What is interesting? Stop taking pointless street photos!

[@GarethDanks]

📸latest issue of my street photography info-zine F/8 is now available for instant download: bit.ly/3Ilk1wc

[@jkingwhistler]

I wonder how many of Eggleston's photographs back in the day would be deemed boring and void of any merit? The patina of time can sometimes take an ordinary scene and give it value. I guess also the real trick is to find what you as the photographer find interesting and not Instagram etc.

[@kubowich]

True, but Eggleston is still somehow boring. Sometimes I enjoy his photography and I own several his books, but being the same genre like say, Stephen Shore…Eggleston is far more mediocre than Shore.

[@jkingwhistler]

@@kubowich I have a number of books as well by both Eggleston and Shore. Comparing them and stating one photographer is far more mediocre is like trying to convince someone your favorite flavor of ice cream should be theirs as well.

[@andyl4565]

@@kubowich I don't find either Eggleston or Shore boring by any means.

[@gregorylagrange]

@@jkingwhistler Eggleston has some hits and has some misses. Like everybody else. I can see why some people think he doesn't have much to his photography. Where he hits is when he gets the mundaneness of your average suburban life. Such as the grocery store shelf. A color palette, lots of artistic effort put into each individual product label when you think about it, yet there's a mundaneness to it all because of how it's displayed and what you get from routine of always having shelves stocked full of items at any hour of the day, any day of the week. Another hit for me is the tricycle. His use of perspective conveys how iconic it really is even as such an ordinary item. A serious miss for me is the red basement ceiling photo. Yes there's a lone white electrical cord that breaks up a sea of red. But for me it doesn't work.

[@simonpetergreen]

eggleston is about sequence and narrative story telling and not individual images.

[@borneofilms]

Taking pointless photographs can also be seen as a warming up excercise as you become more comfortable being among people and work yourself towards the meaningful photograph. It's not just about the image but the interaction and overall experience

[@GarethDanks]

Absolutely agree 👍🏻

[@dicekolev5360]

Or the otherwise - I've been extremely opened for stopping people to make a portrait of them while now I have the most advanced tech to make such content yet I can't stand being around people as they only stare at me and not sure if because they never seen a camera or 90kg bearded/long haired guy with a camera ;D

[@anindyaganguly5243]

This is exactly I feel.

[@robertdavis1255]

Just to add to my previous comments...I am 79 yrs old and when I look back on my 'silly' b& W pics I took 60+ yrs ago I am so glad I took them for different reasons.... cheers 😀

[@allen.9]

same... except mine were only 2 years ago 😂. I love looking back on old photos, even when they're completely out of focus or pointless photos. it's like a little time capsule, and though I may forget about certain memories, when I see the photos again it all comes back.

[@allen.9]

I've taken a bunch of useless photos and one day while looking through my photos, I randomly found one of the best photos I've ever taken. I have no recollection of taking it but it's now my background everywhere lol.

[@GarethDanks]

Haha. Yeah I’ve had that. Good for you mate

[@guidonagle5075]

I've always had a hard time getting rid of my less than best shots. So every winter I like to go back through the entire catalog (well, some of it) and always come up with a few gems - shots that maybe didn't hold up to the obvious winners at the time, but with time I can see something that I didn't see originally. So for me, there's a happy medium between super-focused shooting and casually taking alot of shots.

[@harryp6312]

Best composition for me was near the end. The girl sitting outside the bar, bathed in lots of warm red light with reflections. Each to their own but i find anyone that seeks attention best avoided, that includes street performers

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks mate. Erm.. most people who go out dressed quirky are after attention.. how would avoid photographing them? They’re the ones who are interesting.

[@francescofanton5432]

@@GarethDanks hi Gareth! Glad to see you back on KZbin! I've a technical question for you: i'm a Canon shoot (full frame 6D)...i often shoot weddings as second photographer. I'm enjoing using an XT20 for street and space time and i was thinking about a full switch but i'm worried about low light performance of and XT 3 or XT 4 as my main body, expetially for dance floor and dark churches...what's your feedback about these kind of situations? Are you ok with the Fuji AF in general for weddings?

[@ajc1482]

@@GarethDanks or maybe that just how they want to dress?. You saying that anyone who dresses quirkily wants attention isn't that far from saying women going out in revealing clothing are asking to be harassed.

