William Klein was an American-born French photographer and filmmaker noted for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography.

William Klein is a titan in the realm of photography, known for his unique, unorthodox, and vibrant vision of the world. Klein’s work stands as a testament to a creative force that defied and ultimately changed the photography industry’s conventions.

Early Life and Career

William Klein was born in New York City in 1928, growing up amidst the city’s hustle and bustle that would later become a prominent feature in his work. He moved to France after a stint in the army, where he studied painting under Fernand Léger and began experimenting with abstract art.

Klein’s first interaction with photography was when Vogue hired him to create a collection of fashion illustrations. He turned to photography instead, preferring its immediacy. His breakthrough came with the gritty, kinetic ‘New York’ series, which propelled him into the limelight.

His work echoes the likes of Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand, all known for their unfiltered representation of society and compellingly chaotic compositions.

Photographic Style and Techniques

Klein’s style is characterized by a fascination with the unconventional, the overlooked, and the flamboyant aspects of life. Unlike many contemporaries, Klein did not believe in the detached observer’s role; he plunged into his subjects’ world, infusing his images with their energy and spirit.

He often used wide-angle lenses, capturing vast scenes and producing distorted, dynamic compositions. His images are filled with bold contrasts, grain, and blur, embracing what was considered technical ‘flaws’ to create highly expressive images.

Career Highlights

Klein’s illustrious career has spanned multiple decades and diverse domains, including fashion photography, filmmaking, and painting. His fashion photography work in Vogue made him a renowned figure in the industry, pushing the boundaries of the genre with his innovative and irreverent style.

However, it was his candid street photography that brought him international acclaim. His photobook ‘New York’ (1956), characterized by its kinetic energy and uncompromising rawness, remains a landmark in the history of photography.

Street photography is a genre that revolves around capturing candid moments in public spaces, immortalizing the essence of everyday life. From spontaneous encounters to striking scenes, street photography provides a unique glimpse into the human condition and the world around us.

Photography Gear

Klein often used a wide-angle lens on a 35mm camera, enabling him to capture his trademark dynamic and immersive scenes. His favoured camera was a Pentax 6×7, a medium format SLR. This camera’s larger film size allowed for more detail and a wider tonal range, helping to capture the vibrant chaos of his urban landscapes.

Klein was also known to use a fisheye lens and a telephoto lens on occasion. The fisheye lens, with its extreme wide-angle and distorted perspective, was perfectly suited to Klein’s offbeat, expressionistic style. The telephoto lens, on the other hand, allowed him to isolate and capture unique moments amidst the chaos.

William Klein VS Henri Cartier-Bresson

Similarities:

• Both were street photographers who captured real life on the fly.
• They used 35mm cameras and believed in shooting spontaneously rather than in studios.
• Their work helped define what we now call street photography.
• Both travelled a lot and shot around the world.
• They cared about everyday people and the stories happening around them.

Differences:

William Klein

Style – Bold, chaotic, gritty. Loved blur, grain, and motion. Broke rules on purpose.

Approach – Loud and direct. Sometimes interacted or even provoked his subjects.

Philosophy – Wanted to challenge traditional photography. Called his work “anti-photography.”

Background – Started in painting and fashion. Known for wild photobooks and films.

Attitude toward gear – Used wide-angle lenses and pushed film for extra grain and contrast.

Tone – Critical of society, politics, and media. His work felt raw and edgy.

Legacy – Influenced photobook design, fashion photography, and visual storytelling.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Style – Clean, calm, precise. Waited for the perfect moment and framed everything carefully.

Approach – Quiet and invisible. Tried not to disturb the scene.

Philosophy – Believed in “the decisive moment”—catching the exact right instant.

Background – Studied painting first, then co-founded Magnum Photos. Known for timeless single images.

Attitude toward gear – Used a 50mm lens and avoided cropping—everything was done in-camera.

Tone – Observational and poetic. Focused more on balance and human dignity.

Legacy – Influenced photojournalism and the ethics of documentary photography.

Conclusion

Cartier-Bresson was the master of timing and quiet elegance. Klein was the rebel who broke all the rules and made photography loud and messy on purpose. Both were legends, just with totally different energy.

the difference in their approach to image-making in the streets.

William Klein is considered one of the most influential street photographers of all time. He had a ‘no non-sense’ attitude to street photography and liked to confront people. He rebelled against many of the contemporary styles of photography during his time, especially that of Henri Cartier-Bresson and other “classic” street photographers. Klein experimented with lots of different focal lengths during his career– but he is most well-known for his up-and-close and personal work with a wide-angle lens.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is a French photographer who is considered to be one of the fathers of photojournalism and masters of candid photography. He wanted to capture the ‘everyday’ in his photographs and took great interest in recording human activity. he used geometry, symmetry, and structure in his photography. he used Wide-angle lenses, close and intrusive. He believed in being invisible, using small Leica cameras, and never cropping his photos. he took photos of everyday life, street scenes, politics, and human behaviour and often captured candid photos across the world. he also took photos of major historical moments. when he took his photos he avoided using the flash, he avoided manipulation the photo or staging the photo. he would wait for the perfect moment to take the photo as back then you could only take a certain amount so he didn’t want to waste them.

