(A.g.: In the spirit of Open Source here on Eric’s Blog, this is a German translation of Eric’s 10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography made by photographer Lukas Beinstein).
(This was initially sent to my newsletter) Dear friend, Long time no talk! I am excited to share that I just got back safely from New Orleans after an epic two-week trip there. I…
Check out the updated book: “100 Lessons From the Masters of Street Photography.” Dear streettogs, I am excited to announce my new free “open-source” e-book: “Learn From the Masters of Street Photography.” This book…
Read as a Google Doc (where you can suggest edits, and also download as a PDF). I recently came across the excellent book: “Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Momentâ€, an educational workshop book…
Dear friend, I want to share you with excitement a new idea that I got, from William Eggleston. The concept is quite simple (and I know I have shared this with you in the…
Read as a Google Doc. — “Over the last 10 years, what has interested me in taking photographs is the maximum — the maximum that exists in a situation and the maximum I can…
Eric Kim Draft v1 (8/28/2015) Special thanks to Paul King and Alan Morris who have contributed lots of edits! Introduction Dear streettogs, I am excited to share you the first draft of my upcoming…
Read as a Google Doc or download as PDF. — Hey Josh, I just wanted to write you this letter wishing you a happy (belated) birthday, and the lessons in life you’ve taught me,…
I am currently working on a new book: “Learn From the Masters of Street Photography”, which is a distillation of all of the lessons that I’ve learned from the masters of street photography. You…
Hey streettogs, just gave a free talk at EyeEm in Berlin last night titled: “7 Lessons from the Masters of Street Photography.” You can see and download the slides for free here.
“You are not supposed to be a slave of mechanical tools, they are supposed to help you and be as small and unimportant as possible not to disturb the communication.†– Anders Petersen There…
“Rather than catching people unaware, they show the face they want to show. Unposed, caught unaware, they might reveal ambiguous expressions, brows creased in vague internal contemplation, illegible, perhaps meaningless. Why not allow the…
“Sometimes photographers mistake emotion for what makes a great street photograph.†– Garry Winogrand Imagine this situation: it is a cold and rainy day. You are out shooting on the streets, and you are…
“If you start cutting or cropping a good photograph, it means death to the geometrically correct interplay of proportions. Besides, it very rarely happens that a photograph which was feebly composed can be saved…
“I never shoot without using the viewfinder.†– Garry Winogrand Another common mistake that aspiring street photographers make is that they try to overcome their fear of shooting street photography by shooting from the…
“My photography is not ‘brain photography’. I put my brain under the pillow when I shoot. I shoot with my heart and with my stomach.†– Anders Petersen Anders Petersen is one of the…
Hey streettogs, I’m starting a new book on a distillation of all the “Learn from the Masters” articles I’ve written. I hope these daily lessons can inspire you, I know they inspired me! —…
On October, 2014 Rene Burri passed away, at age 81. He had an incredible career of photography behind him, and produced many iconic images, which include those of Che, Picasso, and many other street photographs which…
I recently got a new book in the mail: “Dorothea Lange: Aperture Masters of Photography†(courtesy of Aperture) and was deeply inspired and moved by her work, life, and philosophy. I have always known…
All photos copyrighted by Sebastião Salgado. I recently saw Sebastião Salgado’s “Genesis†exhibition in Toronto about a year ago, and was blown away by the body of work. It was the most ambitious project…
All photographs copyrighted by the estate of Harry Callahan. You can download this article for free as a .docx, PDF, or Google Doc. I recently came upon the work of Harry Callahan from a…
All photographs copyrighted by Todd Hido. This is part 2 of my write-up on Todd Hido’s new book: “Todd Hido on Landscapes, Interiors, and The Nude: The Photography Workshop Series“. You can read part…
All photographs copyrighted by Todd Hido. You can read part 2 here: “Lessons Todd Hido Has Taught Me About Street Photography (Part 2)“. You can also download the entire article free via .docx, PDF, and Google…
As this article is very long, I recommend reading this by saving it to Pocket or Instapaper. All photos in this article are copyrighted by Henri Cartier Bresson / Magnum Photos. I recently picked up a copy…
Josef Koudelka is one of my favorite photographers of all-time. I love how he has been able to craft his life around photographing only what he wanted to photograph, how he is able to…
All photos copyrighted by Mary Ellen Mark. I remember when I first saw the work of Mary Ellen Mark, I was blown away. Her work had such a deep sense of love and empathy…
All photographs included in this article are copyrighted by Dan Winters. My good friend Bill Reeves recently bought me a copy of “Road to Seeing†by Dan Winters. I’ve always known Dan Winters as…
Richard Avedon isn’t a street photographer— nor did he consider himself one. However, he did shoot street photography in his life, in Italy, New York, Santa Monica, and more. I was particularly drawn to…
You can see the original article I wrote on David Alan Harvey here. I just finished a week-long workshop with David Alan Harvey as a part of the Provincetown Magnum Days event. I have…
Recently I had the great pleasure of being accepted as a scholarship student (under 30) for the Magnum workshop in Provincetown, Massachusetts with David Alan Harvey. Unfortunately David got stuck in Paris en route,…
While in NYC, I visited the ICP bookstore and picked up “Ping Pong Conversations: Alec Soth with Francesco Zanot” a lovely photobook/series of interview questions. I found it to have lots of great wisdom…
Helen Levitt is known as a “photographer’s photographer” a photographer who is admired by photographers everywhere, but not that well known. Since the raise of fame of Vivian Maier— I wanted to profile the…
Robert Capa is one of the greatest photographers to have ever lived. When he was still alive, he was proclaimed as “The Greatest War-Photographer in the World”. He captured some of the most intense…
