ERIC KIM ₿

Tag: street photography tip

  • What’s Important in Street Photography: Style, Technique, Or Something Else?

    What’s Important in Street Photography: Style, Technique, Or Something Else?

    I recently read a critique on Severin Koller’s blog regarding the ethics of street photography and shooting street photography close, with a wide-angle, and a flash (similar to Bruce Gilden). He brings up issues that I think that all street photographers should consider when they think about why they shoot street photography and whether there is a “right or wrong” approach in street photography.

    For this post, I will try to type out some of my personal thoughts on the topic at hand. There will be many flaws in my argument but please bear with me—I consider it more of a personal essay that will help me explicate my own thoughts. I will try to draw from street photography books, my personal experiences, as well as some pseudo-philosophy to back up any of my claims.

    My ultimate claim is that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to shoot street photography (as there is an abundance of street photography styles out there). However when it comes to street photography, we should argue less about the aesthetics, styles, technique, and approach and —and concentrate on the question: “Why do we photograph?” It doesn’t matter if you use a wide-angle lens or a normal lens or if you use a flash or not. In the end the most important question remains: “Am I creating images that makes a statement on humanity, and will my images have the power to influence others to see differently?”

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  • What the Black Swan and Unpredictability Can Teach You About Street Photography

    What the Black Swan and Unpredictability Can Teach You About Street Photography

    Matt Stuart

    (Above image by Matt Stuart)

    One of the books that has profoundly changed my understanding of the world is “The Black Swan” by Nassim Taleb. His thesis is that much of what happens in the world is by pure luck and randomness. He uses The analogy of the “black swan” is that scientists for hundreds of years assumed that because only because white swans were seen, no black swans existed. However the day that a black swan was discovered, their understanding of swans changed dramatically.

    In life there are two types of black swans: positiv black swans that bring us fortune, and negative black swans that bring us misfortune.

    Recently every book I have been reading (whether it be a finance book, an economics book, a sociology book, or philosophy book) I have been able to always link it back to street photography.

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  • My Thoughts On Objectivity vs Subjectivity: What Makes a Great Street Photograph by Trevor Marczylo

    My Thoughts On Objectivity vs Subjectivity: What Makes a Great Street Photograph by Trevor Marczylo

    Click to read more

    (Above image by Trevor Marczylo)

    Eric’s Note: I am pleased to announce Trevor Marczylo, a street photographer eating, living, and surviving in Winnipeg, Manitoba as a new weekly contributor to the blog! He is a full-time photographer, making a living selling prints that he takes on a daily basis. Make sure to check out his last feature on my blog with his photos here. Also keep posted for his Friday features! 

    I think a “subjective street photograph” contains the attitude of photographer.

    The pure photographic image without thinking of any composition but only capturing the moment of a situation with limited time to only think or react and relay on his/her trained eye and how they view/see through their own camera in a moment.

    That being said… It all comes down to the street photograph and how that photograph was taken. I’ll try my best to explain myself and using a few of my photos in this article.

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  • What Does it Take to Make a Good Street Photograph?

    What Does it Take to Make a Good Street Photograph?

    What's on a doorman's mind?

     (“What’s on a doorman’s mind?” by Simon Garnier)

    Eric’s note: The following guest article is by Simon Garnier, part scientist and part street photographer who lives and works in New Jersey. Read his previous article about getting close in street photography and this new article where he discusses what it takes to take a great street photograph.

    What does it take to make a good street photograph? Many, many, many things. Some weeks ago on this blog, for instance, I discussed the importance of taking a picture at the right scale, that is, at the scale of the event you are photographing. As you can imagine, however, the scaling problem is not the only challenge one faces when doing street photography. I might be at the right scale, but not at the right position or angle; the natural light might create shadows masking important elements; the composition of the picture (that is, the organization of the different components of the image relative to each other and to the dimensions of the picture) might diminish the meaning and clarity of the photograph; the colors (if you shoot in color like me) might simply not get along very well (try flashy green on purple for instance :-) ); the contrasts might be too low to easily distinguish the foreground from the background; etc, etc. Street photography is an easy genre to start with (the easiest maybe?), but for sure it is one of the hardest to master as all these problems must be tackled under strong time constraints.

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  • How to Become an Invisible Street Photographer

    How to Become an Invisible Street Photographer

    "Contemplation" – show with my Ricoh GRIII

    A while back on my Facebook page and Twitter I asked you guys “if you had any street photography superpower, what would it be?” The vast majority of you answered: invisibility.

    As a street photographer, being invisible and blending in with your environment is key in getting an amazing street photograph. However, easier said than done right? In this post I will try to outline my thoughts on how to best be invisible when shooting on the streets, and what has helped me stay low-key when I am out shooting.

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