Henri Cartier Bresson photo

visual

The photograph is a brilliant study of shapes and lines: the circular wheels echo the curves of the steps, while the straight edges of the wall and stairs create a contrast. The boy and his bike are positioned in such a way that they seem to be part of the architecture, integrating human activity with the urban environment.

The image plays with light and shadow, enhancing the 3D effect of the surfaces. Cartier-Bresson captures the boy mid-motion on the bike, freezing an everyday moment of play and freedom.The timing creates a sense of rhythm and flow, consistent with Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment” philosophy.

technical

The photo has high contrast — the dark silhouette of the bike and boy stands out against the lighter background of the steps and wall. This contrast sharpens the image’s graphic quality and draws the eye immediately to the subject.

conceptual

The boy’s presence introduces a narrative of childhood, movement, and life in the town. The everyday nature of the moment lends authenticity and spontaneity. The photo exemplifies Cartier-Bresson’s ability to blend human subjects with their environment, showing the poetry of urban life. It transforms a simple scene into an artistic composition, highlighting beauty in the mundane. The image reflects Cartier-Bresson’s deep respect for geometry, light, and timing, combining all these to create an iconic street photograph.

William Kleins photo

this photo is very up in the ladies face, compared to Henris photo which doesn’t have anyone’s face in it and the person doesn’t know their being photographed. William Kline didn’t really give people personal space, he was very confrontational and didn’t mind going up to people. He favoured chaos, blur, grain, and distortion.

when he took his photos he Used wide-angle lenses, close-ups, and high contrast to create intense, often confrontational images, this could often make the public uncomfortable. however when he took photos you could feel the presence in the photo.

in most of his photos there was a sense of Urban chaos, fashion, and most of all street life especially in cities like New York, Tokyo, and Paris.

Broke all the rules of conventional photography, he was intrusive to people but also had a unique photographing method

his photos are in black and white which makes takes away the distractions of colour, this lets the viewer to focus on the composition, contrast, and emotion which is shown through light and shadow. the photo has a high contrast due to it being dark shades of black and white. he has also created a motion blur, in the photo the background is more in focus than the foreground.

this is a very crowded photo as there are many people, the main focus point is the woman however the people in the background are also important as they help create the scene of the picture.

History and context

street photography focuses on capture candid real life moments usually in public spaces without the subject knowing that they are being photographed these are genuine moments that are happening, this is purist as you are not having someone posed or changing what’s happening its being present in real time. And its a way of documenting every-day life that can tell story’s about a moment of someone’s life.

street photography as its own gene began as an offshoot of photojournalism. as many street photographers started as photojournalists and fashion photographers and continued to do street photography in their own hours and it slowly began to rise in popularity due to many famous photographers at the time starting to enjoy shoot this specific genre.

images from google from various different street photographers

Street photography is a specific type of photography that captures real-life moments in public places, like streets, parks, or markets. It often shows people going about their daily lives, without posing or knowing they are being photographed, making them candid images. The goal is to tell a story or show emotion through everyday events, unknowingly. Street photographers look for interesting moments, or details that happen naturally to understand the beauty in ordinary, everyday life.

History and Context

In the Street Photography between Reportage, Cinema and Theatre by David Campany, this essay explains the growth of street photography overtime and the transformation of pictorial arts (like landscapes and portraiture) to a genre that is specific to the camera. Since the 1830’s, pictures of streets have been taken. However, it wasn’t until nearly 100 years later in the 1920’s when it resembled the street photography we know today. Since this point, manufacturers advanced to producing lightweight cameras, making it possible to sneakily take images in a candid way, to capture the pure essence and beauty of everyday life without it looking fake or unrealistic.

A quote that I liked was “Above all I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes.” from Henri Cartier-Bresson. I agree with his quote since in this time period, Cartier-Bresson couldn’t take multiple images with his camera as there wasn’t enough film, so he had to take the perfect image. Because he used the word “Craved”, it shows a sense of urgency, determination and pressure to ensure his image met his standards. I also agree with him because once you capture that memory, you are unaware of what will happen in next few seconds (for example, if the person got angry that you took a photo).

Another quote I liked was “It is associated with the hand-held 35mm camera and especially the emergence of the very compact Leica and its superior lens quality.” I agree with this quote as this camera is one of the most well known cameras used in street photography, since its easier to hold and was impactful for its time, especially because it was less noticeable.

