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Why I Love Street Photography so Much!

Street photography gives me a reason to live! To thrive! To explore, to make art, and to share.

Being more connected to the world around ourselves

detail hand hair

I think street photography is the antidote to our cell-phone addicted society.

Kids at dinner all on their phones
Kids at dinner all on their phones

I know myself: if I got a phone, I cannot pay attention to the external world. Street photography affords me the opportunity to pay attention. Why? If I desire to make street photos, I gotta pay attention!

Older couple having dinner at fancy restaurant.
Older couple having dinner at fancy restaurant.

Interacting with strangers

My waiter
My waiter

Street photography also gives me an opportunity to interact more with strangers.

Why interact with strangers? We learn more about others, other customs, we become less fearful of others, we become more self-confident, more bold, more brazen, and more epic!

The joy of composition

I love composition. Why? To me, composition is insanely fun. It is like practicing scales on a guitar. There is an inherent joy in practicing composition. Also learning composition from other masters of photography!

Physiological thriving

They say ‘sitting is the new smoking’. Probably right.

You cannot shoot street photography while sitting. We must move!

My thought:

The purpose of the human brain is to move. If we no longer move, we have no more use of a brain.

Thus, when we fail to move much in our everyday lives, we start developing mental dysfunctions (depression, anxiety, etc). Therefore street photography (walking around and street photography) I think is an effective treatment at attacking the fundamentals of depression.

If we believe depression as a physiological problem, then we can only solve it by PHYSIOLOGICAL changes (moving more, lifting more weights, and interacting more with the external/embodied reality!)

Expressing love for humanity

This is something interesting I’ve noticed for street photographers:

You can classify street photographers into two categories. First category loves humanity. Second category hates humanity.

If you play psychologist when studying other photographers, I think you can determine this difference.

I’ve noticed that some photographers are bitter towards humanity, towards reality, and they hate their own lives. Therefore when they go out to make photos, they’re trying to get some sort of “revenge” on reality via their photos. When they go out to shoot street photography, their photos are full of malice and pettiness. I think this is rooted in their own personal insecurity.

However we anthro-philia photographers (lovers of humanity), we make photos as an expression of gratitude, love, and delight in humanity.

Therefore with your photography ask yourself:

Why do I shoot street photography? For what reasons? For whom? By whose standards?

Shoot for yourself.

I think one of the best ways to judge your own personal sincerity in photography:

Spend long periods of time shooting for yourself, and don’t share photos to social media.

If you want honest feedback on your street photos, upload them to arsbeta.com. Or upload them to your own website/blog.

The best way to stay motivated and inspired in your photography is this:

Shoot for yourself, for fun, in a spirit of fun and love, and keep doing it FOREVER — until we die at age 120+.

Photography Motivation

ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II x Ricoh GR II x RICOH MAFIA Artwear
ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II x Ricoh GR II x RICOH MAFIA Artwear

Just shoot it:

  • Why I Love Street Photography so Much!
  • Enjoy the Process
  • Better Bad Photos than No Photos
  • Why Keep Making New Art and Photos, Indefinitely?
  • Photography Motivation: What if There is Nothing Interesting to Photograph?
  • Move First, Motivation Later
  • Motivation Follows the Action
  • In Praise of Heroes
  • 5 Tips How to Boost Your Creativity
  • How to Have Inspiration to Take Photos in the Suburbs
  • Anything that Motivates You to Move is Good!
  • The Productive Photographer is the Happiest Photographer!
  • Make Today Count!
  • How to Break Through Photographer’s Block
  • The Joyful Photographer
  • The Dancing Photographer
  • The Kaizen Process of Gradual Self-Improvement in Photography
  • It is Your Duty to Make Beautiful Pictures!
  • Making Pictures IS Happiness!
  • NO EXCUSES.
  • The Pomodoro Photography Technique
  • The ABC of Photography
  • Just Shoot It.
  • How to Change the World With Photography
  • How to Find Inspiration in Photography and Life
  • How to Overcome Resistance
  • Create Against the Past
  • How I Motivate Myself to Make Photos
  • Wear Your Camera Like a Necklace or Bracelet
  • Have Your Photos Come to You
  • How to Level Up in Your Photography
  • How Not to Give a Fuck of What Others Think of You
  • How to Overcome Procrastination in Your Photography
  • How to Reinspire Your Photography
  • What is Your Mission in Photography and Life?
  • How to Overcome Photographer’s Block
  • Be a Photographer Now
  • How to Overcome Boredom with Photography
  • Never Stop Growing as a Photographer
  • Why Do You Need “Inspiration” to Shoot?
  • Just Shoot.
  • 5 Things to Do If You’ve Lost Your Passion for Photography
  • How to Have Unshakeable Confidence in Yourself
  • Don’t Give Up On Your Dream
  • Don’t Waste Your Potential
  • Unlock Your Potential
  • Empower Others With Your Photography
  • Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Passion in Photography

See all articles >

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

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Unleash your creative potential:

2021:

  • April 10-11th, 2021: BOSTON / Discover Your Unique Voice in Photography Workshop [Register Intent Here]
  • May 1-2nd, 2021: CHICAGO / Street Photography Composition Masterclass [Register Intent Here]
  • May 22-22nd, 2021: NEW YORK CITY / STREET PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS by ERIC KIM [Register Intent Here]

Be notified of when new workshops are live here.


ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

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HENRI SHOULDER STRAP

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Street Photography Starter Kit

street photography starter kit by ERIC KIM

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HENRI WRIST STRAP PRO

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Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship

My brand-new Udemy Course, "Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship" now live!

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Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography

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PHOTO JOURNAL

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