Now that I’ve moved from London to New York to work for Manhattan-based venture capital firm SeedInvest, I’m rediscovering my love of Bruce Gilden’s street photography.

His style of jumping in front of people with a flash is very aggressive, and I’m not sure that I could do it myself, but it certainly does capture some amazing expressions. The slightly surprised looks that he elicits cut through the monotone expressions that people adopt when walking around big cities like New York.

His closeness to the subject and the intensity of the flash often mean that Bruce Gilden captures the slightly ugly side of a person’s expression or outfit. To me, that’s not a bad thing as it captures something more real than the fully put together personas that most New Yorkers try and portray.

His early work work has a totally gritty look to it and he seems to capture the rough essence of New York. Even when he’s not shooting with a flash up close, his work is still uniquely New York. There’s something distinctly New York about the texture and grime that he captures.

He occasionally runs street photography workshops, so I’m going to be keeping an eye out for the chance to learn directly from the master himself.

His new book Face moves away from the “surprise portrait” style into more personal street photography portraits. But this has allowed him to get really up close and personal to capture people who you wouldn’t otherwise see in a studio portrait. Bruce Gilden continues to inspire me to be a better photographer and a better observer of the characters around every corner in New York.

Chris Jones has published an ebook of London Street Photos.

1. How did shooting street in London compare to your normal photography?

I like to think of myself as a fairly versatile photographer, with a pretty varied portfolio. I’m probably something of a photography magpie – jumping from one shiny new technique to another – including abstract, HDR, urban geometry, photoshop manipulation, pinhole cameras, street art, welding glass long exposures, the list goes on.

Chris shot his rainy day in London on a Nikon P7700.

However, apart from the odd portrait shoot I don’t get (or create) the opportunity to photograph people all that much, so shooting street candids was a real change for me.

2. What did you notice about the experience of shooting street photography?

I didn’t consciously set out to ‘shoot street’ – I was in London for the day and had a few hours to kill. It was raining and I thought I might be able to get some nice shots in the reflections on the pavement. I set off from Kings Cross into town, camera in one hand and umbrella in the other. I set the camera to b&w as I thought that would make for more atmospheric shots – this is also pretty unusual for me as I rarely shoot in b&w, or even convert to b&w in post, for that matter.

When I’ve looked at other street photography projects or exhibitions there’s usually some element of photojournalism – a sense of purpose or story behind the work. In some ways I wish I could say that I set out with such a purpose in mind, but I can’t. I just took shots as they caught my eye. I suppose you could say that I was looking for a certain aesthetic, a combination of human and urban elements that looked like they would make a good composition, but it was only really after the event that I thought about what I’d been doing as “street photography” and decided to put the shots together in an ebook.

London in the rain makes for some great street scenes.

I really enjoyed the experience. Even in the rain. London is a great place to feel anonymous and lose yourself in the crowd. There are so many other people waving cameras around, particularly in Trafalgar Square* where I feel I got my best shots. If people did notice me taking photos, I don’t think anyone thought that I was taking photos of them. Also, because I was using my compact camera, I could simply wear it round my neck and shoot from the chest.

I would often take the shot, then wait for the person to go past and pretend to take another shot, in the hope that they thought I was waiting for them to get out the way. Probably fooled no-one.

There were a couple of times I saw a photo opportunity but wasn’t brave enough to take it. There was one in particular when three men in white painters’ overalls were walking along on the other side of the road. Every time I looked round one or other seemed to be looking at me and I chickened out.

Next time I think I might be a bit braver and engage with people a bit more, ask them for a smile, or sit and talk with them a while. If I’m feeling really brave I might even have a go in Leeds…

3. What gear did you use?

I had my backup camera which is a Nikon P7700 and an umbrella. Nothing else.

4. Any gear that you would have liked to have used?

Nothing that springs to mind – it was good to travel light for a change. I only got the Nikon this year and had spent a while researching more serious compacts. I felt the Nikon offered the best combination of sensor size, focal length and lens speed. It was a toss-up between that and the Canon G1X. At about £100 cheaper I went for the Nikon.

