STREET PHOTOGRAPHY DIFFERENCES FROM OTHER GENRES
On the street you cannot really expect what you will get at the end of the day. You cannot even expect how people will react before, while or after you shoot them. This keeps Street Photography interesting and challenging. You cannot predict anything. This is exactly what makes it different to other genres of photography. On the street there are no rules. On the streets there are no laws. On the street you have to survive with your camera, there is nothing else that can help you. If you want to get a good shot, you have to go close. If you cannot do that, you will never become a good Street Photographer. You cannot stand there and wait until something happens. You have to approach people and take the shot; they will not pose for you. Nobody would call you and ask for a street shot. It’s all about you, your ideas and your eye. For me this is the interesting thing; to go out into the streets not knowing what will happen and making something out of nothing. Of course this is not everybody’s thing and I can tell you, it is not as easy as it sounds and looks. It takes a lot of experience, practice and a very good eye. The success on the street is not just based on your knowledge about Street Photography. For me it’s my personal condition which is most relevant to a good street experience. Often I either see a lot of things or I don’t. The longer the breaks of non-shooting are, the better I feel on the street. Sometimes you have to take a break or do something different in order to get back into a good state of mind. If you have an overdose of Street Photography it will blind you to new shots. But this doesn’t happen very often.
Street photography is very versatile. Like people in the foreground matching the background in color, patterns and so on. Some people more like a daily situation or emotion. Some make photos which make you think or which tell a story. I personally like candid portraits very much, but some people even think this is not street photography at all. There is no rule or right way. Just figure out what you like and follow that path until you get it right.
In street photography there are no rules. So it’s on you to make your photos as you like them and hopefully your followers will like them as well. If not, stay on the bus and keep doing what you are doing as you do it just for you. If you are feeling good about color, make it in color. If you are feeling better about B&W, make it in B&W. When I look at the photos I have taken so far, my style has changed already several times.