What is Street Photography? 3 Approaches for you to try

[@fahimshahriar8068]

My mind was jumbled by these different sorts of street photos. This video really helped me to clear my thoughts.

[@StreetSnappers]

Hi Fahim, many thanks for the feedback - I'm glad it helped :-)

[@gar861646]

love the term urban landscape

[@StreetSnappers]

Me too - I use it a lot!

[@lukeisafinename]

I love that you appreciate the subtle differences in street photography. Fantastic job

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks very much Luke :-)

[@robertkoch7388]

Everything in life has to have a base line. Thank you for your insight.

[@StreetSnappers]

My pleasure Robert - thanks for watching!

[@rgarciamainou]

Man, this was brilliant, you sum up the definitions, the endless social media arguments and I agree, they all fit. Good video. Wish you had shared more examples of the other definitions, but you made your point.

[@StreetSnappers]

rgarciamainou Thanks - much appreciated! I take your point about more examples - I’ll do it next time :-)

[@ChetanDodwad]

Thank you so much for this.. Very nicely explained. Loved it.

[@clivewuest8529]

Thanks Brian. You have explained the many variations of street photography very eloquently. Like you say there is no right or wrong, nor fixed boundaries, its a very fluid genre. I love your presentation style which really draws me in. I only came across you when Gareth Danks made mention of you and your books, one of which I recently purchased. Keep the good work up.

[@StreetSnappers]

Clive Wuest Terrific, many thanks Clive. Good luck with your street photography!

[@afghanbadboy1234]

learned so much.. thank you so much for taking your time to make this video.

[@StreetSnappers]

You're welcome - thanks for tuning-in :-) Lots more to come!

[@janklein6593]

finest video, good words, and ideas! looking forward to the next interesting videos!!!

[@StreetSnappers]

jan klein thanks very much Jon - glad you like it!

[@kipmay5101]

Very helpful video. I loved the images you used as examples. Excellent.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks very much Kip!

[@thekushinator]

Thanks for trying to simplify what can be a pretty complex genre for people like me who are not new photographers perse, but want to try our hand at street photography. Limiting one's options to one style when starting out does help to navigate through the urban jungle.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful. I think photographers often over-complicate things when there's no need to. I much prefer to keep things simple!

[@thekushinator]

@@StreetSnappers always been a fan of the KISS approach in my landscape work. Street has always fascinated me for its spontaneity. Thanks again.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for the mention, Mo - much appreciated!

[@mopeer8647]

It was a great pleasure to meet you by chance during your recent workshop in London. I have enjoyed and found all your videos most beneficial in improving my street photography. I have just ordered your book on Amazon. I like the way you deliver your materials, you keep it simple, interesting and easy to understand. You certainly inspired me in Street Photography. Big thank you.

[@StreetSnappers]

mo peer Thanks for the comment, Mo - good to meet you, too! Good luck with your street photography and do give me a shout if you need any advice or help with anything :-)

[@chloesastry1252]

This was really helpful, thank you. It's helped me understand also that my preferred images are the 'moment' ones - and this has helped me realise why I was finding it easier to engage in some content I follow rather than others.

[@StreetSnappers]

Chloe Sastry That’s great Chloe. Understanding what you like is a great step towards becoming a good street photographer. Personally, I’m also very drawn to the ‘moment’ approach :-)

[@joaoborrega4594]

Good evening, congratulations on the wonderful channel, regardless the style, it’s about photography.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thank you, Joao!

[@niccoloverecondi1964]

Very clear!!

[@StreetSnappers]

Thank you Noccolo!

[@DavidTramacchi]

I love this thank you!! As a beginner this a great explaination of different approaches to street photography. Greatly appreciated 👍👍

[@StreetSnappers]

Thank you David - I’m glad it’s helpful to you. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, ideas or requests for future video content :-)

[@TheMancityno1fan]

Thanks Brian really helpful

[@stevemphoto]

Great video! These moments can present themselves at any day or time. I went into the city to try to take some urban landscapes and walked into a protest, so that's what I shot for the day. I also think street photography is about awareness and capturing moments that are often overlooked, or not seen by someone who is not aware...which encompasses all of the topics discussed in this video.

[@StreetSnappers]

Steve Madlock Thanks for commenting, Steve. I think you’re right and good street photographers develop a sort of vision that other people don’t possess. Glad you liked the video :-)

[@michaelschmitt5413]

I like your descriptions of the types of Street Photography. I love this genre of photography, and have been "work" in it since 2013. I find it hard to do well. Harder than other types I have tried.

[@StreetSnappers]

Hi Michael, thank you! Yes, street photography can sometimes be hard work - but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Good luck!

[@richardmorrison04]

Very well put Brian✌️

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks very much, Richard :-)

[@melitavangelatos3245]

Very enlightening and helpful

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for the feedback, Melita :-)

[@gersonechevarria9676]

This was randomly recommended to me today and from a super small channel to you (a well established one) this is great stuff!