I’ve put a few of the photos on Flickr, but the full series is available as a pdf ebook on a ‘pay what you think it’s worth’ basis. The link is http://www.gumroad.com/l/A-Wet-Day-In-London

Chris’s Flickr page is www.flickr.com/stopherjones and his website is www.chrisjonesphotography.org the ebook is at http://www.gumroad.com/l/A-Wet-Day-In-London

*I realised after the event that you need permission from the Greater London Authority if you want to use photos taken in Trafalgar Square commercially. Fortunately, when I wrote to them and asked if I could make my photos available for sale in an ebook they gave me permission retrospectively.

Russell Dawson

I bought the Xpro after reading many blogs and reviews. I come from a mainly landscape background and most of my recent shots are on a Nikon D200. I have always been a lone shooter preferring my own company and the great outdoors. Street photography was never a style I thought I would be involved with.

The series ‘Nothing Lasts Forever‘, along the Jurassic Coast, is a regular project that has created a book of B&W images which I self published three years ago and the new colour work for an exhibition in August here on the South Coast. I have also had a couple of commissions from magazines and done some commercial work. I also taught photography at the local college and for the local Adult Ed.

Finding my way into street photography

I had made several images of people while on location. But it wasn’t something I took too seriously. After having spent the last few years out in the landscape I decided to try a completely different style as a break. I headed into London for a day trip and enjoyed the day much more than I expected to. I came home with some really interesting images and I couldn’t wait to shoot the street again.

I realised that an SLR of professional size wasn’t the right camera to stick in people’s faces and began devouring all the blogs and opinions on many different cameras. It was at this time that the X100 was out and I was close to buying one. But the talk of an interchangeable lens outfit appealed to me as I thought I would be able to use it for some of my landscape work also.

Getting used to the Xpro

It’s taken a little getting used to but I find the Xpro feels like more than a mere tool. I’m a bit of a traditionalist, so the Xpro appealed to me with it’s fantastic looks and its manual feel. When the comparisons with Leica were so positive with a price at a quarter of the M9 and that coupled with some inheritance money left to me by my mum I could resist no more!

I need to do a lot more work with the Xpro as I still feel it can sometimes control me rather than the other way. I have the 35mm but also bought the 18-55mm for its versatility. The B&W images here were all shot with the 18-55mm.

Setting up the Xpro for street photography

I shoot mainly on Aperture Priority mode.  I’m usually at ISO 800 for street to give the shots more depth.

Russell Dawson

Use auto focus because the zone focusing has some issues. I have found that the Xpro can focus far in the distance even when the subject is slap bang in the middle of the frame.

The Xpro allows you to get close to the subject. (Photo by Russell Dawson)

The Optical Finder frame is not exactly what appears in the image, which can be irritating. The Electronic Finder is much more accurate.

The XPro is an ideal camera for street photography.

I shoot RAW and Fine Jpegs. The Jpegs are just outstanding. I have yet to process the RAW files as my version of Lightroom doesn’t support the Fuji RAW files. I try not to do too much post processing. Only what I would have done in a darkroom!

Exploring different styles of street photography

Shooting street has been quite a revelation and has bitten me quite hard. I just love the immediacy and the process of not having time to think too much. Especially with this latest outing, I enjoyed the interaction with people on the street far more than I expected.

Russell Dawson

I did have the ‘first night nerves’ experienced by all who go out shooting in public. It took a while for me to gain more confidence. But the latest images were taken without any pressure on myself and I again loved the whole excitement and process.

Russell Dawson

I feel like I have fallen in love with photography again. A few subjects refused or asked me to delete their image but I came home with so many great images that it was worth it.

Russell Dawson

I love the candids, but also love the shots that I actually asked for and those who realised I was capturing them and played to the camera. I even met Bruce Gilden in Brick Lane!!! I love reading ‘street’ blogs. Eric Kim has been an unending source of info amongst many. One day, I would love to become a member of In-Public. But I still have a long way to go. I did start the day thinking about using ‘themes’ to get me going. I started with the themes of Consumption, Hats and Dogs. But it wasn’t long before I just melted into the surroundings and was entranced by everything that presented itself.