[@jamesgjurovich7893]

@@ajc1482 depends on where that person goes. There's always going to be those who take advantage the choices of others.

[@Thebormedable]

True but in the end, beginners need to take a lot of pictures. that way they can learn, evaluate and asses their work. pointless picture is not so pointless after all. they can be a great tools to develop many beginner's view in photography. Pick 1 theme before going out on the street kinda works for me but sometimes "no theme" is also a good way. you can't predict let alone control what's on the street anyway. Keep up the good work 👍🏻

[@bjorno7573]

Agree 100%

[@bit9524]

This

[@clintwoosley9512]

I really enjoyed you going through the process and showing the “almosts” along with your “nailed it’s”. I finally got to London a few months ago and it was fun to know where you were along the river.

[@carlosmcse]

Well. Don’t take any of this personally. We are trying to make bigger points here. You must see the irony of the title and then you making a video and taking pointless photos. 😂 It’s because of KZbinrs and others pushing this “street photography” nonsense. It is a meaningless term. Other than for workshops, books, and photo walks, the term Street Photography serves no purpose. 10:01 you’re spraying pictures one handed walking behind someone. But you started the video with the concept of “take less photos”. Why? Cowboy hat? You sprayed 200 shots and 0 were interesting. When I’m out there I’m taking photos of myself. - Bruce Gilden 11:40 you had the most beautiful girl in the world. Again 1 handed spraying shots. It looks like a passport picture. 12:02 took a photo of some guy looking at his phone. Take your own advice and shoot less pictures. Seems like you’re trapped in shooting for a style instead of shooting for what’s within yourself. Your sentiment is right. But the proof is in the pudding and all the photos here and the way you were shooting was just forgettable generic garbage. You can do so much better than this. It’s amateur hour. Leave the GoPro at home and go really take pictures seriously. The photo is the statement. So make one.

[@harrylew]

Spot on!

[@ofeykalakar1]

I’d suggest- limit yourself to one manual focus lens and 12-24 frames of film of your choosing. Slow down and think about the composition- like a scene in a movie.

[@beholder2012]

Absolutely agree. I dislike that senseless „shooting in the back” of passersby - which results in s**tload of pointless pictures of the type „just some people wandering around”.

[@663]

i wonder why he didnt reply to your comment :D the thing is in photography or art in general, to someone one photo could be garbage but at the same photo to other person could be a masterpiece, so i guess the moral of the story to what ever you want guys

[@carlosmcse]

​@663 He hasn't read the post. Otherwise I would he banned by now. If I'm not already. I'm not saying a blanket statement about his photos in general. I just made a comment on this video here in particular. The title of the video vs what he did. 0:35

[@marooned2614]

I wish more people see this video. I'm so tired of all this "street photography" photos which are just a random snap in the city with a blue tint preset slapped on it. Interesting: 000000000

[@SketchTurnerZero]

YES! Everyone is a street photographer this days

[@boronizer848]

It is so good to see that I am not alone with this opinion. People snap random people without any interesting scenery and call themselves street photographers just because they use an analog Leica.

[@berndbanken3256]

Don't forget the Billingham bag😂😎

[@john-bloss]

“Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed.” - Garry Winogrand

[@MaddSnake]

Interesting - I actually entirely disagree, and I'm not a professional by any means but have been shooting street photograhy for about a year, both digital and film. I'd be rather sad going out for 5 hours and taking 1 photo, I'd feel like my eyes weren't open. I'm not really fond of taking pictures of street performers etc, it looks studio. I prefer unique lighting spots, scenes that look movie esque and interesting places. I kind of have an idea in my head of what I want to shoot that day and I look for it and I enjoy it. My mind is digging like I'm looking for a pokemon and I love it, some of my favourite shots are ones I thought ''this might look boring'' and it ends up the opposite. I took a picture of a women with a rainbow umbrella infront of a Rainbow here in Scotland at the city centre. It wasn't until I got home I realised the womens jacket was red, the guy next to her had an orange jacket, the chair in the middle was yellow and the guy sitting on it had a blue jacket and green hat. This almost (it lacked 1 colour) was the exact colour of a Rainbow, that was most certainly a ''is this good?'' and it's one of my most liked images on social media haha.

