Street photography is a very broad term which can be quite confusing, and even annoying to some photographers. Not least because it’s not necessarily done on the street or in urban areas. It’s more of a style, an approach and a mindset, and it overlaps with a wide range of photography genres. 

Nevertheless, in this article I’ll put forward a few thoughts and descriptions, based on the insight of some leading street photographers, as well as my own perspective.

Towards a definition

People generally agree that street photography is closely related to photojournalism and documentary. However, it can also overlap with landscape, travel, architectural, art, portrait, and various other types of photography. 

So, it can mean different things to different people, and everyone will have their own particular take on it. For example, some street photographers focus purely on portraits, whether candid or posed, while others lean more towards buildings, infrastructure, industry, and cityscapes, or are led rather by more intangible aspects like emotion, atmosphere and light.

It’s really a mix of everything.

Personally, I like how the New York street photographer Trevor Wisecup describes himself as “a photographer of life” in this walk-and-talk interview. While not the biggest fan of Wisecup’s work, I do really appreciate his no-nonsense approach and his inspiring life story. Which illustrates another interesting aspect of street photography – that a great personality behind the lens can really enhance the end product.

A broad genre

Like all photography genres, street photography can be done in black and white or colour, digitally or on film. It’s as much visual poetry as recording reality. Typically it involves picturing people going about their everyday lives, but it can equally be done without people. What’s important is the presence of people, whether in the frame or just outside it, or even simply reflected in the environment. 

The range of what constitutes street photography is really remarkable, from Bruce Gilden’s up-close-and-personal New York City portraits using flash to Fred Herzog’s quiet colour frames from Vancouver. 

This breadth is one of the things I love about it. There’s room for everyone to make their mark with their own unique takes on the world. And isn’t it amazing how different people’s photographs can be of the same subject or location? Street photography is a great medium to show off your individual style and creativity.

The essence of “street”

What links street photography to photojournalism and documentary is the focus on photographing the world around us. However, documentary implies recording events or stories for historical or social purposes, and photojournalism is all about the news. 

What differentiates street photography, therefore, is the emphasis on capturing fleeting and candid moments of everyday life in public places. There’s no need to tell a certain story or pursue a particular theme (though you can do that). 

For me, it’s really about grabbing your camera and heading out into the world to wander freely and photograph whatever it is that visually strikes you.  

Alex Webb, one of the pioneers of modern colour street photography, gives an excellent description of street photography in this interview when questioned about his spontaneous, somewhat subconscious, approach:

“I work very intuitively. I try as much as possible to approach a place without a lot of preconceptions, to respond immediately and visually and emotionally to whatever I find in front of me. So in that sense it’s very much a subconscious or unconscious response. It’s not a rational response. I’m not saying, ‘oh I’m going to go photograph that or photograph that.’ It’s really much more, you know, ‘I’m curious about this place, let’s see what I will find, let’s see what I will discover’.”

My perspective

Though I’m drawn to the seaside and scenes of nature as much as cities, I’d describe myself primarily as a street photographer. That’s because, like Wisecup, I’m really just interested in photographing life, and like Webb, I’m eager to explore places I’m curious about.

I actually started off aspiring to be a photojournalist and documentary photographer. But having spent much time and thought (and even money) in pursuing particular stories, I ultimately felt uneasy about getting them published, and having pried (perhaps needlessly) into people’s lives. Plus, I felt that such stories may have been better told by means of documentary film. 

So it took me a long time to realise what I really wanted to do. That is to walk at length in interesting places and photograph life without having to do a great deal of research and organising beforehand. To simply enjoy photography rather than worry about shaping a particular story.

And since that realisation a few years ago, street photography has evolved into a form of fitness, meditation, and intimately discovering this fascinating world in which we all mysteriously find ourselves. This blog is largely about my journey as I dive deeper into that. 

I try to enjoy the process as much as possible because making great pictures is extremely hard. And failing to do so on a long photowalk can be very frustrating.

That said, my overall goal, I guess, is to try to take successful photos consistently. Photos that in one way or another have the power to move, be it through colour, culture, atmosphere, character or emotion. A great street photo, I believe, also expresses a sense of place and has a timeless quality. My favourite photos are the ones that still elicit a feeling of satisfaction long after I took them.

What drives me is that great feeling of pushing the shutter on a scene that your gut instinct tells you is just right. It’s a feeling that Harry Gruyaert, the acclaimed Belgian street photographer, likens to an orgasm in the wonderful documentary Harry Gruyaert Photographer devoted to his life.

Final thoughts

For me, street photography is photography in its purest form. It’s all about getting out and about and exploring the world with your camera, and just seeing what you find. The only thing you need to plan is roughly where you’re going. 

In such a way, it’s much more than an exercise in taking photos – it’s a full-on workout, a form of therapy, a means of discovery, and a way of making extraordinary art from the seemingly mundane everyday life. 

So what are you waiting for? The next time you head out for a walk, be sure to take a camera, and really start looking deeply at the world!

Oh, and what are your thoughts on the meaning of street photography?