On the Art of Street Photography

I believe there is a documentary and artistic style to street photography. The two characteristics are often combined, but each photographer leans towards one more than the other in their work. I’ve often seen photographers create nothing but art through street photography, and others who lean towards a more documentary style in their work. This, of course, can be subjective, as the viewer would determine the artistic nature of a piece, but what I mean to say is that some would prefer to go fully abstract, or focus on colour, or lighting, more than what is actually being photographed. The documentary style street photographer will focus more on what is happening - the subject, event, place being recorded.

I’ve found that my leanings are towards a more documentary style with a bit of an artistic touch that reflects what I felt at the moment. With a good composition and interesting subject, art is already mostly there. Street photography is important not because it can be beautiful, or artistic, but because it preserves our history, it allows us to see everyday events from different perspectives, it gives us something extraordinary from what would otherwise be considered ordinary.