Technique Streetwise The challenge of taking great pictures of unrepeatablemoments withminimal kit is what makes street photography such fun. Brian LloydDuckett , amaster of the genre and official Fujifilm X-Photographer, offers his tips over the next four pages 1 OVERCOME YOUR STREET FEARS Most of us have some level of Brian Lloyd Duckett is the founder of Streetsnappers, an organisation that specialises in street photography About Streetsnappers
discomfort with street photography and we all deal with it in different ways. Some people will shoot away regardless; some will give up and shoot something different; others will learn a new set of skills to help them deal with any difficulties. Here are some ways in which you can minimise your fears. l Make street photography a habit because the more you’re out there doing it, the better you will feel about it. l Be quiet. If your camera’s beeps, clicks and blinking lights can be turned off, turn them off. l Shoot people who are absorbed in what they’re doing – they won’t notice you. l Work quickly – take your shot and move on. l Avoid eye contact, before and after the shot. l Learn to shoot from the hip , ie shoot without looking through the camera viewfinder. l Get as close as you’re comfortable
education.With a maximum of six participants, Brian’s workshops take place in cities around the UK and in Lisbon, Venice and Paris, and they offer a solid grounding in street photography styles, approaches and techniques. He also runs weekendmasterclass workshops for more advanced level street photographers and offers one-to-one tuition andmentoring. Brian lectures to university students and to camera clubs and his first book, Mastering Street Photography , has become a bestseller. His latest book, 52 Assignments: Street Photography , is a unique project workbook. Brian is also a brand ambassador for Fujifilm. streetsnappers.com brian@streetsnappers.com @streetsnappers
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with but keep pushing yourself to get a little closer every time. l Have confidence – remember that you are not doing anything wrong – and keep telling yourself this while you shoot. You’ll be more confident if you know the law: street photography in a public place is perfectly legal in the UK and you don’t need anyone’s permission to take their picture.
BECOME A GREAT OBSERVER
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Good street photographers are great observers; they soak up all the detail, watching body language and anticipating what might happen next. We need to be super-aware of what’s going on around us and be able to predict the actions of others so that we are in a state of readiness to capture a moment. Think of it as being able to ‘read’ the streets. You need to be curious, always thinking about what’s round that corner, who’s inside that shop or what is behind that door. Be nosey and it will pay dividends. You should also pay more attention to others than to yourself; many street photographers are too self-conscious and interested in how they look or behave. Nobody is interested in you – focus your attention on others. You also need to be an observer of the light. Seek out good light and try to find subjects and backgrounds that are bathed in it. Rejoice in strong directional light and don’t be afraid of contrast – look at its quality and direction, and use it to your advantage. Walk slowly, look at detail on the streets, and get into the zone because the ability to recognise important detail and make connections will help elevate your work as a street photographer.
SHOOT PROJECTS Street photographers often struggle to find sufficiently interesting subject matter and so resort to randomness, but to add real impact to your work, organise your shooting around projects. A project is a collection of images – a distinct body of work – which is generated around a specific theme with a kind of glue that bonds them together. It allows you to build a strong narrative, using images to tell a story. Here are three good reasons why you should shoot projects. l Projects give you focus and direction. On days when you can find little inspiration, or when there is nothing happening, they will give you the impetus to go out and shoot in an organisedmanner. l They give you a clear end game. One of themost satisfying outcomes of a project is sharing your work and there’s a real sense of achievement to seeing your images in a gallery, on a website or in the pages of a book. l They tell a story . While it is perfectly possible to tell a story using a single image, think about howmuchmore powerful that story can be if told using a cohesive set of images, edited and sequenced in a logical order.
26 Photography News | Issue 75
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