[@Glennsphotography1968]

Great video and BRILLIANT tips. I am still learning street photography and this has helped. Will be in London this Saturday 12th November during the day.

[@GarethDanks]

Glad it was helpful! thanks for the comment mate

[@bcegerton]

Good to see you back Gareth, I do agree with you on most things but think if someone is taking boring, people on the phone but no obvious interesting point well at least they are taking photos, they may be new and nervous or scared of confrontation and this is giving them confidence and also helping them hone their skill, better focus etc. The biggest issue for me is when people, and I’ve been guilty of it myself in the past, try and make something out of every shot they take, if it’s out of focus, we’ll let’s turn it B&W etc. No one, and I mean no one, ever gets 100% bangers, not you, not Alex Webb, not Cartier-Bresson, and definitely not me, no matter what genre of photography you shoot. I do enjoy these educational type of videos, more so when accompanied with a P.O.V too, keep them coming.

[@balajiquiz]

I'm one of those who tries to get something out of every shot they take (but I also don't take many shots). Because I generally find imperfections more interesting than a great well-composed shot in sharp focus that's technically perfect. So I try to look for that shot where the focus is maybe off or the horizon isn't exactly straight or there's a lot of chaotic rhythms and activity in it with no discernible pattern. I don't make it black and white or anything but I try to find a composition within it that might be interesting to my eye even if some photo critic might scoff at it. And then I take a print and put it in an album. The luxuries of just having to shoot for one's own pleasure. Not all of us need to be HCB or Robert Frank or Viv Maier.

[@bcegerton]

@@balajiquiz I think you misunderstood, I’m talking about when people shoot a completely out of focus shot of a person or people and try make something out of it, which, invariably makes it worse. Trying to find a photo within a photo or not tack sharp focus is completely different and absolutely fine, something I regularly do myself

[@traceysmall3763]

Great video Gareth, nice to see you put into words, where I felt, I was going wrong. 'BUSY LIVING LIFE' for me! 😊

[@belaacs5238]

99% of YT street photographers take pointless, meaningless cliche images including myself but we all think we are the best. Watching some of the legends and some of the newer ones with vision like Mark Fearnley, Eduardo Ortiz, Alan Schaller and a very few more, they should to realized this field is not for them. When I got a book by Alex Webb's The Suffering of Light I realized I have to forget street photography and do something else. Good to see you back, anyway.

[@tilerman]

100% agree with you Bela. Some YT street photographers images are terrible and instantly forgettable. Street photography is hard, no question about it and i personally believe the heyday of great street photographers are behind us with the best, i think, being from the 60's and 70's and 80's. And Alex Webb's book is amazing, i also have it, and i stare at the images because of the beauty in them, such wonderful images from a great photographer.

[@belaacs5238]

@@tilerman I'm happy you agreed.

[@Dj.D25]

Agree. I've seen some street photography videos here and sometimes even what I see in Facebook groups and I am often not impressed. Often times the people being photographed don't stand out enough either in how they look or what they are doing. Or if the background or a building is supposed to be the focus, it doesn't stand out enough. I try to avoid doing these, but it isn't always easy.

[@ThePurpleHarpoon]

If you have a passion for street photography, don't be put off doing it just because you see great work by somebody. Great work happens through great effort. If you have a camera you can take a great shot. You just have to point it in the right direction and press the shutter button at the right time.

[@chrishomer]

Thanks mate, found that interesting yes! I’m a total street photography beginner, tried it just twice. The selfie…. I love those. I find it really interesting seeing people take selfies, a rare insight into the real world behind whatever it is they’ll be sharing. Almost like you’re taking a pic that should never be taken, breaking the rules. Showing what’s not meant to be shown. Thanks again, enjoyed it

[@davidloh19631]

9

[@cristibaluta]

I think we like selfies because the girls are cute not because it's interesting

[@jsprite123]

Try shooting film. Make each of those 24 or 36 shots count. This way you'd be careful of every shot, instead of just "spray & pray", hoping that one of your thousands pics your digital card might hold may have a few good ones.

