30 NZPhotographer
Mind Games: Hiding Behind The Lens
Overcoming the fear of looking ‘strange’ when photographing people in the street.
by Ana Lyubich
O
ne of the genres that involve photographing
people “impromptu” is street photography
which is closely related to photojournalism.
In the blink of an eye, a scene may unfold right in front
of you that you want to capture and that scene will
very likely involve having people in the frame. Street
or documentary shots may happen anywhere – on or
off the street, but the good ones have a story to tell,show emotion and authenticity, evoke empathy and
provoke people to pause and think.
Most blogs and articles discussing how to overcome
a fear of photographing strangers suggest you start
talking to people on the streets if you want to take a
photo of them. In pure street photography however,
you rarely have a chance to approach people as you