What is street photography?
Sreet photography (SP) found its origin in the 20th century where photojournalism approach was used to document daily life moments (for more info I recommend the book :Bystander: A History of Street Photography). Definitions of street photography are not missing and you can easily get lost in all the endless discussions around what is in and out of the scope. A common denominator in my view remains the natural of the picture content in terms of the its people and scenery. Nothing is faked, posed, prepared, beautified; everything is just spontaneous! `
This spontaneity unites street photography lover in the capability to capture beauty, raise questions to the viewer, and trigger emotions in a moment of our daily life. With this common base, different styles of street photography emerged over times. Here is a non exhaustive list of categories/style I have personally identified over the years.
Life situations: the bread and butter of SP where the picture will capture a typical moment characteristic of the location and/or photo subject. Here you get close to sociology, photo journalism where a good composition and light make the rest.
Here is an example of a picture I took in Zurich of kids racing on a bridge.
Atmosphere: the mix between colours, light, composition creates an atmosphere, sometimes minimalist, illustrating a specific mood of a place/characters.
A good example from Chini Bolsón
Light & shadows: a nice background, some interesting lights and shadows created by the surrounding, add a human subject between the lights and voila! Here is an example of a composition in Zurich.
Comic scene: the composition between the different characters of the picture is creating a comic angle to the scene the photographer witnessed. A good example from Sachin Sawansiya
Portrait: we talk here about portrait taken spontaneously in the street without any posing. Here is an illustration of a street baker in Tel Aviv.
Let me know your questions, comments and share your categories you are using/identified.
Arnaud