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Street photography can be challenging for many people. Probably the biggest issue for most folks is getting close to the subject. Street photography can be intrusive. Here is a photo and blog post I originally published in June of 2016 after a Chicago street photography workshop that I had given. What are your thoughts concerning the often times intrusiveness of street Photography?
Originally published on June 16, 2016
Man with bag street photography – 28mm, no crop, Tri-X, 800 push
A participant during one of my recent workshops was really uncomfortable with how close I was often getting to the people I photograph. I demonstrated how to employ the “20 degree shift,” where I’m able to literally get inches away from a subject, without them realizing that I’m photographing them. This is a sort of soft and sneaky approach to getting candid, and up-close captures with a wide angle lens .
But sometimes in street photography, being subtle isn’t an option, and a more direct method is required in order to get the shot. For some photographers, both approaches are nothing short of frightening. This fear is one reason why we see so many captures that were taken from great distances, leaving large voids in the images; and why we have seen digital-age street photographers asking permission and posing their shots.
While I was speaking to the workshop group, I noticed something odd from the corner of my eye, something just a bit out of place coming down the street. A man was walking down the sidewalk with a paper bag dangling from his mouth. Nothing earthshaking, but something out of the ordinary and therefore worthy of attempting to capture.
As the man passed, I quickly turned and grabbed a single capture with my Nikon FM. The man, caught off guard, yelled, “You think that’s funny?” as he continued walking. I did not engage the man, and he passed by without incident.
“I could never do anything like that,” said the uncomfortable photographer as she shook her head. In many ways, whether our approach is to be subtle and unseen, or direct and up-close, street photography is about intrusion. Most often, in a large city like Chicago, people don’t have the time nor the concern to worry about someone taking photos.
Tip: If you are worried about being too intrusive, start with a 50mm lens and photograph in public places where there is a festive atmosphere. Once you get comfortable with that, you can move up to using the 24mm-28mm.
