Street Photography
Street photography "is probably best explained as an opportunistic moment in which a photographer captures a candid public scene in front of him. "
"In order for a street photo to be genuine, it has to feature an unopposed situation within a public place, regardless of where that place may be."
Street photography is described as the most honest kind of photography due to its rule of capturing unaware subjects and unedited photos. However many iconic street photographers broke that rule, which makes the genre with plenty of room for experimentation and creativism. The idea behind capturing unaware subject, makes the genre play around the time. The photographer must capture the perfect moment due to present an unique picture of someone's reality.
The street fashion is strictly describing photos taken in urban areas. Landscapes and sunsets are not considered a part of street photography. On the other hand there is 100% of a freedom towards the angles and lengths of the shots.
"It’s about letting go of control, about uncompromisingly committing to whatever comes in front of the camera, venturing into the unknown and limiting yourself to just observing and reacting."
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
1940s: Helen Levitt (1913-2009)
Her work was based in New York where she photographed the streets of the city. She focused on the poor neighborhoods, where the life was more interesting and surprising than in other, richer parts of New York.
Her work is known for capturing the stories, the moments of humor, game and conversation among the people that she found.
She told a great story of the life of poor neighbors in 40s, remaining truthful to what she saw there.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
- personally I adore how "random" the photographs are. In my spare time I love to take photographs of random people, capturing their unique stories.
1950s: Garry Winogrand (1928 - 1984)
He was best known for his abstract angles and perfect timing in which he catured everyday life of New Yorkers in 60s.
"Winogrand taught himself how to tilt the camera with the wide-angle lens in such a way that allowed him to include elements that, given his close vantage point, would have otherwise been cut off by the frame. This practice also resulted in unusual compositions with a certain amount of distortion. Shooting many frames in quick succession, Winogrand did not strive for the classical composition of traditional photography. The tilted-frame technique, as opposed to placing the horizon line parallel to the frame, was Winogrand’s (successful) experiment and subsequently became common practice among street photographers. His style quickly acquired the name “snapshot aesthetic,” a term Winogrand rejected because it implied that his approach was casual and without focus. "
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Garry-Winogrand
- similarity to Levitt, I like how "random" the photos are. I also like how some of the subjects look at the camera and some don't like it shows that the photo has been taken, but also that it was a real and unplanned situation.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
1966: William Klein (1928- )
Klain is known for his abstract photography based on his paintings. Those images brought him into working for VOGUE as fashion photographer.
Everything that has been considered as a mistake in photography at this time, was the things that Klein photographs had and what made them unique - grainy, blurry, high-contrast etc.
To achieve this effect he used - "a 35-millimeter camera, slow film, and a wide-angle lens, for both his fashion photography and his personal work".
https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/william-klein?all/all/all/all/0
1980s: Amy Arbus (1954- )
Arbus is known as the Village Voice's style photographer, capturing style of famous and capturing the New York subculture at its peak.
- I like how Arbus captured 2random" people in "random" outfits and how the subjects ended up posing anyway.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
https://www.amyarbus.com/about/
https://www.artsy.net/artist/amy-arbus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Arbus
http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/7354/amy-arbus-on-80s-street-style-photography
1980s: Jamel Shabazz (1960- )
Shabazz started with photographing and documenting the life of African-American community and from that point on he moved on into documenting the life in New York City "from youth culture to a wide range of social conditions".
- more than anything, I like the idea of having a message behind Shabazz work.
http://www.jamelshabazz.com/#photographs
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2005: Tommy Ton (1984- )
Ton is best know for his eye to capture the most interesting, weird and unique fashions.
He focuses on glamour and and most fashion forward subjects.
- I like how Ton captures very high fashion subjects who pose for him both looking at the camera and ignoring it. I guess it is one of those photographers who like to play with the meaning of Street Photography and I can see myself doing something similar.
https://www.instagram.com/tommyton/?hl=en
http://www.tommyton.com/about.html
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2006: Phil Oh
Oh is an example of fashion bloggers who decided to go out and take photos of interesting people and their outfits. It allowed him to work with brands such as VOGUE.
Oh mostly focuses on the traditional idea of Street Photography, where the subject is unaware of the photo being taken. Oh takes photos in variety of angles and different apertures.
He photographs models and celebrities. His style is similar to Ton in terms of photographing high fashion and glamour.
