The Real Problem With Street Photography Trends 

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Great insight. I've been shooting professionally for over 30 years. Street photography became my creative outlet apart from the paid work. I can't stand the "gatekeepers" of street, who try to dictate what you should or should not shoot. Also, while I may watch an occasional POV video, the reality is that they just aren't that interesting, especially with the annoying bounciness of the content as a result of walking with a a camera strapped to your chest. Go out and shoot regularly to develop your own style, and disregard the trends.

As a uni student who really likes photography, I can say with my experience that what makes your photos better is your eye. The way you look at things, the way you stop to observe what surrounds you. Not replicating trends. Sure, inspiration is a great way to get new ideas but watching other photographers take the same pictures over and over again just narrows down what you will want to photograph in the streets. The most important thing to me is to keep my own personnal way of looking at things, always keeping my camera on in case a bird starts doing something interesting, in case a pedestrian starts running to avoid the stop light going to green... All these things that you wouldn't see if looking for something specific. To me, photography has to be spontanious.

Good video. I'm a professional photographer and have been since 1986. I was a photojournalist for a while, then ultimately opened my own studio. I delved into street photography doing a documentary series for a book I was hoping to publish, and I still do street photography when business is slow with portraits, models, gr. seniors, etc. My take on street photography "teachers" and their videos on RU-vid is that almost all of them are bad. No emotion in the photos. Just photos of someone walking into a patch of sunshine casting a shadow on a nearby wall, or a reflection from a puddle, i.e., photo 101. The other thing is many of the RU-vid certified pros preach that you have to use a certain type of camera and lens. As a former photojournalist I know that to be pure bullshit. Sometimes great shots are lost because all you have is a 28mm or 35mm lens on a rangefinder camera. If using a rangefinder is honestly what you want, and you're not being influenced by these carnival barkers on RU-vid then by all means use a rangefinder with one fixed lens. On the other hand, if you want to use a full-on larger camera with a zoom lens or an assortment of lenses, by all means do that. All anyone cares about who views your images is how good they are--do they invoke an emotion, do they tell a "meaningful" story, simple things like that. Honestly, I've never had anyone who has seen my images, in a paper or magazine or portfolio or on-line, including hundreds of clients, ever ask me "what kind of camera and/or lens did you use" other than people attending workshops that I teach. Long rant but I'm rather disgusted by what I see regarding street photography on RU-vid.

I've studied photo history in university, and I find the "social media esthetichs" to photography and especially street photography very interesting. Thing we are focused on now, is is the rush of getting likes, and thinking engagement = I'm a good photographer. In 10-20 years, we're going to learn about this time in the history of photography, and the weird notions we had about photography. Back in the day, people thought colour photography was crap and the only that was "true photography "was shooting black and white.

I was personally inspired to try analog photography after watching the documentary on Vivian Maier, who seemingly took photos just for herself and for the practice and ceremony of the craft, there was something inspiring about not worrying SO MUCH about what others think of your photos but rather what YOU think of your photos, and while I do listen and learn from professionals far more experienced than me and work to improve myself ultimately I'm my biggest audience. My shots may be basic to some (I love architecture and old cars), my following small (but growing), but as long as I'm enjoying the process I don't mind. Ansel Adams once said that to him a great photo can simply be something that caught his eye, and that catch was worth preserving, and I keep that in mind when I'm out shooting. Occasionally someone else is wowed by my photos, and that makes me smile a little bit more.

As I person who just started street photography this video really helped my inner struggle and questions I had for this trend.

Some great ideas, I've recently limited myself to one APS-C camera with a fixed 24mm lens (38mm equiv) and instead of using a zoom all the time, this has been a great test of using a fixed lens.

Those PaulieB walkies videos are absolutely fascinating, think I've binged through them multiple times, they're such good advice and conversation.

I kind of get the perspective of the high volume tiktok production content being a gateway to more, at least for some people. A certain number of people will be inspired, spend the time and find their own groove over time. People are more likely to find initial inspiration from social media these days rather than a magazine, coffee table book or exhibition. If it sparks a flame that sticks and grows for some, that's great. I also like videos like yours that prompts people to think more and try "different". Some of the insta/tiktok narrow focus people will find videos like yours while searching relating to their new interest. I think it's cool that the trend is putting more people with cameras into the street, making it seem like a less weird thing to do. I remember going to Sydney as a kid in the 70s and 80s and being struck by how many people had cameras around their necks and were using them. It's one of the things that made me want a camera of my own.

