{"id":4478,"date":"2011-10-11T08:50:03","date_gmt":"2011-10-11T15:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=4478"},"modified":"2011-10-11T08:50:03","modified_gmt":"2011-10-11T15:50:03","slug":"how-body-language-affects-story-telling-in-street-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/11\/how-body-language-affects-story-telling-in-street-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"How Body Language Affects Story-Telling in Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above image by Norman Estrologo)<\/em><\/p>\n

Eric’s Note: <\/strong>This article is written by Norman Estrologo<\/a>, a Los Angeles based street photographer who has recently attended my introductory and intermediate street photography workshops. In a relatively short time, he has found his passion in street photography and has been experimenting with his style and shooting constantly.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

There are many different approaches to street photography and I believe that body language plays a role in most of these. My approach to street photography started out with photos of multiple characters but then as I progressed, I moved a little closer, held up a flash and focused on one distinct subject (a style highly influenced by Bruce Gilden, Charlie Kirk and Eric Kim to name a few). \u00c2\u00a0I just found this approach a bit more challenging and rewarding at the same time. Not to mention, a very niche following. Personally, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of the fact that not many venture into it that I decided to indulge myself in doing street photography with a flash.<\/p>\n

When talking about composition, there are many things to consider but I am particularly interested in capturing body language (facial expression, posture, hand gesture and etc). The fact that I usually have only one main subject means that I have to make up for story telling through the actions of an individual.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the common forms of body language that I tend to look for in my subjects:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Open-Palm or Palm-Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/strong>This means that the subject conveys openness and honesty. Think of it like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re laying down all your cards or showing the cops that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a weapon. An open-palm gesture is very commonly used in society, for example when taking an oath or answering a question. Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opposite the Closed-Palm or Palm-Down conveys negativity and authority. Any prominent historical figure\/villain comes to mind?<\/p>\n

\"Norman<\/a>
Norman Estrologo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this photo, the legs sticking out of a car would be an interesting subject but up until the hands came out, there was really no solid story line to support the composition. The hands here show openness to whoever the subject was interacting with.<\/p>\n

The Pointing Finger<\/h2>\n

This gesture conveys submission and power because it dictates a certain direction. Not many of us really want to be told what to do and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why there are negative feelings towards a pointing finger.<\/p>\n

\"Norman<\/a>
Norman Estrologo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this photo, the man was trying to make a point while he was talking. The result is an authoritarian figure who wants things done his way, hence the title \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Command\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. This subject was unprovoked and in reality he was really just talking to another person.<\/p>\n

Smile<\/h2>\n

A smile may have different meanings in them but the smile I like to capture is a natural smile. Most people on the street have nothing to hide in their smile which is why these smiles are real. You can tell if a smile is natural if the muscles around the eyes are involved and not just the lips.<\/p>\n

\"Norman<\/a>
Norman Estrologo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is definitely a natural smile. A smile that makes the viewer smile as well. Studies show that our brain has a sort of mirror effect. So every time we see a smile we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but smile back. This also means that street photographers should smile as much as possible!<\/p>\n

The Mouth Cover<\/h2>\n

This gesture means the suppression or prevention of something from coming out rather than in. This is a common signal when it comes to interrogation. A person covering their mouth usually means that they do not want to let out anything.<\/p>\n

\"Norman<\/a>
Norman Estrologo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although one may argue that she may just be fixing her mask, I believe that this photo conveys total secrecy because not only is her mouth covered but her ears and most of her body is as well. The hand to the face is somewhat of an icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

Crossed-Arms-On-Chest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is a common gesture that shows a closed attitude. Almost everyone could tell that this has a negative meaning. It conveys defensiveness and hostility.<\/p>\n

\"Norman<\/a>
Norman Estrologo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lady in this case is defensive while walking through the dark streets of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

There are literally hundreds of ways you can use body language to create your composition and story. I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even said anything about the eyes or legs. What I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just trying to point out is that there are so many ways to create a story line in an image. In this case, I just think that waiting for a gesture is also something we can all consider when composing our shots.<\/p>\n

Links<\/h2>\n

Make sure to stay posted with Norman and his shots on his Flickr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are some other forms of body language that you think makes an image more interesting?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Above image by Norman Estrologo) Eric’s Note: This article is written by Norman Estrologo, a Los Angeles based street photographer who has recently attended my introductory and intermediate street photography workshops. In a relatively short time, he has found his passion in street photography and has been experimenting with his style and shooting constantly.\u00c2\u00a0 There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[968,551],"class_list":["post-4478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts","tag-norman-estrologo","tag-street-photography-tips-2"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/P8270631.jpg?fit=660%2C495&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}