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks very much! My channel is still quite new but is growing all the time. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or requests for future video content :-)

[@qnetx]

Why must everyone always try and label or classify who we are and what we do? The more labels we create, the more divisiveness and conflict we manifest. I just like to create imagery. Great video. Thank you for sharing.

[@StreetSnappers]

My pleasure - thanks for tuning in :-)

[@It_Rev]

I like this, keep these up man 👍

[@StreetSnappers]

xRev Great - thanks for tuning in!

[@amazingreviews876]

Another great video, being enjoyed here in San Diego California : )

[@davidharrison8948]

Thanks for a brilliant video. I have been interested in photography for over 40 years and sat many exams etc on the subject. However I have never really found my genre until now (street). I find a lot of KZbin sites can be a bit opinionated and clicky so I have culled a lot of them life is to short. Yours is more down to earth so Thanks again. 👍🏻

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for the super comments, David. I’m glad you’ve found street and hope you make it work for you. Sometimes it feels like a slog but it’s worth it in the end!

[@pavelandreevskiy146]

Very interesting and useful!!! Thank you!!!

[@StreetSnappers]

Hi Pavel - thanks very much - I'm pleased you liked it!

[@garypearson5414]

After watching this video today, I now feel that I am not actually doing street photography 🤔 if I am taking photos of streets, alleyways, buildings & street lighting etc what would you associate this type of photography? But whether this is street photography or not, I love watching your videos, I still learn a lot from them 👍

[@StreetSnappers]

Hi Gary - it sounds like you're referring to urban landscape photography, where the environment takes centre stage and any people are secondary. I would argue that it's still a form of street photography but it's at the margins.

[@lagunacabarete]

Thanks, Brian, for the interesting video. My approach is often similar to the Saul Leiter / Ernst Haas / Gueorgui Pinkhassov approach, but I also capture decisive moments in black and white every now and then. Would be boring to do the same style every day.

[@StreetSnappers]

Jürgen Warschun Thanks for commenting. I agree - mixing it up keeps us fresh and creative!

[@andrewnicholls5745]

Im pretty new too Street photography, Ive taken loads of pictures , most are rubbish, but I dont mind as I do it for myself and I enjoy going out and meeting people. I want to get better of course I do, but not at the loss of the enjoyment

[@StreetSnappers]

I completely agree - why bother if it's now enjoyable? Thanks for watching :-)

[@StreetSnappers]

I meant •not• enjoyable ;-)

[@robinchun1]

I'm defo in the aesthetic camp.. though when making pictures of my grandchildren then I've moved to the moment camp. Great work on these vids Brian, thanks

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for your support, Robin - much appreciated!

[@wesleyfree709]

I went out on my first street photography shoot today. I only took 7 pictures and they were not that good. Overtime does it get easier. I felt very self conscious.

[@StreetSnappers]

Well done on your first shoot. Don’t expect lots of great pictures at first - it gets better over time and with lots of practice!

[@arnoldplotnick8212]

Another excellent video. My own photographs are a diverse mix of "moment", artistic, and narrative photos. After hearing your opinion that street photography can encompass all of these approaches (and more), I feel more confident calling myself a 'street photographer'. The photographic examples that you use in the video illustrate your points very well. I'd love to see more videos in which you present photographers you admire and who have influenced you (like your Saul Leiter video).

[@StreetSnappers]

Many thanks, Arnold - I'm glad the video was useful. I'm planning a series of videos about my street photography 'heroes' - I think the next video will be about Joel Meyerowitz.

[@arnoldplotnick8212]

@@StreetSnappers I look forward to that. I recently read his book, "How I Make Photographs", and enjoyed it very much. I appreciate his photographs, and his attitude.

[@MartinMcNicholls]

Fine video, very enjoyable!

[@StreetSnappers]

Many thanks Martin :-)

[@streets28mm]

Surely you covered all the British street photographers so nobody will be unhappy!😀 Love it nonetheless!

[@StreetSnappers]

Haha, yes! There's space for all styles I guess ;-)

[@sunnyrain_0o0]

Thanks Brian for your interesting view on street photography. Can I add a fourth category? Photographs taken in an urban environment can be considered street photography. Because any photography taken outside an urban environment is landscape photography? Or maybe I'm wrong? Perhaps I'm right... 😄😄😄

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks - great point! Yes, I often shoot what I would call urban landscapes and this usually falls into the street photography category. This is where the buildings, roads or civic structures have more importance in the frame than people - and I always try to include people, usually to give either a sense of scale or evidence of humanity. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, ideas or requests for future video content :-)

[@richardrizzo_photography]

Thank you Brian, I sometimes find labels somewhat confusing especially when it comes to street photography with all its sub categories. I'd say you did a good job carving. :)

[@StreetSnappers]

Top man - thank you Rich!

[@tonyhayes9827]

You've at least made me a Saul Leiter fan!

[@StreetSnappers]

tony hayes My job is done!!!