I am 63 and still learning..but also I am 63 and still have fun taking pictures! Started with 15 year .. only few people had camera's..... thnx for the channel!

Watching Kai during his DigitalRev days unironically taught me a lot about street photography.

theres always gonna be silly trends that oversimplify the whole thing the trend is picking out of, but good on you for trying to rectify the narrowness of this trend.

The margin between the teacher and student was so spot on. And Paulies series is a gem

Couldn’t agree more, by stripping away all the technology we have available in digital cameras and just get back to the fundamentals of film speed, aperture and shutter I find it makes you focus more on the actual image. I love digital photography, but what I love about film is it is about the photo, never the technology

The modern, more superficial style of street photography is actually very good for the hobby. Sure it devalues the proposition, but that precisely allows a certain kind of people to appreciate photography that otherwise would’ve never thought Henri Cartier Bresson pictures were good, because for that we require to have a higher sense of the art of photography. All and all I think it’s a positive outcome to have more people shooting.

This is a much needed video. I appreciate that you take the approach of reflecting on this issue in a non-judgmental way. There's content creation and popular styles and there's the plethora of historical work, a huge body of work that needs no words, actually because the stories are that compelling within the photos themselves. In our street photography group we do talk a lot about gear but we talk about projects too and try to inspire and help each other to grow. As a genre hopper, my constant involvement in street (especially when shooting film) is what propels me way more than any other. Thank you George.

I've just moved in a uni city. And I must say I finally get the appeal of street photography being able to tell the story of how I see this place and how thats changed over the couple months I've been here has been fascinating.

Good video! I'm just a hobbyist but I first got into photography over 30 years ago. I primarily do nature shots (I'm an avid hiker) but I also enjoy macro and street photography. My current favorite way to shoot street is picking a single focal length and a single JPEG filter and going out with no idea what I want to capture. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get nothing except the learning experience of what I did and didn't do that day. Keep up the the entertaining content, you're putting out some quality stuff.

I got myself a fuji and a manual focus lens and shooting with a black and white preset for a year now. it has greatly improved my perception.

I started with film in 2011 and there’s not much influencers and content creators yet before, i just shoot and produce photos that i feel so immersed with and enjoy shooting. Starting with film really makes it different on how i treat shooting using my cam now. I just got back to it now using a digital cam now, and i just really shoot what Im interested in. You’re right that it should be limitless, the important thing is you enjoy what you’re doing and you like what you are shooting. It really does make photography even more fun and immersive.

Great advice, I would add that if you don't want to shoot film but want to be more selective with shots then go out with a low battery.

This is one of, if not the best, summations and explanations I've watched about street photography. I've been doing very amateurish street photography for years without realizing it was a thing. Over the past month I decided to dig deeper into street photography to get an idea of what others are doing and improve my focus and skills. What I discovered was a lot of repetition of themes and not a lot of quality. Too many people are trying to mimic the work of famous photographers, like Henri Cartier-Bresson, without finding their own unique vision. I realize it's difficult and challenging to stand out from the crowd when everybody has a camera now, myself included, but there's an overwhelming amount of the same tired images. I'm kinda burned out after a month of looking at countless photos of portraits of people with mobile phones, reflections in puddles, candid sneaky shots of women and people on public transit. To be fair, some of the shots are very good, but most are instantly forgettable. If nothing else, watching this video and seeing the work of others has inspired and motivated me to try something different. Artistic challenge breeds inspiration.

All sound advice. Thanks for letting me know about Paulie B. I'm off to check out his content right after this!

amazing video, as a person who got into film photography about a month ago, your message resonates with me a lot. i got myself a Pentax K1000 - at the beginning i found it for very limiting, but because of its simplicity and the limited exposures i get, i find myself a lot more thoughtful about each thought than i normally would with my phone ... Thanks

10:48 that's why i started learning film photography~ so i can appreciate photography more than just point and shoot recklessly great insight!

