off 3 shots. This shot captured the look of wonder on the boy's face, and the close-relationship between the Dad and his son.

 
 

Attitudes and ethics

Because street photography frequently entails photographing unsuspecting or unwilling subjects, it is crucial to think about attitudes and ethics. Although it is perfetly legal to photograph in the streets (unless it shows the person in bad light or the image hints that someone is involved in something he's not), ethical consideration may prevent us from shooting in certain conditions.

Some people will like to have some privacy, and may turn hostile when the lens is pointed at them. It is perfectly understandable, and you should back off when faced in such a situation. Arguing that it is legal to take a picture of them will probably not help, and may lead to physical violence. Many times, legal boundaries may exceed ethical boundaries, and we should be respectful of the privacy needs of others. The selfish desires of the paparazzi indirectly caused the death of Princess Diana, and brought a foul name to photographers all over the world. It is an exercise in vain to discuss the absolute boundaries of ethics, of what is allowed and what should be avoided, because different people have different conceptualizations of what is ethical. As a photographer, you have to draw the line yourself, and you are answerable to your own conscience.

On the other hand, some rules are more overt. For example, some Islamic nations forbid the women from being photographed. Not respecting such cultural rules may not only cause you to be unwelcome, you might even get into some real trouble with the authorities. And you should also take note of the differences in law when you photograph in the streets of another nation, since what is allowed in your country might not be legal in other places. For example, in conflict-filled states it is sensitive to photograph bridges and railway stations. Being aware of such restrictions may save you from a lot of legal problems later on.

Happy street shooting !!
 
 

Copyright 2002 (C). Nelson Tan
All Rights Reserved.

Images of cameras from catalogs.

All other images are copyrighted property of Nelson Tan.