Street photography is an essence of photojournalism that by definition consists of photography of random encounters and chance incidents. Despite the name, street photography does not nessiseraly have to take place on the street or urban setting but is rather defined by the presence of public presence weather that be naturally occurring populations of people in the public eye or public settings, street photography is the public world seen through an artistic eye.

Mood Board

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The best street photography always tends to contain an underlying social/political context that makes a statement and ignites thought.

Street photography has been a form of photographical expression and journalism for over a century. This is why this form of photography can also portray certain historical events or periods in history without words which is the exact reason these images can be so powerful. They can be used as a form of rebellion: Below is an image taken by Susan Meiselas in July 16, 1979 that gives a good example of this historical context; it is taken during the Nicaraguan rebellion; the image is extremely powerful portrays the emotion and essence that was felt of the time.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer born in Chanteloup-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne. He developed an early fascination with painting particularly with Surrealism.

After spending a year in the Ivory Coast in 1932, he discovered his true life long passion – photography. Taken prisoner of war in 1940, he escaped on his third attempt in 1943 and subsequently joined an underground organization to assist prisoners and escapees. 

In 1945, he photographed the liberation of Paris.

After three years he had spent travelling in the East, in 1952, he returned to Europe, where he published his first book, The decisive moment. From 1968, he began to curtail his photographic activities, preferring to concentrate on drawing and painting.

In 2003, with his wife and daughter, he created the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris for the preservation of his work. Cartier-Bresson received an extraordinary number of prizes, awards, and honorary doctorates.

He was referred to as a humanist photographer and the master of candid.

Seen above is an image from Henri’s book “The Decisive Moment” published in 1952. The composition is of a curved cobble street/ alley way surrounded by old buildings. There is a cyclist cycling expeditiously wearing black clothing on the street toward the left side of the composition. The photo is taken from the top of a spiralling staircase contained by a strong metal railing with evenly spread, parallel spokes, which meanders down towards the street in an uneven fashion. This gives the image a unique view point where the alleyway setting can be seen from above.

The photograph has low saturation and high contrast and it is also slightly underexposed and shot with natural lighting which gives the alleyway a low-key, darker, grungy look. The image is also taken with a slower shutter-speed which portrays the movement and briskness of the cyclist as he delays blurringly through the composition. Henri also framed the cyclist in the gap between where the railing stops and the strong line of the corner of a building. The image can give context to the rush and hustle that people can become enveloped in on these streets.

Henri co-founded Magnum Photo Agency in 1947. This was a cooperative agency where the founders where assigned different regions to photograph across the globe. Henri was assigned India and China. This is where he gained recognition for documenting Gandhi’s funeral in India in 1948 and the last stage of the Chinese Civil War in 1949

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is a street photographer from the Bronx, New York

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Joe’s pieces portray humanity in its hustle, boisterous and everyday movement similarly to the works of Cartier-Bresson.

Joes works are more concentrated to the place he grew up and he goes about his work in a manner of capturing the essence of New York and documenting the city. This is different in Henri’s work; his is more diverse – he documents the essence of different cultures and political viewpoints from all over the world.

• 

• 

Both of the above images picture a man in smart attire mid stride in a city environment.

Both images give a background to what the life of the subject looks like and their everyday hustle. The images both capture the subjects movement and direction while including the environment around them which adds to the incite into the subjects background.

Both images have low saturation and high contrast which make the black suited subjects almost appear like silhouettes. They are both shot with slower shutter speed to capture some of the movement of the subjects. Henri’s composition is more three-dimensional as the reflection on the street below the subject adds another layer to the image and creates a horizontal symmetry. Joes image is exposed slightly more which gives it more clarity.

Photo Shoot Plan

What

People on the streets

Who

Random interesting looking people

When

During day – good natural lighting. Overcast conditions – low key images – not too harsh lighting.

Where

Town, urban area

Why

To explore the techniques, methods of shooting street, photography, to capture the essence of people going about their day.

How

Talk to people, use lens with higher focal length, position myself in way that captures a unique viewpoint.

Contact Sheets

Final Edits

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Final selections