Thanks for correcting the perspective.

I really enjoy your content. I couldn't phrase it better :) not only these "talk videos" are interesting but overall you make great content, thank you!

A really well observed video and not only relevant to the street genre. You are very right about stripping photography back to basics. The problem is many of these new fauxtographers are not about the art they are about the likes. And that simply feeds them back into the vicious cycle of fad following homogenous creating rather than genuine, creative image capture.

Thank you for teaching me not to be influenced with media social. I feel you that streetphotography should be limitless.

In my opinion it boils down to this: either you’re photographing for yourself as a rewarding personal experience or your shooting for an audience and for clicks. The latter, in my observation, trends to produce an uninspired collection repetitive images.

Great to keep an open mind and keep on learning. Newer cameras allow us to shoot a wider range of images. Along with film and iPhones, this is a good thing. What’s captured in the image and how you feel about it is important.

the thing is, i don't gife a dang about any of the trends online, heck, i only watch them for fun ideas and inspiration, but when i really go out there to shoot, i usually stick to my own style and take shots i think look cool, i basically don't care about any trends and other stuff like this, because i do this for fun and i'm not gonna let anything influence that idea

Really really good video mate. Nicely done.

I don't really follow street photographers online so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I think it's fine to follow trends, especially if you're starting out. You start by doing what everybody else does, then you'll naturally start pushing towards your own stuff. That's how pretty much any learning works. I get that it's annoying because you end up with a lot of similar-looking shots floating about online, but that's just the nature of consumerism - art does become increasingly packaged and canned to please the largest number of people at the lowest possible cost, like Hollywood movies. But as a process of learning, I don't think it's a fundamentally bad thing. And if you never steer away from the trends, then maybe you just don't have that kind of creativity in you, which is OK too - I often wonder if I do!

Your image at 4:04 is actually very fascinating with the angles, the figure behind the bicycle.

Right now I’m in a place where I just bought my first nice digital camera and I think the only advantage over film is that I have so much more memory to be able to take photos. I’m not always super happy with my shots but I think it’s good for me to just get more practice shooting lots of new stuff and that just isn’t always feasible for me on film.

Perfect video! I think this helps me realize the relationship between a photographer and their gear. It's been said that it's not about the gear, it's about the photographer, and I think this helps to bring both into light. Both are dependent on each other. I started out with the simple stuff, only then developing the basics and fundamentals. Now at a point, I feel like I need to upgrade my gear because of the type of photography I'm doing

Thanks for this video, it's giving me confidence to just shoot the things I find interesting rather than mimicking top images on Instagram. I'm preparing to buy a Canon M50 for travelling in the summer but I (drunkenly) stumbled upon and purchased a Canon AV-1 film camera + 3 lens + accessories for £90 and feel so much more excited about shooting with it and learning film. The M50 will have to wait a few months! Also I loved your video that referenced Danny Ric and his Leica!

I like letting people do what they want to do and I just do my own thing. Dipping into other types of photography and trying different things - that’s all part of the journey.

You must have inspired "Man Carrying Thing" to make a 4-hour video essay on modern photography

100% agree about shooting film. I interact more with the world. I even stop the car more often and get out to get this shot I saw. 😊

Yay Street photography and The United Stand crossover.. this is a really useful video, as someone just starting, and also deciding NOT to do social media, im glad for the lack of instant inspiration/copying/comparing. Thank you!

Very interesting and apt for me, great video!

This video reminds me when I was using sony a200 to capture my friend sister wedding. With indoor and horrible lighting, i need to be creative with my, at that time, current equipment. thank you for reminding me

The biggest problem with street photography in general are the photographers themselves. I see it so often on social media and in cities I travel to. They love the idea of being a street photographer but are often people who just photograph streets. A street photographer in my opinion is someone who is like a ghost, they blend in, un-noticed. The grey man. They get 'the' shot and you would never know they were there. I'm not a fan of the in your face style of Bruce Gilden or his personality. I do however have great respect for street photographers who have captured great works. My personal favourite is Vivian Maier. Someone who was not only technically brilliant with a great eye but also as a person who wasn't looking to be a celebrity / influencer like so many people today.

