Street Photography 101

Over the years we have done a lot of articles on street photography and our magazine has grown and flourished just as this genre. But as we move to a new era in photography where digital cameras are not bound by their huge sizes and have developed themselves into small inconspicuous packages, let’s talk about a few tips and tricks on street photography in this new era.

- Souradeep Roy

What is street photography?

While many of you guys already know what street photography is, it is our duty to reach out to our new readers and beginners and teach them. Street photography, in it’s simplest definition is documenting daily lives in the streets through clever composition, storytelling and through a candid narrative. Street photography is not all about capturing moments and action and can also include capturing still life on the streets! So without further ado, let’s dive into this amazing world and see what has changed in the past few years!

Capturing Moments

Street photography is about capturing moments, many will say. But in modern times street photography has developed to become much more. It is not just about waiting for a subject to jump over a puddle of water or a subject standing in front of a graffiti. Street photography has developed and changed over time. While the images of these decisive moments still remain iconic, people have, over the years learnt not to copy other photographers and develop their own new style. Capturing time is essential but so is telling a story, trying out new geometry and learning new ways to tell a story. Many photographers tend to think that everything has been shot and done before, but that is where your unique style of shooting will come into play. Even still life can be interesting and still life in street photography has increasingly gained popularity in the photography circles today. An old abandoned ice cream truck on the road is as mysterious a subject as a silhouette of a man passing by a graffiti wall. The mystery makes people think and ponder over the story of the man or the ice cream truck etc.

Juxtaposition