Photo by Paul Watson , " The Flying Brick " , Streets of Cape Town
Street photography is not about taking random photos of people on the street, or chasing homeless people down and taking photos of them so everyone can Like and share in their bad luck. I am just as guilty, I have taken a few pictures that were so hard hitting and provoking that I started getting Death Threats. Now think about it, a homeless person get absolutely nothing out of you taking their picture, most times photographers don’t even ask. Now if you post that photo to social media and get 1 like or compliment, that means you have profited off someone’s misery.
Street photography can be very amusing sometimes . I titled this photo " Like hell i will , just say NO to street signs " . Picture take by asking someone on the street near by to snap this picture of me. Now Imagine if a drunk man with a leaking paint tine was weaving passed this sign.
Photo , " Hell no " photo was taken by a random person walk nearby
The sympathy that the viewer give is just for you to make you feel good. But I can hear you say, The Homeless people are part of the streets, , yes they are , but you the photographer need to think just a little before pushing the button.
How about when you saw the homeless person , and you felt the urge to take a photo , go up and talk to them , buy them some food , be interested in them . Once you start to see that this person has a STORY, switch to Journalism or Documentary Photography but ask for permission.
Homeless people are not wild animals to be hunted down and shot with a canon or Nikon
My advice is do not exploit peoples misery and desperation for likes or image views. So think, be empathetic…
Street photography is about moments, thin slices of time, captured by you the artist and that moment will never be repeated again until the sun goes super Nova in a 120 Billion years… I know one of the Big Pro photographers call this the "decisive moment”. It takes years of practice, and its almost a reflex pushing the button, rather than a thought. Let me try and explain , You might see a interesting looking man walking down the road , maybe Marching more like it , he has Pun striped long pants on , a silk shirt and a Fedora type hat. So when do you take the shot? Don’t just blast away, or move aggressively towards him . This is what I would do, I would cross to the other side of the street, then keep pace with him , walking in the same direction as he is . Then I would ne looking for things on the streets ahead of him that can add to his story. If i was lucky he would walk passed a Fence that has long bars mimicking the pin stripes on pants , I would take a shot , try and blend in , and carry on following him , one never knows what might happen next , but be ready , move with purpose. Start to look and almost predict photos .
Street Photography is about the City streets and its inhabitants. Its about emotion, connection, love , beauty , life , death , They are not photos if you are good , they become art.
I always think to myself when taking a photo, why are you taking a photo of this direction? What caught my interest, and is there a story to be told in the photo. I always remind myself that i can legally take a photo of anyone in a Public space , as long as they are over 18 , and i am not misrepresenting them.
Here’s something interesting i, discussed this a lawyer friend and he agreed with me. A Street Photographer can take a photo of a person, and sell that photo as art. As long as the person in the photo was not misrepresented in any way or compromising them in whatever way , spiritually , traditionally or , If a person asks not to have their photo taken , be polite , , , people are sometimes so critical of themselves that they will not allow a photo of themselves to go on social media because they feel that they are so ugly . No means no , so apologize and bid them goodbye and walk away
Street photography is an art form , its not easy , and to take a photo that will have people wanting to frame it and hang on their walls for years and years and they will see that photo every day . Its going to have to be something special,
Street Photography is a bit like setting up a stage for audience. You the artist with the camera, have to take a photo that has your touch and feel to the picture. You are the benders of light (Photography in Latin means Painting with light ) To set the scene , you must use every trick in the book ,. Colour - Certain colours make people certain ways , colour also has connotations I use colour to support and amplify a mood or feeling i am trying to present to my viewer
Red - Passion , War , Blood , masculinity , danger , love , but also sex Its a colour that catches people’s attention , and you can use it to pull a viewer’s eye to a part of the photo. It is also very difficult to create depth with , Red tends to flatten out parts of a photo ,
Blue - Cold , depressed , down , emotional , wet , water boy child .
Yellow - warmth, sunlight, friendship, sunflowers, but also warning , sickness , and quarantine., it’s a very zig zag type colour if it moved , it would be very energetic.
Green - Neutral, healing, peace, tranquillity, forests , grass , but also has memories of hospitals , sick people and poison.
Orange - Healthy , fruit , warmth , fun , laughter , eye catching and can be used as a warning
And so you can see how colours can pushy a person’s way of thing or feeling in a direction that you the artist wants.
White - Critical colour , peace , surrender , blank , purity ,snow., good
Black - Shadows , evil , hidden , night time , fear , loss.
If i may quickly point out Black and white are not colours , they are technically called tones.
When i got my first Digital camera, i would write long lists of what colours reminded me of. I Like valentine’s Day , one thinks about the colour red straight away. These are called Visual Clues , and its something that all the big Hollywood studio movies use. One has to think about why you react to things in a certain way . Try figure out why something scares you , and not just colour can be a visual que , put objects can set a certain mood.
Lines and Patterns - start to try and see the world in black and white with very heavy contrast. Look for leading lines, a line that will pull the viewers eye along a route , lines that converge on the focal point. Long slender lines that look like Jain cell bars. . Think all the time, those rectangle shadows look like a pianos keys. But now you have the idea , can you take the photo in such a way that the viewer gets it and I promise you , when you have little things like that in your photos , people feel good and proud of themselves for figuring out and understanding your visual clues
Street Photography can be Black and whites or Coloured. Black and white photos are the more traditional medium.
and to end off , I beg you , from the depths of my soul , , try to see and showcase happier , joyful and more positive things when taking street photos , Its very easy to see the darker , dirty and dilapidated lonely side of the streets… You are the artist , you paint the scene , and let me tell you , every day on social media , people are bombarded with thousands of images , War , destruction , hate , violence , and then hundreds and thousands of photos that have no story , no thought , no emotion , just arbitrary people in a unknown city walking on a random street.
When you start to see things that others don’t see , and you understand and can use all these tricks to create a photo that makes people react and feel/ Stop taking random photos , that look like the same photos from 20 years ago ( The bad photos ) , YOU are unique , You see things differently than most people , so use your intelligence to capture a scene that people will pull apart ass it has layers .
Stay away from boring everyone and anyone can take that photo , and start looking at things differently.
Photos and Essay written and taken by Paul Watson.
I would love t hear your Thoughts about WHAT YOU THINK Street Photography . and if you are brave enough , Post a street photo and you tell me why you like it and what your thoughts were when taking it. I will gladly give my opinion without been nasty or cruel , and just as you can learn from me , I learn from you as well.