[@itsmahdisadeghi]

You are the real deal. Thanks for sharing your precious points with us. Look forward to see more content from you

[@m.s.g1890]

So refreshing to hear somebody being totally honest and realistic. I've joined and left Instagram a couple of times because of the drudgery of wading through hundreds of 'landfill' photos. I often take my camera to my local high street (Guildford, Surrey) and take no photos at all. I always ask myself, regarding any person or scene, "What is the 'show' here", meaning what is going to hold a viewers interest or spark their curiosity, or entertain them, or move them or something. Or to put it another way, why would anybody want to look at a photo of this. Also, not having Instagram or some such, mean you don't have a machine to keep on feeding with content, so you can just take your time and cherry pick your shots. I just keep my photos on my phone and show friends or people that I meet who might show an interest because of my camera. I really like your attitude of being hard on your photography. Although really, I guess it's just being realistic about it.. Cheers!

[@GarethDanks]

Amazing comment thanks mate!! the amount of people who didn't get my point is nuts.. appreciate it..

[@BradHolkesvig]

I have been learning from those who love looking at my photos and make comments about how good of an eye I have, etc. However, it's always about what I like to see, not what other people like. If you're involved in photography just to produce photos to please other people, then photography is not a hobby you can enjoy. It's a job that can get boring.

[@johnjgilchrist]

Thanks Gareth , you have just taken more interesting Street photos in one video than I have in my whole life. I guess its time to buy that Macro lens.

[@GarethDanks]

Weird. I had replied to your comment. Buy books and study them before you next head out mate.

[@chrisandrews12345]

Great video! I am going to use that checklist from now on, thank you Gareth!

[@Dahrenhorst]

Most street photographers are roaming the streets all the time. They are always moving. That is quite disadvantageous on several levels: 1. You have to be aware to move without disturbing others 2. You constantly have to assess different fore- and backgrounds 3. Things around you happen with double the velocity, since you add your movement momentum to the movement of your motifs All this uses processing power and time of your brain you can't use to concentrate on photography anymore. In a busy street or place, you can do street photography much easier and most likely with better results, when you just remain stationary. If you would care to count contacts, you would realize that you have nearly as much contacts to other people as you have when you continuously move. Also, you can pre-select the foreground and background and only have to deal with situations happening in the middle ground, again reducing the composing effort. This way, you usually will produce less pictures than when walking around, but most likely nearly of all of them will be of better technically better and artistically more interesting.

[@leskeen1179]

Great to see you again Gareth. I think your channel has always had a strong element of educational material. You may not realise how much people have learnt watching your videos. I certainly have. Much appreciated Gareth. 👍

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks Les that’s kind of you to say. Always feel nervous putting out more educational vids. Don’t know why

[@leskeen1179]

@@GarethDanks I don't know what you have in mind so it's difficult to give you specific advice or suggestions. As a teacher of 17 years probably the best advice that I could give - not that I think you need any - is to keep it simple and structured. I find some KZbinrs - and teachers - can provide too much information without structure. This usually has the effect of students and viewers finding it difficult to follow. Despite standing in front of kids and adults in a class I could never have the confidence to ask a stranger in the street if I can take their portrait . Just can't do it Gareth! I really enjoy your videos and look forward you putting out more of your excellent content. Cheers Les

[@jurgendekeyser288]

I agree! 🙂

[@berndbanken3256]

@@leskeen1179 mmhh, when i startet after thirty years pausing, i felt very uncomfortable with a camera in my hand in public. It took quite a time to become relaxed and sensitive for my surrounding. Results were rubbish and it was very frustrating when comparing my old shots with the new ones.

[@VictorBezrukov]

Hello there. Just saw the title of this video and wanted to see what you have to say to your followers, ready to eat everything that is said by their influencers. But what I found is some discrepancy in words and actions. To take 20 images of the same moment, which should be interesting or special, and finally to have something mediocre (in your words) to show us someone taking selfie, reading a book, or holding something that is difficultly understandable. Your exact words - "I need to take a photograph....I've got my camera in my hand, the light is gorgeous and I need to take a shot". And... street photography with F4 or F2 is a kinda technique hiding from the viewer some needed for the full story environment used by strangers, like the trumpet in your image, that is blurred as hell even the story of this photograph is all these - the face, the pose of his fingers, and of course the closeup to the trumpet. Sure there are no rules and everything is about the personal point of view of the Artist, but seems like you tried to teach your visitors how to shoot less and to stay interesting and storytelling. And, yes, interesting is very subjective.

