Discussions about what street photography is and is not have been evoking emotions for a long time. Lack of a specific definition makes everyone have their own. But is it necessary to create one? Maybe it is enough to draw a general outline? In the next part of the article I will present my point of view based only on my experience and conclusions from the observation of the street community from the last few years. I will not explore history or decide which of the early artists should be included on the list of street photographers. I will focus on the present day and through the analysis of minor dilemmas I will try to outline: what is street photography?
What you cannot do in a street photo
It is worth taking an attitude in which a street photographer is an observer of life ongoing in the public space. And it does not just mean literally the street. Street photography is an idea, which puts the method over the place of taking photographs. Its definition is very capacious, but it is based on the same principle as a reportage - it cannot be staged.
Staging can come at the level of creation and post-production. It is forbidden to interfere with the position of objects or the behaviour of people in the frame. This excludes any intentional influence on pedestrians leading to a change in their behaviour in order to meet our expectations as to the final shape of the picture. We cannot, however, exclude situations in which passers-by react to our presence by themselves (by looking at the lens or covering it with their hand), because we could not foresee it and it was not our goal. At the post-production stage it is forbidden to interfere with the image in the graphic program by adding or removing photographic elements or changing the color scheme. It sounds very similar to reportage rules, does it not?
I envision street photography and reportage as both siblings whose parent is documentary photography. A sibling that is at first glance similar, but fundamentally different.
Warsaw, Poland, 2017. The scene that looks like a rescue operation is really a happening with an artificial whale. A reporter must provide a precise context, a street photographer can deliberately confuse his viewer.
Street photography versus reportage
Photojournalism (a series or a single photo) forces the photographer to interact with the subject, to get to know his or her story, also name and surname. The photoreporter is obliged to provide the context of the photo. A street photographer does not have to do it. He is not obliged to create a caption or engage in any interaction. In most cases, the caption is limited to the year, country and city in which the photograph was taken. However, there are also situations in which the only tag is the number of the file. When a reporter has to ensure reliability, a street photographer may even deliberately mislead the viewer.
Falsity in street photography can be used to give a different context to a scene or to force the viewer to decode alternative meaning of the picture. The key, however, is that it is achieved only with the help of a camera and your ability to construct an image. It all happens on a solid foundation - the situation took place in front of the photographer and without his interference.
The photjournalist's job is obvious. He should tell the story with one photo as best he can. A street photographer often turns his back on the main event, looking for interesting shots on the outskirts, focusing on details and less spectacular situations. He does not need a specific subject to reach for his camera. Daily life itself is a topic that needs no further explanation. Let the viewer make their own conclusions from the photo.
Poznań, Poland, 2013. Two different elements (a cow and a logo) were combined in this picture, which resulted in additional interpretation possibilities.
What is street photography
If you think street photography is about nothing, you are wrong. The power of street photography is to capture today's world when no one tells us to do so. We document what we see in the public space - how we dress, in what environment we function, how we behave in it. Sometimes we do not even need a human being in a photograph to testify about his presence or the things he has created. Our photos come from the desire to travel - both abroad and in our homeland we play the role of a discoverer, we record the world around us. Not every photo from the city can be called a street photo. The basis is that the photo should concern the life taking place in the public space (even if it is formally private) and should not be posed (not staged). But in my opinion, this is not enough, because the photo must also cross the border of distant observation. Street photography should have a certain concept for composition, use of space and objects, getting between people and showing us a concrete thing. A picture of a street without a concept is not a street - it is simply an uninteresting picture taken on the street, a simple statement about what is around us.
In the longer perspective, street photographs will be a document of the times in which they were created. Today, these images are not necessarily impressive, because the viewers live in the same moment, see similar scenes and are used to them. Not much can surprise us. In a few decades' time, the work of a street photographer will take on a new meaning. It is crucial that it is based on honesty and trustworthiness. You can argue that by saying that staging is not so bad, as long as you take a timeless message out of the picture. Even the classic photographs turned out to be staged after a while. Time seems to be blurring the disputable methods. However, I would encourage you not to take shortcuts, and the ability to take an unsettled photo was a proof of your photographic skills. Street can be treated as an exercise for our creativity.
Tymon Markowski
Published: October 2019
