Of the series, I'm really liking the treatment and content of #2 and #7. For me, the solo shots of individuals with the shallow DOF background is just, well.... nice.
These are well done photographically. However, the ones of an individual (or couple) are only of passing interest as nothing can really be gleened from the photo. Contrast these with #4 (my favorite to explore the environment with the other peripheral people adding to the shot) and #5 whereby one might link the two pedestrians and view the surroundings.
So I challenge you to shoot with a wider lens, getting closer to the subject and including more of the setting. You have already mastered street portraits with nice bokeh and this will help you explore a new facet of shooting street.
Rainbow's advise is dead-on, or as I said, "we think we got a pretty good street photo, but in the end, it's just a person walking down the street."
Just like landscapes are Rocks, Trees, and Water but Adams and others rise above that; we must strive to rise above "Just a person walking down the street" too.
Nelson, Good title. They're random candids all right, but not street photographs. Technically they're excellent -- very excellent in fact. But:
1. So the guy's sitting there smoking a cigar. Is that the story?
2. Not a bad informal portrait of a kid who needs a haircut.
3. A weirdo in a space suit. This one probably comes closest to being a street shot since we can wonder what he's doing on the street in a space suit. But you can find people with stranger stuff than a space suit on a lot of streets in the US these days.
4. Three folks on the lip of a subway stairway? Yes, one guy looks as if he has trouble picking his socks in the morning, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary.
5. A guy with a cane and a guy without a cane. People on a street don't make a street photograph.
6. This one has a bit of promise. One can wonder what these people see in each other. One can wonder why the guy doesn't get a haircut. That's about all the wonder in the picture though.
7. Another very good informal portrait. The guy's on the street with strange hair, but that doesn't make a street photograph. Maybe there aren't any barbers in this city. Maybe all these guys are letting their girlfriends cut their hair.
Keep trying. You've certainly mastered the technology. Now you need to master the art.
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For me the last one works extremely well !
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The couple in # 6 look like they could break up soon, it might have worked had their been more love in their eyes .
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She was aware of me trying to get the picture, I just waited for him to turn my way. it was a bit awkward.
So I challenge you to shoot with a wider lens, getting closer to the subject and including more of the setting. You have already mastered street portraits with nice bokeh and this will help you explore a new facet of shooting street.
Just like landscapes are Rocks, Trees, and Water but Adams and others rise above that; we must strive to rise above "Just a person walking down the street" too.
// richard <http://www.richardmanphoto.com>
richardmanphoto on Facebook and Instagram
1. So the guy's sitting there smoking a cigar. Is that the story?
2. Not a bad informal portrait of a kid who needs a haircut.
3. A weirdo in a space suit. This one probably comes closest to being a street shot since we can wonder what he's doing on the street in a space suit. But you can find people with stranger stuff than a space suit on a lot of streets in the US these days.
4. Three folks on the lip of a subway stairway? Yes, one guy looks as if he has trouble picking his socks in the morning, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary.
5. A guy with a cane and a guy without a cane. People on a street don't make a street photograph.
6. This one has a bit of promise. One can wonder what these people see in each other. One can wonder why the guy doesn't get a haircut. That's about all the wonder in the picture though.
7. Another very good informal portrait. The guy's on the street with strange hair, but that doesn't make a street photograph. Maybe there aren't any barbers in this city. Maybe all these guys are letting their girlfriends cut their hair.
Keep trying. You've certainly mastered the technology. Now you need to master the art.
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