Why Your Street Photography Is Not Good Enough

Interesting! Liked, and subscribed.

If we all follow all these rules for taking good photos, they will all look like it was taken by the same person

i find with a lot of street photos i see, they are just random shots of a lot of people. I like to see a subject or a mood or feeling, not just go somewhere and take a lot of photos of groups of people and say they are street. Because you can shoot 1000 photos in an hour doesn't mean you should. Lately I go somewhere and get into the environment before I start taking photos to become more intune with the surroundings than just jump in and start randomly taking photos.

I personally found the photo with the 2 person and the dog more interesting than the sidewalk and bike

the reason you look back at the past and think they are great is because they are the best, there was an equivalent amount of rubbish as today. Its like people hailing music from years ago versus modern music they are listening to the best from the past

Great video, focused a new way of thinking about and street photography for me🙏
And that NWA reference alone was worth it!

Unlikely that HCB photo was taken on a 28mm, he almost always used a 50mm and thought the 35mm "extreme, but useful when needed"

very cool and interesting conversation to have about street photography

Not sure what the difference is really. Photographers still had the darkroom where negatives could be edited in a sense ie dodging burning etc . Just fascinating to see what life was like in the past. With everyone owning a camera these days it seems many images just are not seen. Same format but very little in modern times can replicate that of the past.

Lovely take on art as artifact. Deeply enjoyed this one.

I think that you have opened up a really interesting discussion about photos of time gone by. One element which has a huge impact on how we view older photos is that of emotion. How we feel when we see a particular image, or the emotion that it evokes in us is so important. The beauty or impact of a great photograph, like a great painting, is often in the eye of the beholder(s). But then again I may just be spouting B.S. Love your videos, George. They're such a breath of fresh air.

Obviously we can choose to do things for whatever reason we choose but, the reality is that all human aspiration is about engaging a "higher power". When we were children, our higher power was our parents. As we grew older we looked to sports figures or other artists for inspiration and just like with our parents we compared what we did against what they had done and we hoped, because we recognized that on some essential level, we were just like them, that we could achieve as they did only different. They were "higher powers" to us.

No matter how old or experienced we become, if we still believe we can grow, we are looking towards some source that relates to ourselves to show us that there is still potential yet to be fulfilled that we wouldn't know just through trial and error. When there is no reference point for inspiration or goal beyond ourselves to inspire growth the result is stagnation or self-absorption.

A "power" in this context just refers to an agent, in whatever form, that has the ability to change, shape or influence through the expression of their self whether physical or spiritual. People use the term "Higher Power" as though its something spooky and unreal (usually a disdain for religion) when it is the basis for human aspiration from day one and continues indefinitely, even when denied.

Also, the notion of "good enough" or not is an appeal to a viewpoint other than one's own that has been granted the value of being "higher". That's the whole reason for watching someone's photography video.

I will say that everything you value won't be valued by everyone else and you can't trust everyone else's standard to be faithful to or supportive of the expression of your potential. You have to connect your self to the source or standard that you believe offers you self-actualization, granted that you have discovered what your actualized self is to be or is to reflect.

I agree that there is a bias towards favouring the classic and nostalgic street photography of the past. I also agree that we should document our present time, and our photos will also increase in value as ti.e goes on. That said, I think the part that you miss is scarcity - meaning that many of those classic photos were taken at a time when the average person was not walkong around woth a pro level prifuction studio in their pockets. Thr overwhelming eays that our world is recorded and documentrd today could mean that street photos wont be quite as valuable as they were in the past. What do you guys think?

That Henri Cartier-Bresson picture has the logarithmic spiral within it; pleasing mathematicians and art students alike. I watched another video that said that he mostly stuck to a shutter speed and changed aperture so the motion blur may have been either by chance or it was more important than picture clarity in his pictures? I'm sure you and many others are much more knowledgeable than myself though. . Insightful. Thank you😊

What is the name of the title and author of the red photography book you are looking through in the video?

Great video. In terms of one of the issues you raised regarding "older photos" looking more appealing (If I understood correctly), I have some thoughts about this matter. I think many of those photos were shot using analog cameras, which means there weren't any "computer assisted" features. As an amateur photographer, I shoot both digital and analog. I often find that when I shoot analog, I have to put more thoughts and preparation into it since there is no immediate feedback like a digital camera. Also, I feel photographers back in those era also have to have keen eyes for color matching since manipulating colors using computer software was not possible. Also, without the medium of social media, locations, creativities, all seem to have to be "earned through effort much more" than simply geo-tagging hot spots. I think what I am trying to say is that maybe more thought process/fundamental skills/trial and experimentations attitudes, etc. were required, which may have reflected on the creation of many timeless classic photos (such as the one from Henri Cartier-Bresson that you used in this video). Just my two cent. Look forward to your future videos.

THANK YOU, I feel seen... I have all these photography techniques and many type(compared to a regular person) of camera but I will stop myself to take pictures or taking pictures purely for the sake of instagram.... I have to go back to basic...

