Wouter wrote:
"I always wanted to make photographs on the street, but never felt to comfortable with it. After reading Sean Reid's essay, and viewing many photographs from others I finally did it. It still feels strange to take my camera up in front of strangers, but it was funny to realize how many people did not even notice it. And when people noticed me, a friendly nod was enough.
Any comments are very much appreciated. I really want to learn this. Any tips and tricks are helpfull for me."
Great, did you also read "Photographing Strangers"?
My advice:
1. Remember that everything in the frame is subject. It all has to work. The wider the lens is, the tougher this can be sometimes.
2. Look a lot at paintings and also at photographers like Helen Levitt, Garry Winogrand and Robert Frank. Sketch your favorites among those pictures with tracing paper and see how they're made. Look at how everything in the frame is used. If you're not sure who your favorite painters are, now is a good time to find out. We have a lot to learn from the art that was made before the invention of the camera.
3. Forget the idea of "Street Photography" per se, it doesn't help to clarify your task at all. Figure out what you are photographing and then really photograph it. Taking the buzz phrase away can help you to see more clearly what you're really after.
4. People in public places are, in a sense, figures in a kind of landscape. Remember that the landscape/cityscape needs as much attention as the figures.
5. When in doubt, simplify for now - fewer people in the frame, shallower space, simpler elements if need be. Make sure you can juggle three balls well before trying to juggle 30. The better you get, the more visual complexity you may be able to organize and resolve.
6. Read everything in the following series twice and give it a lot of thought. Its some of the best advice to photographers ever written:
http://www.rawworkflow.com/making_pictures/index.html
Cheers,
Sean