The false myth. The genre with the most indefinite boundaries: street photography.

street photography, Rome, lesson, workshop, formation — Rome, street photography, 2022. Leica Q2 Monochrom.

Let's debunk some myths and write down some points that may be useful to you regarding street photography. Let's start with the definition of street photography. Actually, it is not a well-defined genre, boundaries cannot be clear, let alone very precise. Personally, I would define it as photography carried out in public places in which human presence is central. Within this paradigm, we will see that there can be several completely different areas. For example, there are photographs that have great historical and documentary value (Bresson, Klein) or others in which aesthetics, abstraction or surrealism prevail (Webb, Moriyama) that can be extremely different from each other. But let's start by defining these two huge macro areas.

The unconstructed scene is certainly fundamental to talk about street photography, especially in the case where we have some pretense of historical or reportage value of the photo itself. And here is the first problem.

How do you photograph in the street without being seen? The myth of the invisible photographer is just a myth. In fact, no one can become invisible ... but you can become part of the scene and therefore be much less invasive and even go completely unnoticed. In this case, speed becomes fundamental. Either you become very slow (you enter the situation, in the chosen space, and wait a bit...) or you capture everything with extremely high speed (often suitable for moving situations). Time, therefore, is the main variable that allows us to modify our perception of the space we are interpreting.

Rome, August, 2022, street photography — Rome, August, 2022.

Cameras

Of course, there may be other variables that help. For example, having a small and unobtrusive camera. Or taking photos without bringing the camera to the eye. This last aspect is possible in two ways. Either by having so much familiarity with the lens that you are using that you don't need the confirmation of the viewfinder, or, for example, by using cameras with an orientable display. I also find cameras with very discreet or completely silent shutters (Leica M, Sony A9, Sony RX104, Fujifilm X100V, etc) useful.

From this point of view, today there are several machines that are perfectly suited to street photography. The Ricoh GR3 and GR3X, several m4/3 machines, Leica M and Leica Q, several Sonys such as the A9, A73, A74, A7R3 or 4 or 5, the Fujifilm X100V, the Fujifilm XE-4, etc, etc.

My choices are currently the Leica Q2 Monochrom, the Leica M11, the Sony Rx10 Mark 4 and the Leica SL2S.

Usually, the classic focal lengths used range from 24/25 mm up to 50/75 mm. That is, focal lengths capable of photographing subjects while taking into account the environment around them. However, there is nothing preventing you from experimenting with much wider optics - up to the 10mm linear that I experimented with a couple of times - or much more aggressive telephoto lenses (which is why I added the Sony RX10 Mark 4 to my equipment).

Fast autofocus can be convenient. But less indispensable than other parameters such as a shutter completely devoid of lag. The point, once again, remains time. As in the discourse of the "invisibility" of the "street photographer", where the main variable remained time, here too, it is. But in this case, it is the ability to anticipate what is about to happen around the photographer. Sensitivity. And an infinity of practice. If your shoes are not worn out, you are not practicing enough. ;)

The Light

Rome, Castel Sant'Angelo, 2022, street photography — Rome, 2022. Castel Sant’Angelo. Leica M11

Learning to see the light is an essential principle for any photographer and any type of photography. But for street photography, where everything is unpredictable, where you never know what to expect, where speed is often extremely high, it is even more important.

A fundamental aid in this regard could come from forcing yourself to work with the spot meter. This is a step that I would take after trying the spot meter in slightly less dynamic situations, such as portraiture or landscape/architecture.

Lately, several cameras have come out with an exposure mode called "highlights." Essentially, it preserves the high lights of whatever scene we are framing. I would suggest getting to this mode only after practicing extensively with spot metering.

Variations and constants.

Street photography, Rome, 2022, Piazza di Spagna — Rome, 2022. Piazza Di Spagna. Leica Q2 Monochrom.

Usually, semi-automatic modes like aperture priority can be used. Nowadays, most cameras allow for automatic ISO settings, controlling the minimum shutter speed under which the camera raises the ISO. Therefore, it's actually a solution for working quickly and controlling aperture and minimum shutter speed. On the other hand, I would also suggest trying to work with manual settings to see what can come out of it. See, for example, my ongoing project "a second of life." The same goes for the places where you shoot. Return to the same places multiple times to try and obtain completely different results. When you no longer find inspiration, change places, search, explore, get lost. But first of all…. HAVE FUN !!

Post production

Find your own workflow for editing and post-production. While it's true that it's usually the least interesting and most tedious part, it's also true that if you want to propose something truly personal, you'll have to post-process your photos. My choice is Capture One 23 Pro and Exposure X. Once you have refined the technique of post-processing your photos, it will really take very little time.

Conclusions

street photography, Rome, Via Del Corso — Rome, 2022. Via Del Corso. Leica M11

Take these tips as a basic lesson. Don't take my suggestions as law, but as starting points that you can then try to overturn. For example, using a medium format camera for street photography, or doing it by being as invasive as possible. The only valid rule is to follow your creative flow. And personally, I do it by following what surrounds me in the most harmonious, continuous, and least invasive way possible. But each of us must find our own path based on our own attitudes. And - from time to time - stepping out of our comfort zone.

I hope this type of article is of interest to you.

Please leave me feedback, it would be much appreciated.

If it receives positive feedback, I will prepare other similar articles.

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Street Photography -- My perspective. A basic lesson. ( English )