Street Photography Q&A

[Ron Scubadiver]

What is street photogaphy?
Possible answers:
1. It's about people but it does not have to be on the street or even include people.
2. I can't define it, but I know what it is when I see it.
3. 42
4. Note that at one time flickr tried to confuse the issue by labeling street photography as voyeur if the subject was a good looking female.

What is the best gear to use?
Possible answers:
1.  Whatever you have.
2.  Small EVF interchangeable lens camera.
3.  Big DSLR
4.  Try to answer the question "how do you catch a fish" and then come back to this one.

Will people get mad at you for taking their picture without asking?

The answer is eventually someone will get mad at you and the consequences vary.  I have yet to be arrested or assaulted, but have come close.  One high risk situation is when the subject matter includes both men and women where one of the guys has just met one of the girls and thinks he can impress her by chewing out some poor photographer like me.  Note the girl will view his behavior as rude, impulsive or controlling and drop him like a rock.

As BR has reminded me in the past, it depends on local norms.  These may vary in the extreme depending on the area of the city you are in.  If there are sexually oriented businesses around, it is generally a no shooting zone, even in the friendliest of cities.  Many shopping areas prohibit all photography as they consider it a distraction to the shoppers.

Will street photography make me famous?

If you want to become famous, run for President.  I visit local art galleries constantly and have never seen street photography by an emerging artist on display.  Classics by HCB and Erwin Everitt dominate.  Every now and then someone makes it like the guy who did Humans of New York.  Most folks breaking into the fine arts scene are working in a studio or doing something weird like shooting with hand made cameras and plastic lenses.

Everyone's thoughts are solicited.  Posting of images is encouraged. 

[Mike G]

What is street photography = 42 as it is to almost everything!

What is the best gear to use = whatever you have.

I used to be good at catching fish! but I'm not wasting my time describing it all here.

I once had a German geezer get very mad at me when attempting to take a picture of his girlfriend, who by the way was very willing for me to snap her.

[Frank Fremerey]

Newer hered of Erwin Everitt and cannot find a photographer of that name.

But I know Elliott Erwitt:

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53Z1OG

[pluton]

My friend Zoran operates a small website called "Los Angeles Street Photography"
http://losangelesstreetphoto.blogspot.com, on which any photographers are invited to submit their work.
In discussions that I've had with Zoran about the definition of 'street photography', he always comes back to that "it's basically about life."  Meaning: The life of humans, as opposed to other living things. That's about the simplest definition I can think of.  In the case of this collection, it has the further requirement of having to be about life in a particular geographic area.
It is up to each photographer (or viewer) to make a definition of the genre.  Some strongly prefer that the people depicted are not conscious of the camera, so as to documented without the photographer influencing their behavior.  Others will only photograph people that have been spoken to or 'chatted up' by the photographer prior to the exposure being made.
All that matters, in the end, is that photographs are created that are worth looking at.
And that is going to vary with the viewer's own preferences.

[Rick Waldroup]

Street photography is very much like jazz- free form, ever shifting, constantly moving, and always stimulating.  Great stuff, isn't it?

[charlie]

"it's basically about life."  Meaning: The life of humans, as opposed to other living things. That's about the simplest definition I can think of.........
It is up to each photographer (or viewer) to make a definition of the genre. 

Yes

Street photography is very much like jazz- free form, ever shifting, constantly moving, and always stimulating.  Great stuff, isn't it?

Double yes

Will street photography make me famous?

No

[Ron Scubadiver]

Newer hered of Erwin Everitt and cannot find a photographer of that name.

But I know Elliott Erwitt:

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53Z1OG

Pardon my blooper

[Longhiker]

Your work is always fun, Ron. I regards to the question of having a subject be happy, I haven't had the subject complain, but someone else did. Years ago I was shooting images of some pretty girls being goofy at a biker event. We were at the ending location of a poker run that was the club house of a patched 1% club (the kind of clubs referred to as biker gangs, though they usually really aren't). A very large unhappy club member came up to me and said I shouldn't be taking photos of other people. I told him I was with them, so he backed off. A couple of the girls actually used some of the photos as their Facebook images for a while. I also put the camera away. No point in pushing your luck. 

[Ron Scubadiver]

Your work is always fun, Ron. I regards to the question of having a subject be happy, I haven't had the subject complain, but someone else did. Years ago I was shooting images of some pretty girls being goofy at a biker event. We were at the ending location of a poker run that was the club house of a patched 1% club (the kind of clubs referred to as biker gangs, though they usually really aren't). A very large unhappy club member came up to me and said I shouldn't be taking photos of other people. I told him I was with them, so he backed off. A couple of the girls actually used some of the photos as their Facebook images for a while. I also put the camera away. No point in pushing your luck. 

The subject is rarely a problem, it is usually some random male who is trying to impress a female subject.

[tommiejeep]

Ron, I rarely get in trouble shooting people and Street.  Yesterday I shot this because I was bored and I was taking photographs of people with cameras.  As they came closer she stopped to take a photograph with her P&S. (may post later) . Canon shooter boyfriend was giving me the evil stare  .   If he had nodded a no or made a gesture , I would have camera down but he actually p....d me off  .  The guy(blue T-shirt) with them gave me a big smile... something going on ?  I did run across two young Dancers from one of the Casino Boats, who had made an effort to dress for the occasion, and they were fun  .