[@chrisburnard5157]

Brilliant to see you back Gareth, great content, thank you.

[@CraigPitts]

Good to see you back mate!

[@BlueSatt]

Enjoyed the whole video, great work! My favourite at 13:19 brilliant composition.

[@michaelschmitt5413]

Thought provoking. Agree about there being too many pointless street photos. I like images that tell a story or are artistic.

[@hurleygreen927]

Enjoying the video..I'm a Chicago photojournalist and it helps to have your picture-taking skills developed by learning how to see the workd around you! I love my 24-70mm zoom and a 18-35mm wideangle zoom lenses...KEEP LEARNING EVERY DAY! :)

[@iainscott1289]

Nice to see you back on the platform. Once again informative. Like the scoring system. 📷

[@nicholasambrose3881]

It was whilst I was doing a course set by Magnum Photographers and Martin Parr he said to keep taking those rubbish photos. His point was that if you take a lot of photos you will get some interesting ones but if you just look for the good ones you'll probably miss them. It's easy to delete photos in digital. A bit more difficult and expensive when using film 😁

[@jollydavid5644]

Good to see you back, Gareth! Loved the lady smoking at the end.

[@saxz99]

Interesting how your intro contradicts your next idea which is 'the more you shoot the more you know what to shoot'.

[@d.r.martin6301]

Back half a century ago, I spent about 5 years shooting in the street. I've shown and published the work, and have the best of it online now. But I've always felt a little guilty that over that period of 5 years, I didn't shoot in great numbers of images; about 1k per year. No Winogrand- or Maier-esque prolific numbers. What you say makes be feel better about that now. Quality, not quantity. That's the thing.

[@richmatthews9344]

Nice video, really enjoyed your thoughts on this topic 😊

[@aquarellefoto]

I often ask myself, "Would I shoot this if I was using film?" I sometimes think I would take fewer and maybe better images if I was shooting film. On the other hand, I often "find" an image I took after I download the SD card to the computer and say, "Wow. Not bad!" And I think I would not have taken the shot with film. In the end, I have to trust my instincts and just shoot what looks interesting at the time. There have been too many times when I've passed up a chance to capture a shot and regretted it.

[@mauricerijnders3507]

Good stuff 👍🏼 "The story behind it" is always a tricky concept. The poet sees a book the mathematician sees a lady checking the time... 😅

[@mikefoster6018]

Love your videos. And totally agree. And love your advice to aim for one top photo in a street shoot. There are some bad street photographers out there doing youtube videos etc. It's bizarre. They have tons of followers, but their photos are no better than ones I take ... and I'm 1) still getting better 2) so amateur that I don't even have an Instagram etc yet (but I'm about to - I've been storing-up my favorite pics). What annoys me about the bad ones is they're lowering expectations for others, and also being intrusive for almost no reason. The person they're shooting may be a random uninteresting person (sorry!) walking in front of a WH Smith in boring light, or such like, and if I were that person I'd be mystified about why a camera was pointed at me. At least with good photography and scene choices it's easier to justify it - not only to yourself, but to anyone questioning why your camera was pointed at them. I also weary a bit at black & white photos. Often I look at them and think 'if that were in colour, it'd be so boring'. I'm not saying B&W is lazy, as it works almost like a different medium, but ultimately I feel like colour pictures set the bar higher for most street stuff.

[@mccuejonathan]

Looking forward to the Istanbul street videos. I’m going in February to do some street photography and tick a bucket list location off my list.

[@JohnChubbSr]

Great ideas and photos! My number one pick would be the lady sitting outside smiling and smoking in the red lighting.

[@deanconway8776]

Yep my favourite too

[@ianford9661]

Nice to see you back and with an interesting video. I get what you’re saying about certain shots being boring but in years to come, it’ll be an insight to how things were and everyone will be raving about how great they are!!!!

[@szajbsonbm4506]

Really good video! Do you use electronic shutter? i couldnt hear any shutter sounds.

[@marcpilon4585]

Great video. Thanks. We certainly have to slow down to take authentic street photographs.

[@davehash01]

Nice to see you back Gareth, that fire juggler street guy has been doing that in London for absolutely years, I used to see him every day on my way to work, he’s older and ruder now ! Interesting grading system, it’s difficult sometimes to work out why a shot you think is good, is or isn’t good, so I will give it a try!