I needed to hear this right now, excellent advice.

Hi George.

The street pictures looking the same are like the people who've tried to recreate the picture of the cyclist by, Henri Cartier-Bresson, from the same position on the staircase at the original location. They need to find their own equivalent subject to that staircase.

I always recommend that people look at a copy of "Polaroids" by Andre Kertesz that he shot on a SX70. More importantly, read the background behind his taking them towards the end of his life.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

I find great value in your videos. Amazing work. I'll continue to discover more about photography while listening to your adventure.

I felt the same way about making music... found this video because of my photography hobby. Great vid, it was nice to relate.

So true 32 years in NHS my photography is my outlet despite decline in health.

These days street photography gets confused with overedited mindless street snapshots.

Thank you George! This one was great❗️ Much appreciated.

As long as I like it who cares.
You said it well my man.All we are doing is freezing time and memories.

this vid is great.
at first I thought it's some of these classic "you do this, this and this wrong"-videos because of the title and stuff but it was really encouraging and empowering.
thanks

I had a recent chat with a gallery curator from your neck of the woods. We were going through some of my photos with a view to him advising me on the best way to approach a self-published book. But he could not help but keep asking me why I had not taken a photo a certain way, rather than the way I had.
And after a while I got a little hacked off with it. I suggested that the best way we approached this advice session was for him to assume that the photos I had taken were EXACTLY the way I wanted to take them.

This did not go down that well; he clearly expected me to have taken the type of photos that HE preferred. The advice session ended soon after. 🤣

Subscribed upon watching this video.

I was looking back at the street photos I took years ago and I'm underwhelmed. Between 2018 up to this year, I haven't been active because of work from home lifestyle. It does make me want to go out more often to improve.

The shots that I do like atm are the ones are the ones I didn't take.

Photography is 100% subjective! What you like and what others like maybe polar opposites.

James said it best: Story is everything. Nothing stands only on composition and technical skill. Story is Key no matter what pictures (photo or not) you make.

Sometimes, for me at least, I feel like the photo has been done before. I think it can be hard not to compare your own work to older but celebrated work. I also think it can hard to see the novelty of an image you've produced. Especially when it feels too modern as someone else stated in the comments.

“… because the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”

Thankyou master🙏👍❤️

I wonder if back in the 40’s people were just taking photos and now we are so aware of techniques and styles that a lot of images come out as derivatives of these artists

Love it !!! I really needed to hear this, Thank You !

Its hard to find a good composition, which is emotional connected to the eye of the beholder...and yes, the mighty HCB is one of my fave photographers since childhood. Sometimes, i do think...it would being nice to take this or that shot...but i am too shy, to ask the person...and then, it's no more "independent" but looks more like a arranged shot...so i don't take a picture after all...

"Just becaus you enjoy something, that is enough reason for you to do it." Thank you for this!

"Street" Photography are wrong ! When I stated Photography i the 1970´s no one used the term "street" Photography, today there are too many terms and too many "photographers" who sets rules for what "street" Photography is. Just be yourself and take photos of what ever you like, if YOU are happy with the photos, then it does not matter what every on else think. What is "art", it is most for snobs that think they are better than every one else !

Good Onya mate, that's the shot,
loved and believe this so much !!!!

We should consider that people used to live more on the street, without using always their phones, there was more action and not a lot of paranoy about being photographed.
Also everything was more beautiful, even cars, and i don't thing that today we look at the first decade of 2000s aesthetic like the 90s 80s etc.
P.S. i'm 35.

Wonderful insights and discussion. Many thanks. I will try to implement your suggestions. Small goals, well defined finish line.

Part of it is, yes, they have stood the test of time but also, because you're more interested in what the conditions were like that you haven't experienced. Today's everyday, generic is not interesting.

excellent inspiring video

This honesty is sharp, but refreshing. Thank you for the reminder to shoot more. Great vid.

There is such bad, boring, Street Photography out there today. If I see one more image of someone walking, side-on, in front of a Billboard, I'm going to kick my PC.
Just look at what someone like Vivian Maier was doing. Yes, she captured the era, but she could also capture the humour and the pathos of the scene.
It's so much more than just taking snaps of people walking past a Billboard, or out of a shadow and into the light. So boring. So tedious. So bad.

I've consumed a lot of Walkie Talkie content in the past week (for anybody who doesn't know, they follow a NYC street photographer for a whole day and do a sort of interview and talk about what they do) and I have to say one thing: Street photographers (I'm talking about the in your face NYC street photographers) are incredibly douchy and pretentious. They'll straight up say things like ''if your photos aren't like this or like that, then what are you doing? Literally pointless''.

Not everybody lives in NYC where you can shove a camera down somebodys throat and get away with it. Not everybody lives in one of the most interesting cities on earth. It even got to me for a while and I was doubting my art.

thanks George - I needed to hear 'because you enjoy it, that's enough'. The pressure to get some really good or perfect stuff has actually stopped me from shooting as much as I'd like. Time to change that, thanks :)