Anyone can take a photo but not everyone can produce artful images.

We’re all learning no matter where we are. Very refreshing video!

I couldn't have said it better. Some really great advice there. A new sub from me

good advice Thank you, luckily I can think for myself and I try to create something of my own even if it has already been done somewhere, so I still don't try to copy anyone

I returned to photography a few years ago. Covid allowed me time to wander and shoot, hone skills and acquired a style, that is still evolving. The issue isn't just street, but photography in general, and this is caused by too many self professed pros waxing lyrical about a skillset which is honed down to one or two aspects of photography. It's also affected by social media algorithms that encourage and promote a very limited set of skills for budding photographers. I totally agree with your surmise, and doff my hat as too few social content creators are honest about this. As you say, go out, shoot, be yourself and find your voice. I'd also suggest building a website and encouraging traffic there. Social media is totally destructive and in time you'll get bored of engagement. As for most engagement is about clicks. If that's all your after then it is what it is, but this will not improve your photography, it merely encourages you to shoot for the algorithm. Great vid. 🙏

I approve of the reasoning of bringing the concept of taking photos digitally as if they were staring at a film camera, and that's exactly what I usually do, but because I, like many old men, have started with films and not like many of today who claim to give advice, with digital where you shoot in bursts with all the aids of modern cameras praying for a good photo. At the time you had to be more careful in setting up and wait for the right moment to press the shutter button. Each photo was a cost, It was very easy after a long wait for development to have only a few photos on a roll of 24 or 36 shots or worse at the beginning without even a photo.

Im agree with you, people tend to see a good street photography must be a street potraits or still photo this day. I really like cropping and learning some composition technique. I dont mind if people said it "why your photo looks blurry", "why your photo so tilted?" cause for me streets photography its all about shoot what i like to shoot.

I like your take on this, man. Great video, thanks.

This is a great video. I got into photography because it allows you to show how you view the world. Or at least try your best lol we are all unique and personally I have the most fun shooting things I love.

Hi, George! I agree with your points about misunderstandings that this fleeting social media trends cause. Mindlessly mimicking composition or trick out of TikTok video will lead to some cool shots but it also will lead to a narrow aesthetic perception. I think that newbies intrested in photography should leave this tricks for later and start from fundamental rules like harmony, contrast, proportions e.t.c. They also need to understand that good art invokes emotions and makes beholder to think about what he see. That`s it, that`s enougth. All they have to do with that knowledge is to go outside and look arond for interesting and beautiful scenes to shoot. And you don`t even have to own a good camera for that because we all already at all times have with us convenient and quite capable smartphone. It`s a shame so many people dismiss cameras that always have been in their hands and in front of their face.

Enjoyed the video. So much truth and matches a lot of the thoughts that have rolled around in my head. I started shooting Street back in 2013 after first discovering the genre. You did lose me when you talked about film. As a 77 year old photog, I love the freedom of the digital era. I still have a Pentax ME Super in the closet, but am not interested in resurrecting it. I'm looking forward to more of your videos and thoughts.

what I noticed since I started shooting film is, that when I take out my digital camera I only shoot like 30 pics, and only when Im playing around with settings and presets I maybe take 100 pics over the span of like 2-3h. Before I used to go out all the time and would regularly come back with more than 150-200 shots. which also mightve been beneficial since I needed to start somewhere and find myself. so yeah thanks tho for the video. very well narrated and to the point! cheers!

Good video mate and I sort of agree your points and appreciate the detail.

I left manual focus in 1987, too late to go back for me 🤓 Yes, no burst shooting. One, and in some cases two, or three, should be more than enough. In regard to film, it is something else which I left and will not be returning to. I did love my SF1 Pentax and Takumar/ Asahi lenses. Those POV street videos nowadays where it is all about the street puddle, reflections and framing using rails or some awful choices as foreground frames, is really a point where you switch them off. The ultra-sharp, wide-open photos of people which do not look interesting, and tell no story is all too prevalent. Good points in your video, take cares, Loren

i think thats a way to look at. I feel that this is actually a little thing that can get to more and more people and are spreading the photography for far more people. I feel like this is good even if 90% of this is just bad pictures or "trend" photography with expensive cameras.

