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The Essence of Street Photography

Over the period of just one day, a lot can happen in our lives, with almost limitless opportunities to capture and record just one snapshot of what’s taking place in the world around us.

With this in mind, we sat down with Jamie who works within our Burgess Hill store to talk about his passion for Street Photography, how he goes out capturing this shots, and his approach to shooting candid shots in a variety of different locations.

The essence of street photography can differ slightly from photographer to photographer. To me, street photography involves people, caught in candid situ as they go about their day-to-day life. It is the unguarded moments that tell a story and at its core, street photography reflects the spontaneous energy that provides the vibrancy of city life.

To find a subject, keep your eyes open. Truly “people watch” and observe the moments that people are sharing together, or those who grab your attention because of their look or energy. Often when your gaze would naturally drift away from watching such people and situations, that is the moment that you often find your image so keep observing. When it comes to composition, look for leading lines, symmetry and crowds and scenery to frame your subject. An interesting perspective can add interest to your subject matter and draw the viewer into your photograph.

• Shot using a Fujifilm X-T3 + Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 LM WR | 1/8000s f/2.8, ISO 160

As a candid form of image capturing, the use of smaller, unobtrusive camera bodies and lenses allows you to blend in with the crowd and not draw attention to yourself as the observer. Personally, I use a Fujifilm X-T4 and X-T3 body with Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR, Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR and Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 lens (all purchased as used products from Park Cameras). The responsive tracking and the film camera style ergonomic dials allow me to react to the action around me, whilst the wide apertures of the prime lenses are ideal for sharp focus in lower light situations and for creating bokeh to draw the viewers eyeline to what I choose to be the main subject of my image.

The Fujifilm XF 23mm f/2 R WR (equivalent to a full frame 35mm lens) is perfect for busy streets and tight crowds, being the smallest and widest of my lenses. Recently I was shooting to Tottenham Court Road in London, and if I had tried to use my XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR in that situation, heads would have turned, and opportunities would have been disrupted.
 

• Shot using a Fujifilm X-T3 + Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 | 1/1000s f/2.8, ISO 200

The Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 (equivalent to a full frame 85mm lens) is great on quieter streets or when I need to create a small amount of distance between myself and the subject whilst still creating a close frame of my subject. It also compresses the background slightly more than the 23mm which can help give the image a sense of surroundings. It is also a good focal length if you want to incorporate foreground elements (even blurred elements) into your composition.

The Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (equivalent to a full frame 135mm lens) might be considered by some as an unusual choice for street photography but it’s my favorite of the three because it renders beautiful bokeh areas whilst keeping my subject sharp. It also gives greater separation between the subject and background whilst keeping the perspective compressed. It is great for those candid street portraits because it removes all distortion from a subject's face due to its high compression, and you can hide unwanted elements from your frame due to its narrower angle of focal view. The real challenge of shooting street photography at a 135mm focal length is that you’ve created such a distance between you and your subject that you run the risk of something or someone cutting in front of your subject and ruining your shot. Alternatively, you can use any object or person walking across your shot as bokeh for framing your subject, leading the viewers focus to your chosen subject in the shot.
 

• Shot using a Fujifilm X-T3 + Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 | 1/4000s f/2.2, ISO 200

When discussing street photography, people often discuss the legality of shooting strangers candidly within a public space (can you do it?). Especially shooting in a foreign country, is a very good idea to research their laws and regulations on shooting street photography. Often the issue that should also be thought about is the morality of street photography (should I shoot this?). For example, I never photograph homeless individuals on the street because of the vulnerability of their situation. I also never photograph anyone who seems upset or distressed as I personally feel that is something I should not be capturing: I leave that style to the photojournalist.

Often, I have subjects reacting to me taking their photo. Only the other day I was given a thumbs up by a skateboarder that I shot down by the i360 in Brighton. I have even had subjects approach me after I have taken a candid photo of them and ask if I can take a posed portrait photo of them. These moments reinforce that I am photographing the right contents in my street photography work and people are comfortable with what I am capturing.

Always have the question in your head before you take the shot, why am I shooting this? What is it about this situation or interaction that I want to capture? What is the story I’m trying to tell with this image and would this effect the subject negatively if I took this image?
 

• Shot using a Fujifilm X-T4 + Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 LM WR | 1/4300s f/2.0, ISO 200

So that's my approach and equipment but the other aspect that is required for street photography is courage. It can often feel uncomfortable pointing your camera at complete strangers, taking images of them going about their day-to-day business. In bigger cities, I have often found that people are less bothered by the presence of street photographers (especially London and Brighton) so that gives me greater choice of the focal length that I choose to shoot with (plus I have been shooting street photography for years and feel quite comfortable pointing my camera at people on the street). I also find that wearing headphones and listening to music whilst shooting means that I am less likely to be approached whilst shooting and the music often inspires my mood and sets my tone for the photography session.

I have my style but in truth there are no strict rules for street photography. What matters most is your vision of the images you wish to create. You can’t generate the moments to capture, you can only attempt to capture those moments in a style that represents how you artistically see the world around you.

Like wildlife photography, there is an element of patience and observation required to get the shot but that is the challenge. Not every shot is a “keeper” but that’s OK. The fact is I enjoy the challenge because no two days or locations are the same. Every outing is a new challenge. Street photography is unpredictable but that’s what keeps it interesting and keeps me developing and learning more about my skills as a photographer and about the world around me.

My street photography is an extension of my curiosity of the world and people around me. What your street photography says about the world (and how you see it) is yours to mold and develop (and yours alone) so get out there and capture what you can.
 

About Jamie Laverty:

Jamie started his love of photography during his Media Production degree at Carlisle. Alongside working at Park Cameras, he works with clients taking portraits, head shots and publicity images, but also enjoys street photography in his spare time. He has set himself the challenge of only owning and shooting with prime lenses.

We hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, why not read some of our other articles:

Top Tips for getting started in Street Photography
Ultimate Best Buys for Street Photography
Fujifilm X-T5 Review

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By Park Cameras on 13/08/2024