Response to My Hollywood and Flash Street Photography Video

Yesterday I put up a video of me shooting flash street photography in Hollywood as a tool to help people understand how I get close to people and shoot them with a flash. My original intention of the video was to help others build their courage, rather than offend people.

In the video above I talk about some of my thoughts about the video.

First of all, I am not Bruce Gilden and don’t claim to be. I am hugely inspired by the work of his and those of others such as Weegee, Charlie Kirk, Mark Cohen, Dirty Harry, and some others. My idea is not original, and I have been copying aspects of their technique I like. Through this experimentation, I have found out I enjoy this style and am curious to keep on trying it out. The experience is much more intimate and has been challenging me both as a street photographer and person.

Secondly, the images I took in the video were not great. I only put them in there to be instructive and helpful to give people a sense of how the images would look. I can shoot street photography for an entire day and get 1-2 decent shots if I am lucky. To get a good photo in 3 minutes flat is almost impossible.

Lastly thank you for the comments & critiques. I see my blog more as a hub for street photography discussion, learning, and debate. I purposely never censor any of the comments that people leave, and appreciate everybody’s thoughts. I don’t claim to be the master or have all the answers. Rather being a street photographer that struggled with getting over his fear of shooting street photography– I simply want to help others get over that as well.

Feel free to leave your thoughts, suggestions, or critiques below. Also thanks so much for the continued feedback and support. Shooting street photography, doing workshops, managing my social networks, and this blog is a ton of work–but it is my passion and I do it all out of love to help you and the community.

Love,
Eric