Opinion on different rules of street photography.

removed account4 · Sep 15, 2018

slackercrurster said:
Sometimes you can't get close. If so, the tele comes to the rescue. No rules set in concrete. Just get the photo!

there you go ...
i think the problem is there are always people who want to impose their rules and guidelines
and methods on everyone else. not sure why there have to be rules at all, unless you are
doing the work for a client and they have rules and guidelines that need to be followed...
not sure who said it but someone smarter than me said rules are to be broken anyways ..
=
if i could do surveillance work for a living i would... talked to a private eye a couple of years ago..
she was surveilling someone, doing street work ..

jtk · Sep 15, 2018

http://time.com/money/3673484/dear-erin-hart-jessamyn-lovell-identity-thief/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessamyn_Lovell (tipo'the'hat to wiki lovers)

Lovell obtained her private investigator license, as part of her artwork entitled D.I.Y. P.I. (Do It Yourself Private Investigator).

http://www.jessamynlovell.com/portfolio/Dear_Erin_Hart/

CMoore · Sep 15, 2018

Wow.....now THERE is a Final Project/Exhibition that will probably never be duplicated.
Who knows what part this will or will not play in history.......

Pieter12 · Sep 15, 2018

derek andrews said:
What do all you street photographers do with the pictures besides showing them to other photographers?

Same thing landscape photographers do.

jtk · Sep 15, 2018

Pieter12 said:
Same thing landscape photographers do.

Probably was a joke, but I don't agree. Landscape photographers commonly hang prints on their own walls or somebody elses. IMO.

E. von Hoegh · Sep 15, 2018

Street photography?
Walk down any street, dslr in hand, "capture" 4,000 "images".
Edit images, discarding 3975 of them.
Of the remaining 25 images, one might be printable.
Street photagraphy has become pointless. Bresson had a valid point re. The Moment, but spray & pray renders that nugatory.

removed account4 · Sep 15, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
Street photography?
Walk down any street, dslr in hand, "capture" 4,000 "images".
Edit images, discarding 3975 of them.
Of the remaining 25 images, one might be printable.
Street photagraphy has become pointless. Bresson had a valid point re. The Moment, but spray & pray renders that nugatory.

after 10,000 i am sure you will get better images, you still have 6000 images to go !

Arthurwg · Sep 16, 2018

Rule? Shoot first, ask questions later. Rule of thumb? When the subject becomes aware of the camera, something is lost.

Ko.Fe. · Sep 16, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
Street photography?
Walk down any street, dslr in hand, "capture" 4,000 "images".
Edit images, discarding 3975 of them.
Of the remaining 25 images, one might be printable.
Street photagraphy has become pointless. Bresson had a valid point re. The Moment, but spray & pray renders that nugatory.

Street photography is documenting. Your HCB point is invalid.
And if you are willing to learn more about him, check how much film he exposed in China revolution campaign . Or look at his contacts.

jtk · Sep 16, 2018

Did HCB ever claim to be a "street photographer"?

Where? Provide a link.

jtk · Sep 16, 2018

..
There are "decisive moments" in better studio portraits and food photographs.

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 16, 2018

CMoore said:
Wiser words.
You know how, in a "Big City" playing chess, outside, has been pretty popular for quite some time.?
Not all of those Guys/Gals like to have a 24mm in their face. Like with All People.....SOME do not mind at all, others feel like you are bothering them.
You have to TRY to be appropriate and get the frame.
Sometimes i let the shot go, nobody likes an "asshole photographer" butting into their business.

None of the chess players even knew I was there five feet away. Taken in NYC Central Park.

Concentration by Alan Klein, on Flickr

Pieter12 · Sep 16, 2018

jtk said:
Probably was a joke, but I don't agree. Landscape photographers commonly hang prints on their own walls or somebody elses. IMO.

Not a joke. And street photographers hang their pirints on walls, too.

jtk · Sep 16, 2018

Pieter12 said:
Not a joke. And street photographers hang their pirints on walls, too.View attachment 208144

Point taken !

My home prints (which usually graphic/situational photos, not street) are usually around 11X17 ... would be larger if I had the wall space. I consider them photographs, not precious objects, but I do display them behind glass.

jtk · Sep 16, 2018

Alan Edward Klein said:
None of the chess players even knew I was there five feet away. Taken in NYC Central Park.