[@tonyhayes9827]

@@StreetSnappers Haha And a good job too I might add. Thank-you

[@SankardeepChakraborty]

I wish you could have mentioned about Fan ho. Anyway, a great video. Thanks.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for your feedback! I do like Fan Ho - but didn’t have time in the vid to mention them all unfortunately. Glad you liked it though. Cheers, Brian :-)

[@atroche1978]

I shoot whatever captures my attention at the moment.

[@StreetSnappers]

Bert T. There’s nothing wrong with that!!

[@raymorgan4337]

Thanks. Well balanced. This just goes to show how subjective photography is - and as you point out - how opinionated some can be. The names you mentioned are/were all excellent proponents of their work - to confine them to a restricting definition would be unfair. McCullin, for example, hates to be called a war photographer.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks Ray - glad you liked it.

[@mopeer8647]

Oh by the way the book called 52 Assignments: Street Photography. Reasonably Priced.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for the mention, Mo :-)

[@leslawrenson]

A photograph, to be art, should tell or show us something about the world that we have not considered, or force us to look at things differently. This could be a portrait, an abstract or a landscape. If it's indoors, or out in a field, or in the studio, or out on the street, it's all valid. A photo isn't more valid just because it is "street" photography. The street is nothing more than a location chosen by the photographer to express his art.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks for an interesting comment.

[@Jdmorat]

¿Qué diríamos de la fotografía de Ara Guler?

[@jonathanatherton3626]

I suppose the point is that 'Street' means different things for different people and there's no right answer. However, I feel the very word 'street' is urban centric and therefore quite limiting and somewhat confusing. Some photographers seem to conflate Urban Landscape or Architectural photography with Street photography simply because they were in a street when taking the shot. I often see a photograph OF a street in Street Photography forums on social media- which in and of itself doesn't qualify as 'street' for me. Does a candid photograph of a hairdresser at work, or a fisherman, shaman or bus-driver 'doing their thing' qualify as street? I feel it does. For me 'Street' is all about capturing humanity in a 'public' space- whether that's an actual street, a boat or a rainforest. I appreciate a photograph which invites me to ponder the subject's story... to gain some empathy for them. So I tend to use the term Reportage more frequently, although most 'civilians' haven't a clue what that means. I take a more photojournalistic approach. Or as you so aptly put it- capturing a 'moment'. Cartier-Bresson titled the French edition of his book "Images á la Sauvette"- Pictures on the Run- which actually resonates more with me than the English version-, 'The Decisive Moment'- perhaps because that term is so over used and oft misunderstood. However, sans human simply isn't 'street' for me... although, to be fair, sometimes an animal can be captured in an anthropomorphic way, so I guess that might qualify as well. Anyway, I really your videos, Brian. When locked down and chomping at the bit to get out and take some snaps on the run, you keep me sane... ish.

[@petersmitham8273]

I think it’s arrogant when people think their definition is correct......if you’re on the street and taking photos then for me it’s street photography.....or am I being arrogant?...... most likely!.....thought provoking video, thank you....🇬🇧🌈😎😅

[@StreetSnappers]

peter smitham Thanks Peter. Yes, I agree about the arrogance - maybe I’ve been guilty of it myself sometimes. Part of that could be wanting to protect the ‘purity’ of what street photography once was, combined with a reluctance to move with the times. I guess my stance has mellowed and I think there’s room for everything.

[@kne321video]

Good stuff. I really do not care about the labelling of the genres. I find my pictures on the Streets. Call them whatever you like 😁👍 But I value that you with these videos let people understand more what Street Photography is about. Good job 👍👍 @knederskovpetersen

[@StreetSnappers]

Kenneth N Thanks very much Kenneth, I’m glad you like the videos! Please let me know if you have any suggestions or request for future video content :-)

[@kne321video]

@@StreetSnappers I do a lot of shooting from the hip. Some find this Strange, but I often find that I interrupt the scene very little by doing this and I can get very close to the scene also. Not trying to be sneaky or strange. But trying to be invisible. I hope this make sende. Maybe you could take this up?

[@harvgreenberg3031]

This discussion on the definition of street photography was very useful. I’m a fine art landscape and portrait photographer looking to start shooting street in my spare time and I’ve found your videos exceedingly helpful. I plan to purchase your two books later today. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@StreetSnappers]

Thanks, Harv. I know that street photography can be a minefield in terms of definitions - I think the key thing is to do what you enjoy doing and not to get too hung up about labels. I do hope you enjoy the books :-)

[@mopeer8647]

I was in London today and went to Foyles on Charing Cross Road. I was curious to see your book ' Mastering Street Photography'. I picked it off the shelve and opened it. I immediately felt I must have it. The book is well put together. The pages felt great in my hand, simple design layout, Illustration of ideas and assignments with beautifully photographs , it is full of information regarding all aspects of Street Photography including the Legal & Ethical Issues. It offers far more for anyone at any level of photography. Once I returned home, I could not wait to start reading. Thanks Brian. Good job done. When is your next book coming out? :-)

[@StreetSnappers]

mo peer Thanks so much, Mo! Good luck with your street photography - I hope you’re enjoying the journey!