20 31 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Technique STREET PHOTOGRAPHYAdvicefrom
the masters
AlanSchaller
‘Therearecertainthingsthatcan
beenhancedin black& white,such
asshape,structure,lineandeven
humanexpression.I madeit mymissiontodo
somethingfresh– a moderntwistonblack&
whitephotography.I startedoffemulatingothers
but foundmyowndirectiononceI hadtheskills.’
AlexeyTitarenko
‘Forlongexposuresyouneedto
workwitha tripod.Shootingwitha
tripodin thestreetmaygetyouinto
jail,evenin NewYork(I havebeenthreatened
witharrestseveraltimesbytheNYPD)...I
developedstrategiesforkeepinga lowprofi le!’
MarinaSersale
‘Bepatientandkeepyourfingers
crossed:if youwaitlongenough,
somethinginterestingis boundto
happen.Mysecondtipis toprepareyourself:
bereadywithyourcameraorphone,andwhen
you’reat homedoyourhomework.Studyother
photographerswhoinspireyoubecause
there’s alwayssomethingnewtolearn.’
JayMaisel
‘Humouris thesaviourin a horribly
conflictedworld.Yournature
showsin yourwork.I liketohave
agoodtime,andtolaugh.I’mnota “funny”
photographerlikeElliottErwitt,butif I see
positivestuffit’sgoingtogetwaymoreplay
from methansomethingdepressing.’
MartinUWaltz
‘Darkroomtechniquesarevery
excitingartistictools.Forexample,
reducingthesilveraddsdepthor
light;toning,if usedproperly,canchangean
imagetowhatyou’dcallin musica majorora
minorkey.Andit’sthesamefordensityand
contrast.Buttheprocessis very intuitive.’
EdPeters
‘I’mmostlyusing28mmand35mm
lenses.they’regoodforjuggling
multipleelementsintoa composition.
I alsouserangefindercameras.Unlikea single
lensreflexcamera,I canprefocusthelens,stop
it downandhavea goodideaof whatwillbein
focus.WhenI lookthroughtheviewfinder
everythingis clearandsharp,whichmakesit
easier tocomposecomplicatedcompositions.’
DimitriMellos
‘A photographshouldbeemotionally
complicated,bothin termsof the
peopledepictedandtheemotions
it evokesin theviewer.I ammoreinterestedin
imagesthatposequestionswhichremain
suspended,ratherthanonesthatprovide
simplistic,straightforwardmessages.I abhor
crude visual puns and simplistic jokey images.’
avery‘graphic’route;others,suchas
RuiPalha,aremoreaboutcapturing
atmosphereandemotion,witha lotof
powerfulportraiture.Asthisfascinating
bookreveals,it’sreallyaboutcapturing
whatyoufindinterestingandcompelling
aboutyoursubjectmatter,be it in
BirminghamorBeijing.Spoiledforchoice
Intermsofequipment,street
photographersarespoiledforchoice,
whichis greatnewsif thisbookinspires
youtogivethisgenrea go,ortakeit more
seriously.Attheentrylevel,mostmodern
smartphonesaremorethancapableof
takinggreatstreetshots,particularly
asthebestonesnowoffersimilarlevels
ofcontroltoa standalonecamera.
Meanwhile,innovativefeaturessuchas
NightSightontheGooglePixelphones,
forexample,enableyoutogetgreat
resultswhenthesungoesdown.The
otheradvantageofusinga phoneis that
it’snearlyalwayswithyou.
Movingupa level,thereis nowa huge
rangeoflightandportablemirrorless
cameraswhichdelivergreatresults
withoutweighingyoudownorinstantly
markingyououtasa photographer;one
immediatelythinksofFujifilm’sniftyand
pocketableXseriesofAPS-Cmirrorless
models,ortheclassicallydesignedand
wonderfullycompactOlympusOM-D
line-up,completewithsharplenses
youcanfit inyourhand.Whilea lotof
full-framemirrorlesscamerasaregetting
asbulkyasDSLRs,goodoptionsfor
high-resolutionimagesincludetheSony
A7IIIwitha smallishprime,suchasthe
Zeiss35mmf/2.8or55mmf/1.8.Your
choiceoflensis obviouslyveryimportant,
andwhilethegreatstreetphotographers
ofthepast,suchasCartier-Bresson,
favoured classic 35mm and 50mmprimes,a reasonablydiscreetzoomlens
obviouslygivesyoumoreflexibility.There
arenowmanymoremirrorlessand
compactcameraswithsilentshutters
too,whichmakesthecandidstreet
photographer’sjobmucheasier. In many
ways,gearis theeasypart.Understandthelegalities
Beforegettingsomepracticaltipsfrom
someofthephotographersinthebook,it’s
importanttodealbriefly withtheelephant
intheroom(oronthestreet),namelythe
legalaspects.A lotofpotentialstreet
photographersareputoffbyworries
aboutattractingthewrongkindof
attention,beit fromaggrievedsubjects
whodon’twanttobephotographed,
throughtosecurityguardsandthe
police.Othersarejustshy.Everycountry
is different,butintheUKatleast,you
havemorerightsthanyouprobablyrealise
(seebox).If youareinanydoubt,or
encounteranyproblemswhileshooting,
alwaysseekprofessionallegaladvice.
Finally,getsomebusinesscards
made.If oneofyoursubjectsdoestake
offence,theyoftencalmdownwhen
youfreelyidentifyyourselfasa serious
photographeroroffertoshareyour
pictureswiththem(pervertsandterrorists
areunlikelytoofferyoutheircard,right?)
Neverfeelyouneedtobeshiftyor
somehowfeelguiltyaboutfollowingthe
endlesslyrewardingpursuitofstreet
photography.Thephotographers in
this book certainly don’t.‘Untitled,’takenbyAlan
Schallerin London(Alanalso
provided our cover image)Mastersof StreetPhotography
iseditedbyRobYarham,
publishedbyAmmonitePress,
ISBN-13:9781781453605.
It is availablefromallgood
booksellers for £25 (hardback).© ALAN SCHALLER