I totally get the idea of CONTENT CREATORS vs. Passionate shooters. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE

Thank you for addressing this. Well and calmly said. Thank you

Great video!! I feel lucky that my first proper interaction with street photography was magnum streetwise from which i saw many great examples of street photography of different types and not needing to be things that are more repeatable such as the street portrait trend of street photography. I feel my idea of street photography is more about documenting and taking things that i find interesting, anomalies and oddities are something i enjoy when i spot them and also just everyday mundane stuff can be interesting especially in the city as im not that often there, not as much as id like for my photography anyway. To your point of simplifying or rather putting restrictions on yourself i do enjoy doing that also, i tend to keep my screen blank and for street basically always use 50mm.

exactly what i have also thought these days tiktok full of those reels going out to girls saying i am a street photographer can i take your picture ... Like Why if it's not candid can you call yourself a street photographer .. also I saw people with 85mm lens with bokeh calling it street photography but with no story

On photography in general, but street photography particularly, a picture should tell a story. I began photographing in the 1970's and this was a rule for those who did it. My problem with what is called street photography nowadays is that pictures rarely tell a story. You see mostly poor ones, some that explore light, colors, forms, composition but very few tell a story. I believe most people go into the new "street photography" because it's easier than rent a studio, create a concept and dive into it. I hope people start realizing this and we see more stories told instead of just "content". Empty "content" is like the calories from candies: worth nothing.

The problem is not the trend, but the social media. We had trends all the time, think about Impressionism, Puntillism, Realism, Minimalism etc, etc. The problem is not the trend, but the people who influence others to make them believe that if you don't follow such trend you are worth nothing as a photographer. Most of these "influencers" are just repeating the same thing over and over ad nauseam, because 1) they have no idea what is photography about, 2) they are ignorants who don't know how to think by themselves and 3) narcissism.

AT LAST... You have hit the nail on the head... Thanks 🙏

Good video love it man

Thought provoking video. Very interesting, thanks.

Oh well, at the age of 73 I have became completely trendless irrespective of whether its fashion, cars , gadgets or social media. I am immune to the age of the algo, social media, five second timespans. and wanting to please others just to get more likes. My inspiration and gateway into street was the story of the late Vivian Maier. She managed to solder on for nearly fifty years producing what can now be seen and appreciated as great images without apparently receiving any recognition in her lifetime. What greater lesson in self-motivation can there be?

Great Work👌

Well said! As I heard growing up, “variety is the spice of life”.

This is impressive video!! Thank you!

I feel the same way. Street photography it's not only candid photos and random stuff, it feels like doing snapshots over and over. From over the past few decades street photography it's something to express feeling and create environment in the photo

It's great it has problems like this, so many people are just blind followers. So, It's really easy to stand out if you have the courage to not be like everyone else, especially in street photography when most things are the same and not very good.

Great video about trends in photography and cliches

This is one of many things Social Media has ruined. Instagram is the worst way to view photography - Printed in a frame, on a wall. Not a 4 by 2 inch screen.

This is really weird because today I have a film camera with me. And I find myself thinking, this is making me think more, look at the shot, decide on the shot, and then take it. It is a discipline. One camera and one lens. I'm taking more time and consideration with a film that I don't have with digital. The camera cost me, body and lens, £100. Plus two other film cameras were thrown in for free. I'm starting to enjoy the film process again. Canon EOS 650 from 1987. I recommend it.