[@Nazareth434]

I like,your deliberately composed fine art photos a lot. This one's that concentrate on angles and including a person in just the right spot framed by something in the scene- to me that says "intent, design and Interest" more that spontaneous shots hoping to get a good composition.

[@andybanks3416]

Good to see you back Gareth , love street photography.

[@garrettcliser6840]

Take pictures of whatever you want

[@andrewhillphotosvideos2909]

very good concept.. I did take photos just because I could but now it has to look right before I take it.. nice one Gareth.

[@AaronYeoman]

Some great tips and the video was really interesting. Can I ask what camera and lens your using?

[@GarethDanks]

Xt4 with 33mm 1.4 mate

[@raymondpenalver7095]

Great to see you back Gareth its been too long, a great informative video and every word made sense,thanks for all those tips 😀

[@justamanwithanopinion]

I respectfully disagree (though I'm pleased to hear a differing opinion). I think people should take as many pictures as possible - and then harshly criticise them later. The problem isn't people taking so many pictures, it's people sharing so many rubbish ones. On a separate point, although we find images of people on phones boring now - it's documenting 2022 life. In 50, 100, 200, 2,000 years' time, people may look back on them and find them interesting - snapshots of a bygone era when people didn't have their SIM cards implanted in their heads.

[@jonstout7635]

You always give me great things to consider. I am forever guilty of coming home with too many files of things shot on a whim. I always find your shots unique.

[@dgmann11]

“If it’s shyte, don’t make it black and white” 🤣🤣 When out it is so much fun to press the shutter, but at heart know is often pointless. Less is more?

[@GarethDanks]

Def mate. It is fun. But then going through 1000 images that are all crap makes pressing the shutter a double edged sword. 👍🏻

[@mikelynch3465]

THANK YOU! I enjoy going to social media to see others' street photos since I live in a small town in a cold climate, and don't get a lot of photo ops myself. But, lately I've been getting turned off by the immense amount of pointless images on IG.

[@judylindo6874]

The trick is to get shots of people NOT looking at or taking selfies with their phones....Now that is hard to find :)

[@Dj.D25]

Sometimes I photograph these people anyways if I think what they are wearing or how they look stands out to me. But I understand looking at your photo and taking a selfie doesn't stand out much in general.

[@PorrakitJ]

Many channels call themselves street photographer ,but I look at their photos it is just a pointless shooting without any interesting ideas.😅

[@pexeu1966]

Aye aye Ga , thanks for the video mate some great advice there , I’ve copied your checklist and pinned it next to my monitor as a prod when I’m looking through my images..take care buddy👍

[@mattbibbings]

Bad photography is bad photography. Street photographers are about the last genre to learn this. I think because if they smash the curve tool and decide it's 'edgy' (or worse, just browse some presets) then that becomes the substitute for good photography.

[@owenrichards77]

Interesting Vid,looking forward to your Istanbul vids.Feels like your back in the groove Gareth

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks mate. Hope to get them out soon. Lots of fun there. I’m going to change the channel slightly. Do more educational ish stuff. Any feedback welcome 😁👍🏻

[@jurgendekeyser288]

I think it's all about the atmosphere-of-the-moment why we first love a picture very much and after some time we actually don't like anymore or don't understand why we thought it was so special in the first place because I think we lose the feeling of that particular moment. It's like buying a souvenir on a trip and after a few years it finds its place in the attic 🙂 Either way...I am happy to see you are posting videos again. I kind of missed you 😃

[@gharrop1]

Great, stimulating “discussion video”, many thanks for stirring my grey cells! The shot of the girl taking a selfie…yes its a cliche etc. But in the past people used to take holiday shots of views and places, e.g st Pauls…now folk are obsessed with taking pictures of themselves at interesting places.. sort of “look where I have been!” So your pic is a document of our tomes and could be part of a project say “selfie takers” in the 1970’s I made 8mm films, some country views etc(landscapes) they all look crap now in quality…the views are just the same.. but film I shot in the centre of Birmingham is fascinating! The quality doesn’t matter, as it shows how much has changed…some spects of street photography have great documentary potential perhaps?

[@Grumpygrumpo]

That is a great idea!