- I really like his blurry images. I definitely want to do something similar in my work. In my opinion it gives more life to a photo. It makes it alive, moving. It almost feels like it has its own sound and smell.
https://www.instagram.com/mrstreetpeeper/?hl=en
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2011/sep/13/blogging-new-york-fashion-week-autumn-2011
http://www.streetpeeper.com/
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2008: Ari Seth Cohen
"Ari Seth Cohen, is the creator of Advanced Style, a project devoted “to capturing the sartorial savvy of the senior set.” He says, “I feature people who live full creative lives. They live life to the fullest, age gracefully and continue to grow and challenge themselves.”"
http://www.advanced.style/about
https://www.instagram.com/advancedstyle/
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
- I absolutely adore Cohen's work. It brings so much colors, positivity and positive messages it is insane.
The reason why street photography started really develop in 20th century is the technology. Before the long exposure time did not allow the photographer to capture their subject on a photo since their were in a constant move.
The last years of 70s was the time for street photography to become a "well-respected medium with a rich background and a genuine art form that was considered to be a worthy mention in any book of art history".
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
"Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually"
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
https://www.magnumphotos.com/about-magnum/overview/
Established in 1947, the organization gathers photographers and photography that deserves to bee seen and appreciated, allowing new and fresh ideas to be heard, showing the respect to the art itself, never questioning if something is art or not.
They provide the work of many to " client base of media, charities, publishers, brands and cultural institutions".
The organization played a major role in bringing street photography to the essence of respected art form.
https://www.magnumphotos.com/about-magnum/overview/
70s and Graffiti
1970s were years when graffiti become a form of expression, for the first time not assocaited with crime.
"Its transformation from an illegal tool to a true underground culture was a sudden change and the public needed more than a few years to truly accept it, but early urban expression seemed to be a hand in glove fit with street photography".
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
With Graffiti, street photography become stronger than ever, when for the first time, the background become an important part of a photo. It also highlighted the idea of being on a "street". Basically, the two modern media, put together, become a new and fresh art form.
-I think that I would like to capture at least one or two photos with my models in front of a street art. I think it would be very interesting. I would not only focus on graffiti, but also writing on walls and architecture.
(on recce I photographed many locations that were decorated with street art and interesting architectural textures. Those for me are representative of a city and truly embody the idea of street photography)
Martha Cooper (1943 - )
Cooper documented the art of the graffiti in New York in 1970s and 1980s. She was fascinated by artists such as Dondi and Blade, who she was introduced to by HE3 who introduced her to this world.
She used to take photos at night, when she could document a variety of artists working on their pieces.
http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/martha-cooper/
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/martha-cooper-photography-interview/index.html
Artists like Cooper can be: Henry Chalfant, who mostly focused on cars and trains painted with graffiti or Jürgen Große who focused his work around Berlin's street art.
There is a whole list of artists who were drown to Graffiti as well:
Websites I have also looked at:
http://www.complex.com/style/greatest-street-photographers/richard-sandler
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-for-street-photography/
https://digital-photography-school.com/ultimate-guide-street-photography/
https://petapixel.com/2016/08/06/15-street-photography-techniques-tips/
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2011/05/vivian-maier-john-maloof/
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/photography/street.htm
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/03/04/timeless-insights-you-can-learn-from-the-history-of-street-photography/
1/25seconds
1/125seconds
1/640 seconds etc.
High shutter speed = less light comes into the sensor, sharp image, no blur
Low shutter speed = more light comes into the sensor, blurred image used for creative experimentation.
It is measured in f numbers or stops.
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
Large aperture:
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
- More light
- Less scene stays in focus
Small aperture:
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
- Less light
- More scene stays in focus
In fashion photography it is common to use Large aperture with small f numbers to keep the subject in focus and the background blurred.
Higher ISO = high sensitivity to the light
Low ISO = low sensitivity to the light
With higher ISO, the is higher possibility to image to capture some kind of a noise, a blur.
ISO can start from a 100 and go up to 6400.
https://photographylife.com/what-is-iso-in-photography
The manual gives much more control than the auto focus, however auto focus is good to use if you want to take a photo quickly.
You can also take two identical photos using a tripod. One overexposed and one underexposed. Leter on in pre production you can combine them together.
A fashion Editorial Shoot
A Fashion Portraiture
"In order for a street photo to be genuine, it has to feature an unopposed situation within a public place, regardless of where that place may be."
Street photography is described as the most honest kind of photography due to its rule of capturing unaware subjects and unedited photos. However many iconic street photographers broke that rule, which makes the genre with plenty of room for experimentation and creativism. The idea behind capturing unaware subject, makes the genre play around the time. The photographer must capture the perfect moment due to present an unique picture of someone's reality.
The street fashion is strictly describing photos taken in urban areas. Landscapes and sunsets are not considered a part of street photography. On the other hand there is 100% of a freedom towards the angles and lengths of the shots.
"It’s about letting go of control, about uncompromisingly committing to whatever comes in front of the camera, venturing into the unknown and limiting yourself to just observing and reacting."