Street photography is a type of photography that focuses on capturing real life moments in public places, especially big cities. It is often not planed and it’s based on waiting for it to happen. What makes it a special way to photograph is the ability to freeze moments of the everyday life, turning normal lives into a image with meaning and stories behind it.

One quote from the article that is liked ‘ street photography… is a genre that is specific to the medium; specific to the still camera that is portable and easy to use.’ I agree with this because street photography really focuses on movement/ mobility of the photographer and the subject but also the photographer has to be quick to press the button at any moment. And this is why having a small and light camera is very useful and it is also less noticeable by the people being photographed. which is the goal since the point is to capture life as naturally as possible.

Leica I, the camera Henri Cartier-Bresson first used to capture scenes of Paris

Another quote comes from the photographer Henri- Cartier- Bresson who said ‘ I prowled the street all day, feeling very stung up and ready to pounce, determined to trap life, to preserve it in the act of living.’ Although I agree with him in a way that he wants to preserve moments that will never happen again, I think the word ‘ trap’ is a bit harsh but in my opinion it means catching something meaningful before its gone. Which also reminds me of what Henri said when he compared photography to hunting which reflects on the idea that photographers are like hunters that are just trying to catch the perfect moment.

Information from:

Street photography is about capturing the candid moments in public spaces, which often highlights everyday life, urban environments, and human interactions. It thrives on spontaneity, composition, and storytelling, offering a raw glimpse into the world.

It overlaps with candid photography but doesn’t necessarily require a street or urban setting.Sometimes, it will focus on objects or environments that will evoke the human presence. The genre has evolved and has improved as time has gone on.It has also has advanced in portable cameras, which will allow photographers to document fleeting moments with precision.

Candid Photography is all about capturing spontaneous, unposed moments, often highlighting genuine emotions and interactions.

Key Artists

It originated in Paris, and artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson,Brassai and Andre Kertesz, Street Photography became known as a genre in its own right during the early 1930s.

While there are areas of overlap with documentary and architectural photography, Street Photography is very unique in the way it is associated with the photographer’s skill in catching something of the mystery and aura of everyday city life.

Street Photographers will sometimes engage and get to know their subjects (Brassai,Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand) but it became more common for the photographer to roam the streets with a concealed 35mm camera.

The Street Photographer is then often likened to the historical figure of the flâneur: namely someone who joins anonymously with the crowd who will observe and record the ways the unsuspecting city dweller interacts with his or her environment.

A History of Street Photography

While the early French developers, formed close associations with the Surrealists, the spontaneity quality that embraces the uneven and spontaneous, Snapshot Aesthetic which was carried across the Atlantic where it lent itself perfectly to the post-war urban experience.

Possibly the most important Street Photographer of all, the Swiss-American Robert Frank, who raised the status of the Snapshot to art and his influence was to make the next generation of American photographers.

The mid-1960s and early-1970s became the “golden-age” of Street Photography when the likes of the Arbus, Winogrand and Lee Friedlander allowed their own sassy personalities to impinge on the images of their subjects. 

Street Photography Quotes

‘For Me The Camera is a Sketchbook, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity’ -Henri Cartier-Bresson

This quote implies his philosophy on photography as an art form driven by instinct and immediacy. He saw the camera not as a rigid tool for documentation but as a means of capturing fleeting moments with precision and emotion.I agree with this statement Cartier-Bresson said because ‘rigid’ implies that its hard and the images will last longer.

‘Basically ,my work has been one long reportage on human life’-Brassai

His approach to photography as a documentation of human existence. He saw his work as an ongoing visual narrative and like a storybook, which captured the essence of everyday life, people, and urban environments. I agree with is quote because images are a documentation of our lives.

Technology

The Leica handheld camera, commercially available as of 1924, was the ticket to allowing a photographer to be on the move, as well as to capturing movement of the world around them.

A 35-mm film camera, the Leica had a wide aperture that required a short exposure time, especially for pictures taken outdoors, and it could advance quickly, which allowed the photographer to take numerous pictures of a subject in quick succession.

Street Photography Mood-board

This is an overview of street photography in a nutshell.

Henri Cartier-Bresson is a French photographer, who is born on the 22 august in 1908. He was a humanist and saw photography as the extension of the eye, but also a memory. He was a street photographer who had a passion for art but went travelling and found a new interest, which was photography, more specifically, street photography.

Why is a camera an extension of the eye?

It supports the idea that you can capture an image and have it as a memory unlike the eye, which can miss certain things a camera doesn’t to keep a new perspective.

What is the physical pleasure in making photographs?

It gives you satisfaction of witnessing the final product of your image, as well as viewing other photos to gain satisfaction. When you see an image you want to take, you gain physical pleasure from being the one to take that image.

