More importantly, though, photography is an expression of who you are. Of how many street portraits have you been the subject? The answer is “not many,” right? My point is that, by finding individuals to photograph, you’re creating new and interesting photos. Plus, while the world itself might be frequently photographed, individuals are not. Nothing stays the same, so the possibilities for original and interesting photos are literally infinite. It’s an ever-changing, ever-moving organism. Of course the world is heavily photographed, and it has been for years. That’s the wrong way to think about street portrait photography. They worry they won’t have anything interesting to contribute and that it’s all been done before. My students worry about how over-photographed the world seems. When I lead workshops, I’m often confronted with concerns about originality. Each photo from the project was totally different the way that a person presented their stomach and the gestures they made conveyed so much about their personality and about how they feel about themselves. I took the image below for a project on stomachs. (You might also consider using your camera’s continuous shooting mode, especially when starting out.) A millisecond can be the difference between a stunning shot of an evocative gesture or a boring, flat shot with nothing at all – so practice hitting the shutter button at the exact right moment. When it comes to capturing gestures, you should pay careful attention to timing. So a person can create powerful gestures with their hands, but also their eyes, their legs, their fingers, or even their feet. Note that gestures simply refer to movements of the body. And it’s in that moment – when a gesture occurs and conveys something meaningful – that you can capture an interesting portrait. The more closely you watch humans, the more they reveal themselves through gestures. If you find yourself struggling to stay in one place for more than a few seconds, remind yourself that a good scene will appear you just have to be ready when it does! Of course, this technique does require patience, which is a very good thing for a street shooter to develop (and something that beginners often lack).
You may even decide to come back a second or third or tenth time – in different conditions, under different lighting, using different compositions. You notice things that you didn’t initially see, and you start to understand what makes the location special. Plus, when you continually gaze at one area for many long minutes, you become very familiar with it. If you pick an area with significant foot traffic, the right person will meander on through, and you’ll get your street portrait – one that combines a stunning background and an interesting subject. Then you wait for someone to walk in front. You find an interesting location, such as a colorful background, an eye-catching display, or even a sign.
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