[@jbairdexp]

Solid advice for all genres of photographer!

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks dude. Appreciate your feedback

[@3sixty2degres]

I loved one of the last one night girl sitting at café outside smiling. And the pants busy living life. And man you speak fast

[@valkyrie4679]

The richest photographers are selling pointless photographs for high money.

[@neilcole3406]

I think when we go out with the camera and get home 90% of the shots are pointless!

[@j.k5654]

FACTS

[@BecomingLeoTorres]

I’ve learned to practice taking mental pictures to warm up. I use my eye and make a clicking sound and often times I click at the “wrong” moment. After I warm up then I lift my camera up to my eyes

[@BecomingLeoTorres]

This is more of a composition and timing exercise

[@warrenbutler7747]

It's great to see another video from you nice 1...always inspiring and informative 👍🤗 I think all your previous videos and images are really interesting lol...yeah some better than others obviously, and I understand you have to focus on improving looking for better compositions etc..but I wouldn't look back and hate the images you have done previously, I'd say they're interesting and would say they just tell different stories

[@peterphoto7732]

Can we see some pointless photos.😊 Thanks Gareth For the video. .

[@Blackmind0]

my advice is, take a film-camera, a roll with 36 pics and go.....and you will open your eyes and your mind, not because analog is better, no, you have only 36 chances...i see so many " streetphotographers", they run around in the middle of many people and shooting like gunfire.....even youtubers i have seen and i think what are they doing? there was no story in the picture....don't write about you.... grerts Bm

[@gregstevenson7401]

Nice comeback Gareth. I like the scoring system.

[@erich_w]

Thoughtful topic! Great vid👍

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks mate. Hope it was helpful

[@fitnessfirstcpt391]

the best advice I got, which I always try to remember, is "what are you trying to show? what is the story behind this pic? most importantly what am I looking at" these points should come across rather easily. I am a beginner among beginners lol. Every bit of good tips help. Just bought my first Fuji XT5. Cant wait to go out and take interesting pics.

[@effytraveler6155]

Not fully into doing street photography. Somehow I am still here. I am practicing taking photos and can’t get where I want to take photos. Maybe street.

[@simonbates9221]

Hello Mate, Hope all is well. Another good and motivating video. Just a quick question what lens you currently are using for your street photography? Cheers Simon

[@WoodenChickenHead]

I loved that low angle of the break dancers where the guys foot is high. And the one of the girl in red at the end.

[@hachewie]

Great video. Love cage scoring system. I have trouble deciding which images are half way decent. Something like this will help greatly. Thanks mate.

[@GreenlifeFin]

I love your color grading on color really.

[@paulbroderick8438]

For me, street scenes are completely ruined by crowds of people. Empty streets take on a landscape effect.

[@Austria88586]

Isn't pointless in the eye of the beholder? Some of my best photos were taken without looking through the viewfinder

[@kelalamusic9258]

Bottom line, whatever images a person takes, whether you agree or not, makes a point to them.

[@tonyjames5444]

Good street photography is about seeing what other people fail to see either in composition, lighting or human actions/emotion. to often we see photos showing none of those qualities mostly reproduced in B&W. May ruffle some feathers but I feel the biggest culprits here are Leica users.

[@jimshaw5450]

Excellent Video. Did it work or didn't it? Is it interesting ? All the questions you ask yourself. They are all good , If your eyes see it and your mind thinks it then yes its good. You ask yourself so many interesting questions , Then you propose them to your audience (me) and that makes me think. You are the man ! with the questions , Is my photography good enough , Of course not , i have thousands of bad pictures taken over thirty years and most of them make me feel good. Guys like you Make it all better .Thanks. Jim Shaw

[@Ibz87]

Sick video bro. Love the images.

[@rolandmg1]

I think the best way to shoot on the street is with film. I often limit myself to one roll for the whole day and it stops you taking pointless shots. You said not to take too many shots but you shoot continuous frames to get one subject so end up still taking loads of wasted photos. Surely the skill is to get the desired photo in one shot. All the great street photographers used film and fully manual cameras and had one chance.

[@tonypaulprince]

Where is your wrist strap?? That's an expensive camera! Anyway, I liked the photo at 13:19. The light is good, especially on her face, and the color is nice. It looks like it's not 100% in focus, but that doesn't really matter.