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
1940s: Helen Levitt (1913-2009)
Her work was based in New York where she photographed the streets of the city. She focused on the poor neighborhoods, where the life was more interesting and surprising than in other, richer parts of New York.
Her work is known for capturing the stories, the moments of humor, game and conversation among the people that she found.
She told a great story of the life of poor neighbors in 40s, remaining truthful to what she saw there.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
- personally I adore how "random" the photographs are. In my spare time I love to take photographs of random people, capturing their unique stories.
1950s: Garry Winogrand (1928 - 1984)
He was best known for his abstract angles and perfect timing in which he catured everyday life of New Yorkers in 60s.
"Winogrand taught himself how to tilt the camera with the wide-angle lens in such a way that allowed him to include elements that, given his close vantage point, would have otherwise been cut off by the frame. This practice also resulted in unusual compositions with a certain amount of distortion. Shooting many frames in quick succession, Winogrand did not strive for the classical composition of traditional photography. The tilted-frame technique, as opposed to placing the horizon line parallel to the frame, was Winogrand’s (successful) experiment and subsequently became common practice among street photographers. His style quickly acquired the name “snapshot aesthetic,” a term Winogrand rejected because it implied that his approach was casual and without focus. "
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Garry-Winogrand
- similarity to Levitt, I like how "random" the photos are. I also like how some of the subjects look at the camera and some don't like it shows that the photo has been taken, but also that it was a real and unplanned situation.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
1966: William Klein (1928- )
Klain is known for his abstract photography based on his paintings. Those images brought him into working for VOGUE as fashion photographer.
Everything that has been considered as a mistake in photography at this time, was the things that Klein photographs had and what made them unique - grainy, blurry, high-contrast etc.
To achieve this effect he used - "a 35-millimeter camera, slow film, and a wide-angle lens, for both his fashion photography and his personal work".
https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/william-klein?all/all/all/all/0
1980s: Amy Arbus (1954- )
Arbus is known as the Village Voice's style photographer, capturing style of famous and capturing the New York subculture at its peak.
- I like how Arbus captured 2random" people in "random" outfits and how the subjects ended up posing anyway.
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
https://www.amyarbus.com/about/
https://www.artsy.net/artist/amy-arbus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Arbus
http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/7354/amy-arbus-on-80s-street-style-photography
1980s: Jamel Shabazz (1960- )
Shabazz started with photographing and documenting the life of African-American community and from that point on he moved on into documenting the life in New York City "from youth culture to a wide range of social conditions".
- more than anything, I like the idea of having a message behind Shabazz work.
http://www.jamelshabazz.com/#photographs
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2005: Tommy Ton (1984- )
Ton is best know for his eye to capture the most interesting, weird and unique fashions.
He focuses on glamour and and most fashion forward subjects.
- I like how Ton captures very high fashion subjects who pose for him both looking at the camera and ignoring it. I guess it is one of those photographers who like to play with the meaning of Street Photography and I can see myself doing something similar.
https://www.instagram.com/tommyton/?hl=en
http://www.tommyton.com/about.html
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2006: Phil Oh
Oh is an example of fashion bloggers who decided to go out and take photos of interesting people and their outfits. It allowed him to work with brands such as VOGUE.
Oh mostly focuses on the traditional idea of Street Photography, where the subject is unaware of the photo being taken. Oh takes photos in variety of angles and different apertures.
He photographs models and celebrities. His style is similar to Ton in terms of photographing high fashion and glamour.
- I really like his blurry images. I definitely want to do something similar in my work. In my opinion it gives more life to a photo. It makes it alive, moving. It almost feels like it has its own sound and smell.
https://www.instagram.com/mrstreetpeeper/?hl=en
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2011/sep/13/blogging-new-york-fashion-week-autumn-2011
http://www.streetpeeper.com/
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
2008: Ari Seth Cohen
"Ari Seth Cohen, is the creator of Advanced Style, a project devoted “to capturing the sartorial savvy of the senior set.” He says, “I feature people who live full creative lives. They live life to the fullest, age gracefully and continue to grow and challenge themselves.”"
http://www.advanced.style/about
https://www.instagram.com/advancedstyle/
http://www.elle.com/fashion/street-style/news/g28660/history-of-street-style-photography/?slide=4
- I absolutely adore Cohen's work. It brings so much colors, positivity and positive messages it is insane.
The reason why street photography started really develop in 20th century is the technology. Before the long exposure time did not allow the photographer to capture their subject on a photo since their were in a constant move.
The last years of 70s was the time for street photography to become a "well-respected medium with a rich background and a genuine art form that was considered to be a worthy mention in any book of art history".
