20 Lessons Constantine Manos Has Taught Me About Street Photography

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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, so the first two days I spent with Costa Manos. And I’m glad I did, I learned so much from his decades of experience (he has been in Magnum for over 50 years).

So based on my two days with him, I wanted to distill some wisdom he shared during the workshop. Here I go:

Day 3: Magnum Workshop with Constantine Manos Notes, Video

Snapshot with Constantine Manos :)
Snapshot with Constantine Manos :)
Snapshot with Constantine Manos :)

Today David Alan Harvey just arrived from France, and I had one last morning session with Constantine Manos. Below are my notes and video critique recordings:

Also check out Karl Edwards notes on “Street Shootr”:

Street Photography Composition Lesson #4: Leading Lines

Josef Koudelka : CZECHOSLOVAKIA. 1963. Slovakia. Jarabina. Reconstruction of a homicide.
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© Henri Cartier-Bresson / Magnum Photos. FRANCE. 1932. Marseille. The Allée du Prado.

All photos in this article are copyrighted by their respective photographers.

For today’s street photography composition lesson– I would like to discuss leading lines.

Leading lines are one of the most basic photography compositional techniques– I am sure you have all heard of it before. But it is a technique that we often don’t listen to or follow. For example, it is easy to have a leading line in the background (for example, a background) that leads your eyes away from the main subject, rather to the main subject.

Whenever I look at a photograph, the first question I ask myself is: who is the subject?