How can photography be likened to hunting?

There are similarities to photography and hunting, like going on an adventure to find what you are looking for, and patiently waiting to capture the certain subject because it shouldn’t take many tries.

The horizonal lines towards the left of the image on the railings highlight and direct the viewers eyeline towards the decisive moment to frame where he has captured the image. Meanwhile, the man jumping is a part of the rule of thirds, as he is on the right side of the photo, meaning he’s in the right grid side. This makes him the first eye catching subject, as the image is divided. If you remove the colours in the image, it enhances the detail and depth in the image, with stronger shadows and highlights because of the tonal range. Because there is no colour, the monochrome image gives nostalgia and a reminiscent feeling of memories of the past.

He used a Leica Rangefinder with a 50mm lens to be discreet, capturing quick images in focus. This enabled him to capture them close up or far away, but allowed him to take a candid photo of others to give a more natural quality. He had clarity from foreground to background and sharp focus to add more depth, alongside a quicker shutter speed as there is little to no motion blur. Usually bright natural lighting is hated by photographers, but Cartier-Bresson uses the advantage of natural light, to reflect perfectly onto the light of the puddle. By doing this, it reflects on the bottom and top to create balance, and give a sense of unity in the image whilst framing this in a perfect way. This photo became one of his most famous images, by renouncing street photography and the idea of candid photos. This image revolutionised the decisive moment, and enhanced the idea that you can take something so ordinary, and recognise the beauty in it.

The black fences act as a guide to lead the eyes in various directions by using leading lines through the shapes.

These women carry baked goods, which in turn could be representing the children’s future jobs. The texture in each of the floor patterns suggests that

Who are they?

Bernd (1931–2007) and Hilla Becher (1934–2015) are considered the most influential German photographers of the post-war period. Over the past 50 years, the couple and artist duo captured the aesthetic of disappearing industrial facilities, often making the overlooked structures visible to viewers for the first time. Their strict adherence to particular formal principles and their typological approach gave rise to the idea of photography as conceptual art. The Bechers taught at the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf and shaped the work of an entire generation of photographers, including Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer and Thomas Struth. Sprüth Magers represents the artist couple’s Estate.

Hilla Becher was a German artist born in 1931 in Siegen, Germany. She was one half of a photography duo with her husband Bernd Becher. For forty years, they photographed disappearing industrial architecture around Europe and North America.

They won the Erasmus Prize in 2002 and Hasselblad Award in 2004 for their work and roles as photography professors at the art academy Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

What did they photograph?

Industrial structures including water towers, coal bunkers, gas tanks and factories. Their work had a documentary style as their images were always taken in black and white. Their photographs never included people.

They exhibited their work in sets or typologies, grouping of several photographs of the same type of structure. The are well known for presenting their images in grid formations. 

This sequence of photographs, showing pitheads from British mining and quarrying sites, were taken from 1965 to 1974 and is representative of the way the Bechers chose to display their work through their career, arranging images in groups according to type. Pitheads, known as such in the United Kingdom and as winding towers elsewhere, were positioned at the top of coal shafts and served as mechanisms for hoisting gear into and out of mines. These nine images, arranged in rows of three, all show the pithead from the same distance and perspective, centering the structure in the frame and tightly cropping the surrounding buildings. In each case, the horizon is low and the backdrop cloudy; the pitheads themselves rise up as triangles, with circular rigs positioned at top of the structure, where a vertical base intersects with a metal diagonal leading into the mine itself.

my response to typologies:

Here is my typologies photoshoot, I decided to take photos of car wheels as they’re all very similar however they all have different features. I changed them into black and white to help them be more unison.

Mood Board & Design Vision

I envision a warm yet structured aesthetic for my exhibition catalogue and zine, blending documentary precision with an atmospheric glow. My mood board includes:

• Golden Hour Light: Soft hues that evoke nostalgia and memory, enhancing the emotional connection to place.
• Architectural Fragments & Shadows: Abstract compositions playing with geometry and contrast, lending depth to urban storytelling.

Structure & Concept

1. BIOGRAPHY – My philosophy in capturing resilience in urban landscapes, influenced by Basilico and Kim.
2. Photography Series Breakdown – Individual works with accompanying stories, explaining different concepts of rebuilding and the stories of war through the architecture.
3. The Role of Colour & Light – How Golden Hour tones enhance warmth, memory, and reflection in my compositions.
4. Layout & Format – balanced typography and generous negative space to elevate imagery.

Title & Captions

I aim for historically informative short statements and technical photographic ideas accompanying each image, balancing documentation with emotional storytelling.

Through this, my work becomes both a document of history , I want viewers to not only witness these spaces but to feel the weight of time and transformation.

FULL ZINE

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