Awesome video. I am not a photographer, but I really got good insight from this video

Excellent upload, with great points as usual. I'm glad that I'm past the beginner stage, and the trend thing. I actually think the photocopier analogy applies to most arts, but for some reason it seems more prevalent in street photography. I guess maybe because sharing our photos on social media is more of a thing than say sharing music or paintings or pottery we've created. I don't even think sharing poor images, or weak trends are solely to blame. I suspect that a lot of the blame rest upon the fact that there is a displayed number of "likes" for an image, or an upload on these sites. People chasing a huge number of "likes", rather than great images, tend to then cut corners and reach for the photocopier on the ones with the highest displayed numbers. I wonder what impact Social media sites like Instagram, facebook, youtube and other would have on our work, if only the person who could see the number of "likes", was the person who uploaded the image?… Maybe it would force viewers to only gravitate to the content they actually liked, as they would not know what content had a high number of "likes", and so they wouldn't know what images to try to photocopy in order to come across like a boss… Keep on keeping on… That poor Nikon camera though!… 🙃

Enjoy your videos! I've been thinking similarly lately, but I also don't prevent myself from shooting in a way that may be considered overdone. One "technique" or limitation that I impose on myself is shooting with a b/w viewfinder & display. I do this by shooting RAW+JPEG, turning on b/w effect, and setting lighroom imports to Adobe Default colors. This way I can focus on geometry & dynamic range while shooting & achieve pretty much any colors in post.

Nice video and thoughts!

Honestly, I'd classify most of my photos as "Rural Street Photography", I just find cool shit in the middle of nowhere take photos of it, just today I went to Bridgeton, and I'll be going tomorrow with my Ektar H35 for more shots.

5 years ago there was literally NOTHING on a street photography topic in RU-vid, as a genge it was more interesting than a usual “I am a photographer” things. So I was learning on a works of greatest and not by hype bubble, and by everyday practice of shooting strangers without a permission and talking. So this is real street photography to me.

The irony of using a Gary Vee quote about being careful on who you get advice from 😮. Not sure if that was on purpose but well done if so.

One of the most redundant thoughts is that you should mimic a trend. Your vision, your camera, your choice.

Couldn’t agree more. Instagram street photography is mostly portraiture outdoors, I wouldn’t even class it as street photography. Maybe I’m a traditionalist

I just subscribed, this is a really great video.. I'm about to ride a motorcycle from S.E Asia to Mongolia, Nepal ,India...etc.. Recently dropped my 5D for a Fuji X-T30ii and I'm loving it. Been shooting my whole life. I won't be using Social Media for my shots. I'll be using my YT channel :-) I don't allow outside influencers to play apart in my photography... I have my own style...

the thing that annoys me the most about that "street stopper street photographer" trend is the fact that most of them drop the indefinite article. makes my skin crawl

As a philosophy, the fact that adult learners are also experts is easy for many photography mentors to miss.

Yup, I‘ve been shooting street for about 2 seconds, it’ll be a year soon that I got a canon rebel. I feel like street photography is more undefined in that it depends on the moment…that might be too naive of me but I can’t just tell strangers to pose for me besides that would be limiting. Great advice about advice!

Well said. I can't shoot 500 frames a day! 20, 50 max. Maybe because I learned should film. The so-called gatekeepers are stifling creativity. Where is it written that street photography must contain a person? I find the term in and of itself limiting. I have and all ways will call myself a documentary and urban photographer. It's so much more liberating!

nice vid, but I don't think that people want to be street photographers, then seeing the trend and wanting to become street portraits. It's more likely they see street portraits and "miss understanding" it with street photography. But I got your point with the influence…

for example fujifilm cameras where you can create your own jpeg recipes and then you just stay that, simulate the film well and then insert a 1gb card inside and manual lens .

Those reels where people do the “portraits” but call it street photography drive me crazy. I thought the whole point was to catch them off guard and not ask for photos.

Bravo! Brilliant insight! Instagram and tik tok proudly destroying creativity and creating clones since 2016!!!!

I do that choice thing with a regular DSLR. I didn't even know you could just burst shoot the thing until recently. 😅 I always just aim for a certain number of shots (4-6 good ones that I'm happy about) on a walk and that's what decides my journey. I'm not particularly interested in street photography but I do suburban photography if that's even a thing. I guess my limiting factor is distance because I don't own a car. 😂 I guess the reason I limit myself is because DSLRs are loud as hell. No quiet shutter feels like shooting with meaning.

@4:37 One overarching problem with the young who have been brought up digitally, is they do not know analogue things and find themselves easily corralled by the categorization that naturally happens upon all internet/digital interaction.

good points. yeah i didn't enjoy pov street photo aswell when i tried.