This article is written by Ayman Oghanna, an award-winning photographer and journalist based in Istanbul. I step into his office and humanity explodes. People everywhere. Moments everywhere. An ocean of smiles, frowns, scowls, and yawns drowning…
All photographs copyrighted by Vivian Maier / Maloof Collection A street photographer whose work and life I hugely admire is that of Vivian Maier. For those of you who haven’t heard her story, she…
All photographs in this article are copyrighted by Richard Kalvar / Magnum Photos Richard Kalvar is one of the contemporary masters in street photograph, and also a member of Magnum. I have always loved…
All photographs in this article are copyrighted by Jeff Mermelstein. I love the street photography of Jeff Mermelstein. Hailing from New York City, he is one of the most prolific street photographers and photojournalists…
All photos in this article are copyrighted by David Alan Harvey / Magnum Photos David Alan Harvey is one of the living legends in street photography. He is a member of the prestigious Magnum…
Download this article: Google Docs PDF .docx All photos in this article are copyrighted by Alec Soth / Magnum Photos. Alec Soth is a photographer whose work I strongly admire. He is a member…
All photos copyrighted by Zoe Strauss / Magnum Photos. About a year I stumbled upon the work of Zoe Strauss in her book: “America.” I was amazed with the power of her portraits as…
All photographs in this article are copyrighted by Mark Cohen. I think Mark Cohen is one of the greatest street photographers out there who isn’t as well known as his contemporaries. I’m sure you might…
All photographs in this article are copyrighted by Joel Sternfeld. Joel Sternfeld is one of the most important and influential photographers of this generation. His large-format color work: “American Prospects” was one of the…
All photographs in this article are copyrighted by Trent Parke / Magnum Photos. Trent Parke is one of the most phenomenal contemporary photographers around. What I love about his work is the strong emotional and personal…
All photos in this article are copyrighted by Joel Meyerowitz. I am surprised I haven’t written an article about Joel Meyerowitz yet. He is one of the living legends and masters in street photography,…
“The most difficult thing for me is to take pictures from far away.” – Jacob Aue Sobol Jacob Aue Sobol is one of my favorite contemporary photographers. Not only are his images visually powerful…
I recently attended Elliot Erwitt’s “100+1” exhibition at Fotografiska, which will be in Stockholm from December 6, 2013 to March 2, 2014. We were given a brochure with great practical advice for street photographers– which…
In the late 1960’s, photographer Tony Ray-Jones wrote a hand-written note on his “approach” when he took photographs. I think these tips are lessons all of us as street photographers can learn from him.…
I can’t remember the exact moment that I discovered the work of Saul Leiter. I think I remember seeing some link on the internet about the discovery of one of the earliest “pioneers” in…
Eugene Atget has always been sort of an enigma to me. When I started to delve into the history of street photography, a lot of people credited him to being one of the “fathers…
If you are not familiar with the work of Elliott Erwitt, you have definitely seen many of Elliott Erwitt’s iconic work all around the globe. As one of the original Magnum members and former…
All photos copyrighted by the estate of Andre Kertesz. Also many thanks to Michael Meinhardt for helping me edit this text. Andre Kertesz is one of the greatest photographers who ever lived. He photographed extensively for over…
I want to write about a photographer that most art and photography students know, but not that many street photographers know (or appreciate) online. That photographer is Walker Evans, one of the most pivotal…
Bruce Gilden is one of the best street photographers currently alive. He is a photographer who has had a deep influence on me and my approach in street photography– especially when I first saw…
Weegee is certainly one of the most infamous street photographers in history. Although he never called himself a street photographer (he worked as a press/news photographer) his obsession with capturing people was unparalleled. With…
W. Eugene Smith is one of the legends of photography. Although he was notorious for being maniacal, emotionally distant, and unreasonable– he channeled those energies into being one of the best photographers history has…
When I was in Arles photo festival last year, I met a photographer who introduced me to a book that he just purchased, titled: “The Mexican Suitcase.” He was jumping up and down with…
I first heard about William Eggleston through my good friend and talented street photographer Charlie Kirk about a year and a half ago. He mentioned that he just purchased a copy of “Chromes” by…
In my opinion, Lee Friedlander is one of the most under-appreciated (or simply unknown) street photographers when it comes to the internet/social-media sphere. Of course Friedlander is one of the pillars of photography and…
Don’t miss out on the re-print of Koudelka’s book: “Exiles“! To me, Josef Koudelka is one of the most brilliant photographers out there and a true master of black and white. Not only does…
I remember the first time I stumbled upon Daido Moriyama’s work via word-of-mouth by a friend. I remembered how my friend told me how he was a genius, and how incredible his black and…
William Klein is one of my favorite street photographers of all time. I think one of the things that I love most about him is his “I don’t give a fuck” attitude about the…
“The Americans” by Robert Frank is one of the most influential photo books published of all-time. It has inspired countless numbers of photographers across all genres, especially appealing to documentary and street photographers. I…
(All photographs copyrighted by the Estate of Diane Arbus) Diane Arbus is a photographer that has a very profound impact on me. When I first saw her photograph of the “grenade kid” — it…
(All photographs in this article copyrighted by Anders Petersen. Photographs used with permission from Petersen) Anders Petersen, b. 1944, is a Swedish photographer, who is best known for his intimate and documentary-based photography projects. He…
Photographs used with permission from Alex Webb One of the street photographers who have had a strong impact on my street photography is Alex Webb. Webb is a Magnum photographer who uses strong colors,…