Black and white on the Xpro

As to the switch from colour to B&W? I think it has something to do with nostalgia, possibly. I do like street images in colour and I appreciate it is the contemporary way. But there is something mystical about B&W. I believe that without colour you see right into the soul of the subject. Are you looking at the colour of the clothes or the surrounding or the technical aspect of images or are you looking at people? I see the people not the colour. But I do love the colour work of Nick Turpin and Matt Stuart. Especially those born out of humour.

The creative process in street photography

I am very much involved with the creative process rather than the technical details. My blog deals with just that ‘being creative’. When I taught photography I tried to teach students how to see and that everywhere there are beautiful images to capture. When I say “beautiful”, I groan at landscape images with purple filtered skies and misty waters! If I see one more long exposure image of Durdle Door at sunset (with the sea all misty) I’ll shoot someone.

The Xpro has interchangeable lenses so you can choose the perfect lens (but the choice of lenses is a bit limited).

I still believe in the bigger concepts and philosophies such as having a ‘theme’ to explain a set of images. But if the images don’t stand on their own (without explanation), then I feel they are lacking. I want the viewer to answer the questions in an image for themselves. If the viewer can use their creative imagination looking at an image, then I feel it has succeeded. After all, we photographers hang up images for other people to look at, so it’s all about the experience of the viewer.

The new Lumix Panasonic 20mm lens has a metal body.

The original lens was so good that it inspired people to move to micro-four-thirds cameras just to be able to use the lens. Craig Mod’s review of the 20mm in the Himalayas was so good that it single-handedly shifted the market for adventurers, anthropologists, designers and street photographers towards m43. The Panasonic campaign with the Guardian for the Lumix GF2 really stepped up Panasonic’s game in terms of street photography.

The new Lumix X 20mm Panasonic f1.7 will have faster focussing, quieter focus motor and is made of metal. The image quality should be as good as the existing 20mm and may be better if the glass has been improved with anti-flare coatings.

The new and old 20mm are close to the same size.

I’m excited about the new lens and it will pair with the Lumix 14mm and Olympus 45mm to form a cheap but amazing three lens kit for street photographers and nomadic urban anthropologists. The new 20mm lens is rugged, compact and discrete. It would be the perfect walk-around lens for a day in a Moroccan back street market, an East London hipster cafe or a small village in Thailand.

Henri Cartier Bresson shot in three distinct styles. Which one you identify with might help you choose the best street photography camera for you.

Street photography is a passion, a hobby and an artform so you’ll need to move on from your basic point and shoot into something more timeless. Sure, go out and experiment with your iPhone or your Point-and-Shoot, but once you’ve tested out whether you enjoy street shooting, then you’ll need a craftsman’s tool.

Choose your street photography style

When you start out as a street photographer you’ll naturally be drawn to one of three styles. Ask yourself a few questions to help you choose the ideal 2013 camera for street photography:

• Do you prefer to blend into the crowd or would you like to stop and meet strangers?
• Would you rather capture a fleeting moment in time or tell someone’s story in detail?
• Are you shooting for Flickr, a blog, a gallery or just the sheer pleasure of shooting?
• Do you want to wait and compose an image in advance or to capture it spontaneously?
• Do you want a shallow depth of field to direct the viewer’s eye?
• Do you want to carry the camera everywhere with you?

Based on these questions you’ll start to realise “why” you shoot street photography. Then you can choose a tool for “how” you want to shoot the street. Your basic choices are: mini-slr, full-size-slr, or a high-end-compact.

Choose the best camera for your style of street photography

There are some interesting trends in camera equipment for 2013. The technology gets better each year but 2013 will be a year of settling in with a few less big new products and more subtle improvements. This is great for camera buyers because you can’t really go wrong. The range of cameras defies a conventional buying guide, but I’ve picked out the hottest street cameras for 2013 below.

