Street portraits
The documentation of interestingness…
Street portraits are a great way to kill some time.
They are also a great way to kill those confidence eating, self-esteem crushing bugs that gnaw away at your soul and leave you a procrastinating, coffee-drinking, shaking pile of self-pity in the café you’ve been sitting in for hours.
Get up. Get out. MAKE SOME FRIENDS.
Street Photography: So many ways to do it
Street photography comes in all shapes, styles, and levels of comfort.
You’ve got the considered classics from the likes of the big boys: Cartier-Bresson and (my fave) Doisneau. Then there’s the in-your-face brutality of Bruce Gilden. It’s a hot topic of debate:
- Do you engage?
- Do you set up?
- Do you watch and document?
Why I love street portraits
Personally, I’m drawn to the simple street portrait.
Strangers out in the world who just look awesome. Be i it’s their style, their energy, their vibe, or just something unexplainable. It’s about celebrating them… (but also a little bit of celebrating yourself as you my friend, are an AWESOME photographer)
And yeah, one of the hardest parts? Walking up to someone and mumbling something that doesn’t make you sound like a stalker or a serial killer. Real talk. It builds your confidence and builds your soul.
Curate or improvise
You can curate your shots. Pick a theme. Build a project.
Or you can just go with your gut, embrace the randomness and enjoy what the world throws at you.
From Street to Exhibition
Street portraits eventually led me to put on an exhibition in Derby about people in the city.
Excitingly* or not*, the shopping centre wanted to celebrate the stylish folks of Derby so off I went, Fuji X-Pro1 in hand and spent some happy days meeting interesting humans and capturing them on the street.
Let’s connect
If you’re a photographer and you’re into street portraits, say hello.
I’ve got a little side project that needs some love, maybe we can build something cool together.
