Eric’s Note:Â I am very pleased to feature the work of Scott Strazzante, a full-time staff photographer with the Chicago Tribune and avid street photographer. Check out how he started in journalism and got into street photography and check out his shots below!
Scott: Although, I have been a full time staff photographer since 1987, the last 10 with the Chicago Tribune, I have only been doing street photography for the past two years.
I squeeze in as much street time as I can between assignments or when I am on the road.
Obviously, New York and London are the two capitals of street photography, but I think Chicago is a hidden gem.
Eric’s note: I got a special treat for all of you guys out there. I was fortunate enough to get an interview with renowned New York Street Photographer, Joe Wigfall. Joe is best known for his black and white imagery of New York City and a WNYC Street Shots feature of him “shooting from the hip” which has already racked over 60,000+ view on YouTube. Out of all of the street photographers out there, Joe is definitely one of the most humble and soulful. Check out this exclusive interview with him and become inspired by his images as well.
One of the questions that I often get from aspiring street photographers is, “How do I not look like a ‘creep’ when shooting in public?†I believe that this is one of the main factors which bars many photographers from getting their feet wet with street photography. In many societies, taking photos of strangers on the street is definitely not the “norm,†and can be interpreted as offensive to many. However although a photographer may feel like a “creep†when shooting in public, he most likely isn’t.
Street photographers try to capture the beauty in everyday-life, and attempt to journal their life through their lens. The term “creep†implies that the person is shooting strangers for some ill or mischievous reason.
In order not to look like a “creep†in the streets, you must first change your mindset that you are not a creep. In thinking that you are being “creepy†by shooting random strangers in the street, your body language will show it as well. Your movement in the streets will be erratic, your eyes will be shifty, and you will make other people feel uncomfortable. It is sort of like a self-fulfilling prophecy in this way, therefore it is important for you to shift your frame of mind.
If you constantly tell yourself, “I am a street photographer there to capture the beauty in the mundane and I mean nobody ill will,†thoughts of being a creeper will disappear over time. Granted that every street photographer will have a difficult time doing so, the more you do it, the less awkward it will be.
In order to help you get over that feeling of being a “creep in the streets,†I will give you three quick tips on how not to look like a creeper when shooting street photography.
In street photography, one of the popular techniques that photographers employ is “shooting from the hip.†To sum it up, “shooting from the hip†it is holding your camera at wait-level, and shooting upwards without looking through the viewfinder. One of the reasons why this technique is widely popular is because it allows you to take much more candid images of people, as they do not see you shooting them with your eye through your viewfinder, and assume you aren’t taking images. Another thing is that when shooting from the hip, you often get a much more interesting perspective as you shoot from a much lower perspective.
Although there are some individuals who are opposed to shooting from the hip and consider it as the “easy way out,†simply disregard their words. As you will soon find out, framing while shooting from the hip is very difficult when starting off. For every 100 shots you take shooting from the hip, you will probably only get 5-10 or so “decently†framed images.
Although I do not use shooting from the hip as my primary type of street photography, I will try my best to walk you through how you can effectively shoot from the hip and get amazing candid images of people.
In lieu of the popularity of my last post about the “100 Things I Have Learned about Photography,” I decided to make a new list that pertains to street photography specifically. Also if you don’t know, I am currently writing a book titled: “Street Photography 101,” and the excerpts are being posted here. This new list is a homage to the Street Photography 101 book that I am writing.
Note that there is some overlap of some of these points with the previous list that I wrote, but I thought it may be essential for new-readers to note. Also, feel free to critique, comment, and share this list with anybody you want. I would love to hear your feedback.
