Street photography is the documentation of daily life and put a mirror of present world’s situation. No retake, no manipulation is possible if it is really a street photography. So, we can say it is a straight photography of the current situation without any rehearsal, makeup and artificial lights.
If you are controlling elements within the scene, the work shifts toward conceptual photography or even an outdoor studio setup. Posed models in public spaces do not qualify as street photography, because the photographer knows—or should know—the exact poses, expressions, and lighting desired before the shoot begins. After all, you wouldn’t hire a model and seek permission to shoot without a clear plan in mind.
Street photography, by contrast, is inherently reactive. Spontaneity and the ability to anticipate moments are essential skills. You never truly know what you’ll encounter on any given day, and that unpredictability is what draws photographers to the genre—it offers an endless, ever-changing source of inspiration and material.
Human scale
It is with or without people. This is a question of scale; at the near or human scale, you have that which is dominated by people as the primary subject; at the large scale you have entire cityscapes and street scenes, that use people to give context and scale to the image. The farther away you go, the more the image becomes about the atmosphere and the feeling of the place, rather than the people who inhabit it. That said, there is no reason why you cannot take photos of something which you happen to see while walking around looking for these scenes or people; this is the kind of thing which I like to call ‘street furniture’ – interesting lampposts, mail boxes and other geometries are also fair game.
I think it is also possible to make an argument to include casual architecture in the genre; I know that when I travel, I tend to shoot a lot of interesting buildings with or without human context involved – simply because these are things I see while walking around, and they add a lot to the context and general feel of a place.
So, I must say that street photography is the mirror of the moment and report in the form of frame.
Thank you Pexel for freely sharing these photographs. Thank you Joao Cabral, Francesco Lick and Pixabay for these class photos.
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