Streetphotography – what it’s all about …
Streetphotography – that means photographing people in an open street – usually without announcement. Only this way can authentic photos be created that depict people as they are. The difference to the planned, presented photo is immense: as soon as we feel observed, our behavior changes. When we are photographed, we instinctively try to appear beneficial. As a result, posed photos often appear cramped. There is hardly a person who would not have thought „I always look unnatural on pictures“, when looking at his own photo.
Streetphotography, on the other hand, wants to capture the moment as it is. It is probably a kind of art that comes very close to the objective image of reality. Of course, the photographer with the (subjective) choice of his composition influences the scenery. Once selected, the subject looks authentic.
„Streetphotography wants to capture the structures and the rhythm of everyday life quickly and keep the pulse of life in pictures.“
Thorsten Höge, PhotoMagazin 7/2017
Street photography is legally in a grey area: photographing individuals without their consent violates their rights to their own image. The purpose of street photography, however, is not to meet people with a paparazzi mentality. On the contrary – respect for the motive is a condition sine qua non. The principle is: shoot first, then ask. Digital photography makes it easier here: the photographed person can immediately show the picture and subsequently ask for approval.
Street photographers often approach their goal through various compromises: people are first photographed from behind, from far away, without a head or in groups.
If development continues, individual shots often follow from the beginning. „High end“ is to take a close-up and involve the photographed people, sometimes even to provoke – a so called street portrait. Of course the person then knows that he is being photographed but the reactions are still spontaneous, the emotions remain authentic.
mlopht, August 10, 2019