The retro classic Olympus OMD EM-5

The Olympus OMD EM-5 was a long time coming and is likely to be replaced in 2013, but only by a tidied up model with some refined controls. The original design is from 1979 (and so won’t change much in 2013), the sensor is a standard size (micro four thirds) so wont change (even if the pixel count does) and the lenses you mount on it will be the same in 2013. This means that I can recommend the OMD EM-5, even if it does get replaced, it’ll still be an excellent street shooter. The EM-5 renders like film and is truly a joy to use.

The retro style of the Olympus OMD cameras hides some seriously good technology.

The new models will also be excellent and an OMD EM-6 would probably just refine some of the controls and bump mega-pixel count. Street photographers also love the other Olympus cameras like the excellent E-PL5, the older E-P3 and the forthcoming E-PL6 and E-P4.

The video master Panasonic GH3

The Panasonic GH2 was a classic and the Panasonic GH3 is just as good. It’s not revolutionary and it’s not likely to be replaced in a hurry but it’s a steady deliverer. The GH3 doesn’t have the retro pedigree of the Olympus but the GH3 is much better at video.

The Panasonic GH3 is a great street camera because it’s smaller than a normal SLR.

The product cycle on the GH series is much longer so expect the GH3 to be around for a while before the Panasonic GH4 makes an appearance. The Panasonic Micro Four Thirds cameras like the GX1 (or GX2 in 2013) and the GF2 (or GF6 in 2013) are more modern styling than the Olympus cameras. This can make them less fun for street shooting where the retro look is a nice icebreaker for conversation with a subject.

Smart money full frame Canon 6D

The other high end DSLRs like the 5D and 1D are great but the Canon 6D gives you a full frame sensor (this means the sensor is the same size as a 35mm film) but without the expense of most full frame cameras. The technical and video features that you give up on the 6D won’t matter to most street photographers. But have a hard think about whether you’ll be using the autofocus. Please don’t buy a 6D until you’ve tried the autofocus in person. We’ve seen other great street cameras like the early Fuji X series scuttled by slow or buggy autofocus.

Full frame SLR cameras like the Canon 6D are high quality but can intimidate a subject.

The Canon EOS M is a great little mirrorless camera that gives you a solid Canon EOS sensor and works with the great canon lenses. But it’s a bit of an immature system with not enough of its own lenses. 2013 will be the year it matures so a Canon EOS M could be a good buy if you love Canon and you’re ready for a smaller system camera but want to stay in the Canon family. The next generation EOS M2 in 2013 will still have the same lenses and sensor size but it could really mature the controls and the form factor. If you like the idea of the Canon Mirrorless but have been holding off then 2013 could be a good year.

Compact cameras for street photography

High end compact cameras can be great for street photography because they are subtle, unassuming and friendly. You need a serious enough camera to get a good image. Your camera also needs to look the part, so that your subject doesn’t worry that you are just a seedy dude taking their photo for “personal use”. – Therefore you need a “blogger’s camera“. A blogger’s camera is better than a compact or smartphone but good enough to take great photos for using on a blog or website.

Luckily, 2013 will be a great year for high-end compact cameras. Smartphone sales have decimated the sales of low-end compact cameras. So high-end compacts are getting all the R&D investment and love.

High-end compacts are great for street photography because they are small and subtle.

Favourites for 2012 and 2013 are the Sony RX1, the Fuji X100 (or its successor the x100s), the Panasonic LX7, the Canon s195, s100, the recently released s110 (or its successors like the s120). These cameras are all excellent but different. Look for a combination of sensor size, lens aperture and focal length. That suit you. The best way to do this is to try them out in person, borrow them from a friend, or in-store and get a feel for how they work for you. Some of the fixed lens, large sensor cameras like the Fuji X100 and the Sony RX1 are barely “compact” cameras but they are amazing tools on the street.