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
Magnum Photos
https://www.instagram.com/magnumphotos/?hl=en
https://www.magnumphotos.com/about-magnum/overview/
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
"Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually"
- Henri Cartier-Bresson
https://www.magnumphotos.com/about-magnum/overview/
Established in 1947, the organization gathers photographers and photography that deserves to bee seen and appreciated, allowing new and fresh ideas to be heard, showing the respect to the art itself, never questioning if something is art or not.
They provide the work of many to " client base of media, charities, publishers, brands and cultural institutions".
The organization played a major role in bringing street photography to the essence of respected art form.
https://www.magnumphotos.com/about-magnum/overview/
70s and Graffiti
1970s were years when graffiti become a form of expression, for the first time not assocaited with crime.
"Its transformation from an illegal tool to a true underground culture was a sudden change and the public needed more than a few years to truly accept it, but early urban expression seemed to be a hand in glove fit with street photography".
https://openwallsgallery.com/street-art-photography/
With Graffiti, street photography become stronger than ever, when for the first time, the background become an important part of a photo. It also highlighted the idea of being on a "street". Basically, the two modern media, put together, become a new and fresh art form.
-I think that I would like to capture at least one or two photos with my models in front of a street art. I think it would be very interesting. I would not only focus on graffiti, but also writing on walls and architecture.
(on recce I photographed many locations that were decorated with street art and interesting architectural textures. Those for me are representative of a city and truly embody the idea of street photography)
Martha Cooper (1943 - )
Cooper documented the art of the graffiti in New York in 1970s and 1980s. She was fascinated by artists such as Dondi and Blade, who she was introduced to by HE3 who introduced her to this world.
She used to take photos at night, when she could document a variety of artists working on their pieces.
http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/martha-cooper/
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/martha-cooper-photography-interview/index.html
Artists like Cooper can be: Henry Chalfant, who mostly focused on cars and trains painted with graffiti or Jürgen Große who focused his work around Berlin's street art.
There is a whole list of artists who were drown to Graffiti as well:
- Nils Müller
- Alex Fakso
- Ruedi One
- JUST
- Keegan Gibbs
- JR
- Thomas von Wittich
Websites I have also looked at:
http://www.complex.com/style/greatest-street-photographers/richard-sandler
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-for-street-photography/
https://digital-photography-school.com/ultimate-guide-street-photography/
https://petapixel.com/2016/08/06/15-street-photography-techniques-tips/
https://www.motherjones.com/media/2011/05/vivian-maier-john-maloof/
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/photography/street.htm
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/03/04/timeless-insights-you-can-learn-from-the-history-of-street-photography/
Lara Jade (2012) Fashion Photography A complete course for new fashion photographers 101
ILEX Uk
ILEX Uk
The basics of camera:
- Exposure
- Shutter speed
1/25seconds
1/125seconds
1/640 seconds etc.
High shutter speed = less light comes into the sensor, sharp image, no blur
Low shutter speed = more light comes into the sensor, blurred image used for creative experimentation.
- Aperture
It is measured in f numbers or stops.
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
Large aperture:
f/1.4
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
- More light
- Less scene stays in focus
Small aperture:
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
- Less light
- More scene stays in focus
In fashion photography it is common to use Large aperture with small f numbers to keep the subject in focus and the background blurred.
- ISO
Higher ISO = high sensitivity to the light
Low ISO = low sensitivity to the light
With higher ISO, the is higher possibility to image to capture some kind of a noise, a blur.
ISO can start from a 100 and go up to 6400.
- Focal length
- White Balance
- Manual and Auto focus
The manual gives much more control than the auto focus, however auto focus is good to use if you want to take a photo quickly.
Natural Light
- Backlit
- Adding flame
- Direct to the light
- Rim lighting
You can also take two identical photos using a tripod. One overexposed and one underexposed. Leter on in pre production you can combine them together.
- Overcast
A fashion Editorial Shoot
- you need a good creative team : models, stylist, makeup artist, hair stylist, manicurist, art director, personal assistant, digital assistant
- majority of the photos should be taken in portrait, only a couple in landscape
- if the photo will be put in a magazine, avoid placing the subject on the middle of a photo, because they will disappear.
A Fashion Portraiture
- the clothing needs to be the main focus, unlike in normal portrait, this time it is not bout the subject, itsis about the outfit
- it is the best to keep things simple. It helps with embracing the character of a model
- make sure you plan the shoot. It is hard to organize a shoot consist of a couple of people. It is harder to style them and put into right positions
- consider the distance between you and the subject. With a group shoot it is extra important
- when there is more than one person, it is important to remember about some kind of similarity; between models, their outfits, makeup ect.
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