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A.g.: In the spirit of Open Source here on Eric’s Blog, this is a German translation of 10 Things Garry Winogrand Can Teach You About Street Photography. There’s also a German translation of 10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography both made by Lukas Beinstein.
“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 hip (photographing with your camera at waist-level and not looking through the viewfinder).
Personally when I started shooting street photography, I was dependent on “shooting from the hip.†I was too scared to bring my camera’s viewfinder up to my eye, because I was afraid of getting “caught†of taking candid photos of strangers.
Garry Winogrand was one of the most prolific street photographers in history. He shot with a Leica M4, 28mm lens, and was known for creating layered, edgy, and head-on shots.
If you go on YouTube, you can see how close he is to his subjects when shooting, and he always quickly looks through his viewfinder while shooting. This allowed him to frame properly, and capture the moments he found interesting.
“[Don’t shoot from the hip], you’ll lose control over your framing.†– Garry Winogrand
In my experience, I found that shooting from the hip was a huge crutch. The more I shot from the hip, the less confident I was as a street photographer.
Not only that, but as Garry Winogrand said, I lost control over my framing. My shots would be poorly framed, skewed, and any shot that I got that looked half-decent was because of luck.
Remember as a street photographer, you aren’t doing anything wrong. You are trying to make images that people can empathize with. If it weren’t for street photographers, historians would have no idea what people did in public spaces in the past. All of the iconic street photography done by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt, Robert Doisenau, and Vivian Maier wouldn’t exist.
Be confident. Have faith in yourself. By not shooting from the hip, you’re signaling to the world that you’re not doing anything wrong.
Also by using your viewfinder (or LCD screen), you can have better control over your framing and composition.
So what happens when you’re shooting street photography (with your viewfinder), and you get “caught in the act?â€
My suggestion: Look at your subject, smile, say ‘thank you’ and move on.
Sometimes it is good to have your subjects notice that you are about to take a photograph of them.
For example in this photo I shot in Hollywood, I saw this hip older lady with these great sunglasses and hat. I crouched down, and took a photograph with my Canon 5D and 24mm lens. The second I was about to take a photograph of her, she looked at me and posed with her hands (giving me the “jazz handsâ€).
Now if I shot from the hip, she might have not noticed me about to take a photograph. Therefore she would have never posed for me, and this photo would never had been created.
But does that ruin the photograph, the fact that your subject noticed you?
Absolutely not. William Klein famously engaged with his subjects a lot when he shot street photography, and his presence made his photographs more vibrant, dynamic, and edgy.
Hungry to learn more? Check out the full series here: “Learn from the Masters of Street Photography.”
If you are a Garry Winogrand fan, don’t miss out on this rare video interview with him. He talks about everything, including the “ultimate justification” for shooting with a rangefinder (along other things). Gotta love Lee Friedlander’s introduction: “Welcome to the Garry Winogrand Circus– he’ll explain all his pictures!”
Thanks to Tom Kaszuba and Gary Gumanow for sending this to me!
Tim Kerr is a street photographer, artist, musician, and skater from Austin, Texas. He is a prolific artist, and doesn’t put on restrictions on his creativity and forms of self-expression. Read about how he combines all his artistic forms in the interview below (and his fun stories taking a photography course with Garry Winogrand!
Eric’s Note: This article is written by Mike Aviña, a street photographer based in the Bay Area. You can see his work featured on the blog here and an article he wrote about shooting street photography with the iPhone 5.Â
Mike: The street photography blogosphere has been buzzing lately with discussions about ethics. A recent review published by the San Francisco Chronicle started much of the fire. Jorg Colberg posted his own rant. Street photographers responded on their own blogs and online forums. The debate settled into two general camps and shots were fired between the two. Some argued that we should be more sensitive in how we approach people, others ranted that because the law protects us (at least in the United States), we can do as we like. There’s a bit more going on here and at stake. Street photographers, the art world, and the public at large must remember why photography in the public space is protected expression in many countries.
Garry Winogrand is one of my favorite street photographers of all-time. Sure, he hated the term “street photographer” and didn’t call himself one — but his contagious energy, love of the streets, and powerful imagery is what draws a lot of street photographers to him.
In the video above produced by Michael Engler, Winogrand shoots the streets of LA and shares some of his philosophies when it comes to street photography. Watch the video above or read a transcript that I put together below and some of my thoughts on what we as street photographers can learn from him.
On my Facebook fan page, I asked my readers what they wanted to have a blog post on. There were several of you who mentioned an article about how to shoot street photography at night. Van Gogh once famously said, “I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.” I definitely feel that the same applies in street photography. I love shooting at night, because I feel that is when you can capture the true soul of the urban jungle–when street lights illuminate and people are on the prowl. Keep reading to see more tips on how to shoot street photography at night:
