The Word On The ‘Street’ Photography!
- Nathan Elward
- Jul 8, 2025
- 3 min read
The Word On The ‘Street’ Photography!
There are many forms of photography. Landscape, Portraits, Macro, Urban, Wedding etc.
But one stands out as something that is divisive, confrontational, enjoyable and when done right produces some of the best photography out there. That is Street Photography!
When we look at portfolios of the likes of Henri Carter-Bresson (considered the founder of the genre by many), Gary Winogrand, Joel Meyerowitz, Vivien Meyer, and the aggressive style of photographers like Bruce Gilden. There are plenty more names to list off here and too many to mention. You can’t help but appreciate their talents, confidence and dedication to what is a very difficult genre to master for many.
Why is street photography so difficult though? It is just going out to a busy area of where you live and photographing people in their surroundings right?
At its most basic, pure form, yes, that is exactly what Street Photography is, but that doesnt mean the photography produced is any good.
Getting a great composition of an interesting scene or person that tells a story.
A story of emotion, actions or a sign of the times we are in and of the city we live in, in their deepest meaning and impact is what we are hoping for in street photography.
A photo that when we look at it in 20-30 years or longer, we’ll know what decade and even year and city it was taken and makes us reminisce and puts us in the time and place even if we have never been there in reality.
Street Photography captures the essence of a people, a time, and a place, freezing it into a fleeting moment for future generations to enjoy.
Not only is it difficult to take a great photography while doing Street, for most its a numbers game, taking 100s, maybe 1000s of photos to find 1 great photo.
But there is another part of street photography that stops people from taking part, and understandably why. It has happened to me and others.
That is its confrontational nature.
You are walking around public streets photographing people. Some do not like it. Some while confront you aggressively about it.
While there is an argument that people should be asked for a photo and it is that that causes the dilemma, it is all about ethics and intent.
While it is legal to photograph people in the UK on public streets, if you are overly confident and aggressive with it or your photography is untoward, then I would suggest you stop and rethink what you are doing with your camera. We should not harass, follow and intimidate people of any kind!
Yet, on the flip side, there are people out there who just want to argue and tell you you are wrong, accusing you of being things that simply are not true. And that is where it becomes difficult, some just don’t understand, especially when you are using a more professional camera it seems.
It is off putting, it affects your confidence, it puts you in a negative head space and that is no good to anyone, especially when doing Street Photography, you become hesitant, you become frustrated and in a bad mood, which only adds to the issue of acting and behaving in a way that just doesn’t fit right with Street Photography, possibly coming across as a little weird or creepy and it is just best to put your camera away and go home, take a break from it and come back when you in the right headspace.
Want to book a photoshoot? Get in contact!
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