[@anindyaganguly5243]

Every time I go out, people frown at me with my chunky lenses; I like to experiment with lenses; mostly if it is a prime day; I will grab a 16-50; or a 23/35 and 90 as combo. I find my 50-140 mm to be the most comfy lens to use after my 50 but I like to experiment and throw challenges now and then to myself.

[@francescofanton5432]

@Gareth Danks hi Gareth! Glad to see you back on KZbin! I've a technical question for you: I'm a Canon shooter (full frame 6D)...I often shoot weddings as second photographer. I'm enjoing using an XT20 for street and spare time and i was thinking about a full switch but i'm worried about low light performance of an XT 3 or XT 4 as my main body, expetially for dance floor and dark churches...what's your feedback about these kind of situations? Are you ok with the Fuji AF in general for weddings?

[@julieholland9639]

I think any subject can become boring if you dont look for the interesting light, subject etc

[@connerfreeman9609]

KZbin street photography is a joke. A photo of an old chinese woman in front of a blank wall taken from across the street isn't interesting.

[@berndbanken3256]

Hi Gareth, just found your channel. Fifty xears ago in my mid-twenties I liked to walk around in many cities not with the aim to do streetphotography but to absorb situations, getting closer to people sometimes with nice vonverdations AFTER the click. Today streetphotography isn't the same i think. Boring shots of pedestrians far away like ants, bloodless with no emotional impact. Ok times have changed and it's more complicated to make photographs from strangers and children. But there are pics possible with hidden faces, it takes more time and much better anticipation. At the end it's the inner sense, humor - and God Shoes* insider tip from a famous photographer. Cheers Bernd

[@balajiquiz]

For me, a good photograph is one where a photographer isn't hunting for a good photograph and the best ones are the ones people take for themselves and not to sell or showcase.

[@johnlindseyphotography1704]

Great video mate

[@legofanessex]

This sums it up perfectly. I am definitely spending more time searching for better images. But that said, I've always liked your passion and enthusiasm from the start, even if your images have gotten better with experience.

[@bjorno7573]

You do hade a point sir, but with respect I kind of disagree…in order to train both your camera skills (settings etc) and your photographic eye, you need to take pictures … a lot. That does not mean that all those pics are great - rather the opposite. But in order to be a good football player, you need to kick the ball, not only when you think you can score…. But as often you can, same goes with photography. So from My point of view at least, to hone your skills, take a sh(#*tload of pics when on a photowalk. Consider that as a training session and your eye for What is interesting comes by it self and by reviewing them afterwards and even better, let someone else look at the, giving you feedback. Sure you might delete all those pics by the end of the day…. But … keep… shooting… pointless pictures . Ps. Also. One very important aspect of this activity is to have fun. To walk around all day not taking one single picture because you are afraid they are not good enough is no fun at all… and you can end up dropping this hobby of yours. Don’t be scared of shooting crap pics. It’s fun to just taking pics! Zooming in and focus on the task, therapy for some even. Quality will come eventually. And by taking a Lot of pics, you will hopefully find your style, your favourite focal length…

[@bfs5113]

At least the process helps to train muscle memory to get familiar with one's camera like the back of their hand. Otherwise, once every blue moon will require fumbling around to figure out where the shutter button is. Another use can be served as a source to train one's art of seeing, by cropping some of the pointless photos later, for example. By hook or by crook, we can still level up without getting out of the chair. 🙂 Although the message of photography outings doesn't need to be pressured to come up with good photos is a valid one. However, challenges between beginner, expert and master levels are different and indeed it is getting lonely at the top. Maybe it is the reason why Fan Ho retired at the age of 30.

[@bjorno7573]

Agree 100%

[@adcd_photo]

very insightful ❤

[@shumyinghon]

indeed nowadays many of the street photographs, especially by branded retro cameras are just very ordinary shots - most hardly deliver any excitement, humor, emotions or drama. Images of everyday life are available in an abundance nowadays by smartphone cameras. Now what sets some apart is the way they are composed or if they involve a precious moment that could still tickle us or be savored for time to come, irregardless what cameras were used in the process.

[@Shep2345]

Imo good street photos have to be either aesthetically beautiful, tell a story by capturing an interesting moment in time or ideally both of those things.