Concentration by Alan Klein, on Flickr

Fine photo! Those guys look so intent that a bomb could go off without distracting them !

removed account4 · Sep 16, 2018

Pieter12 said:
Not a joke.

exactly !
its too bad people have to get into a pissing contest about
which genres are better. does it really matter??
there used to be a member here who suggested
that if it wasn't a portrait it wasn't true photography ...
claiming that street photography can't go on the wall is like claiming
atget photographs coldn't go on the wall ..
im guessing one can purchase big atget prints and put them in a frame and hang them.
landscape street architectural macro portraits abstracts photo illustration
who cares, just do it and enjoy !

Pieter12 said:
And street photographers hang their pirints on walls, too

nice collection !

Black Dog · Sep 17, 2018

Kevin Ekstrom said:
There are no rules to what size lens you use- PERIOD! A good photo including good street photography can be capture in a hundered different ways.

"There are no rules in photography, that's why it's so much better than baseball" (Harry Callahan). The second part really makes that one! Also "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are none" (DT Suzuki, 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind').

removed account4 · Sep 17, 2018

Black Dog said:
"There are no rules in photography, that's why it's so much better than baseball" (Harry Callahan). The second part really makes that one! Also "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are none" (DT Suzuki, 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind').

great quotes black dog !
i think it is funny that there are no rules except for the rules
people who are unable to deal with the fact that there are no rules .. impose on everyone else
" you can' t do this ... you have to do this" "that's not photography" "its only a photograph if its made this way"
"portraits can only be taken like this" "no one but xyz type of photographer would ever share their work or put it
on a wall framed" .. its all a bunch of bunk

NB23 · Sep 17, 2018

Of course there are rules.

Saying there’s not rules is simply being innocent.

Ever played baseball or soccer with lax rules, like kids do? It’s bad to watch, eh? Just as bad as to watch a bad photograph.

Add the rules and there you have a fine photograph. And a fine game.

removed account4 · Sep 17, 2018

NB23 said:
Saying there’s not rules is simply being innocent.

IDK there is a difference between RULES!! and rules ...there are rules, sure, but there aren't many RULES !!

NB23 · Sep 17, 2018

There is a strong set of basic rules, of what not to do. Follow those rules and you are bound to always create an acceptable image.

It is within these strong rules that an artist can go loose and claim that there are “no rules, only a vision”. And that is the bullshit part: even though the “no rules” claim, the artist is playing well within a set of wel defined rules.

There’s nothing that irks me more than a newbie that claims to be an artist with no rules... the work is usually absolute garbage except to his eyes and his mom’s.

removed account4 · Sep 17, 2018

NB23 said:
There is a strong set of basic rules, of what not to do. Follow those rules and you are bound to always create an acceptable image.

It is within these strong rules that an artist can go loose and claim that there are “no rules, only a vision”. And that is the bullshit part: even though the “no rules” claim, the artist is playing well within a set of wel defined rules.

There’s nothing that irks me more than a newbie that claims to be an artist with no rules... the work is usually absolute garbage except to his eyes and his mom’s.

IDK ive seen work done by 8 and 9 year olds who have no clue about any rules, the only rule is push the button
and their work, street work, portraits &c are better than 90% of everythingelse out there...
in any case 99% of all photography is garbage anyways even the stuff that professes to be "GREAT !"
im not sure how strict rules helped them to begin with... too many rigid rules, people afraid to color outside the lines that someone else drew.
most people have some sort of intuition its too bad they don't use it

Alan Edward Klein · Sep 17, 2018

Here's a rule. Enjoy yourself.

jtk · Sep 18, 2018

Black Dog said:
"There are no rules in photography, that's why it's so much better than baseball" (Harry Callahan). The second part really makes that one! Also "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are none" (DT Suzuki, 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind').

Suzuki's point is especially apt. Seems to me that "street" (to the extent that it's a phenomenon) is for some of us the ultimate rules-constricted photography.

Pieter12 · Sep 18, 2018

jtk said:
Suzuki's point is especially apt. Seems to me that "street" (to the extent that it's a phenomenon) is for some of us the ultimate rules-constricted photography.

Some street photographers seem to think that by imposing strict rules they are elevating the genre somehow. BS. It's about the photo, not the rules. (Same goes for cropping.)

Opinion on different rules of street photography.

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