The wildcard GoPro Black

Street photography is an evolving art form and I’d love to see a series of street photos taken with a GoPro by a person wearing an outrageous teddy bear costume to get a reaction. Or a GoPro street photo series from the perspective of a traffic warden. – Who knows, the creative possibilities are endless. GoPro cameras allow you to mount them anywhere and the fish-eye lenses give a huge field of view so you can shoot someone without them knowing, or caring. The slice-of-life storytelling realm will evolve fast with iPhone apps, hidden cameras and other tools. Your style of street photography in 2013 might be something completely new.

The camera setup and audio gear need to be professional enough to get a good result but small enough to not be intimidating.

People in London don’t generally like to stop and chat to strangers, so we got a lot of No’s, but we managed to get Yes’s enough to make a short video. We had a real adventure filming the video and we even got asked to leave at one point by a security guard. It was a fun process and we’ll be releasing the footage on the London Street Photo channel on YouTube.

Questions to ask for a 50 people 1 question video

The crew that filmed the first 50 People 1 Question videos have their own website and the format involves stopping random strangers on the street and asking them one common question. Past questions have included:

• What would do you wish would happen by the end of the day?
• Where would you like to wake up tomorrow?
• What did you want to be when you grew up?

We’ll be revealing the question that we asked soon, but I put together a quick trailer for the video on YouTube:

Gear to use for a Fifty People One Question Shoot

We used a Panasonic GH2, a Panasonic GF2and a Zoom recorder with a Rove directional mic. The audio is incredibly important because you want to capture people’s tone and emotion. I did the basic edits in iMovie synced the external audio by hand in iMovie. Next time I’d use Final Cut Pro because it can do the audio automatically.

Getting strangers to stop and talk on camera requires a good dose of enthusiasm and diplomacy.

A good camera and lens with a shallow depth of field does make a difference because you want to draw attention to the subject and blur out the background. But you could make a good video even on an iPhone (if you got the lighting right). We filmed using a shoulder brace but next time we’d probably use a tripod to keep the camera steady.

You can see lots of other examples of the fifty people one question videos on this YouTube playlist.

How to stop people on the street

People in the UK are a bit reluctant to stop for strangers and hate being on camera. But you can overcome this with a bit of enthusiasm. The key is to make it seem safe and fun. By coincidence, several of our crew had done a personal development course called the Landmark Forum. This teaches a few techniques about personal interaction, like being polite and firm at the same time, and how to bounce back when people say no.

It doesn’t take a lot of gear to shoot street video, but good audio is important.

We got a yes from about one in five people, so it’s important to be fearless and ask lots of people. The tones to avoid are “charity mugger”, “I’m selling something” or “needy”. Instead you create a mood that your crew is having fun, and you want the subject to simply be part of the fun. The aim is for them to enjoy their time on camera and come away with a good anecdote to share with their friends.

We always made sure to tell them where the video was going to be used and how to find us. We also mentioned that the project was going on around the world and that it’s not a commercial thing, just a fun idea for people to see a slice of life from different people.

Behind the scenes on shooting street video

Street video like Fifty People One Question is a bit like shooting street portraits because you need to stop people and interact with them rather than just shooting them as they walk past. It allows you to tell a more personal story. But it requires a good team of people. You need:

• Camera person
• Audio guy
• Person to stop people and get them to agree to be on camera
• Person to stand behind camera man and encourage the subject

These jobs can be shared and swapped so a crew of three is plenty on the day. We swapped around roles and it makes it more fun. The job of greeting people is lots of fun and directing people from off camera is very important because the camera person needs to pay attention to focusing the camera.

We really enjoyed the afternoon and we’ll be releasing the full video soon.

Fernando (Shot Taken – São Paulo, SP – Brazil)

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A. Musician

Q. Where would you like to be right now?
A. Caribbean

Q. If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?
A.  Jason Kay (Jamiroquai)

Antonio has won an Emmy for is documentary work.

Antonio Guillen is an Emmy Award winning documentary journalist and has only recently started to explore street photography. I’m excited to see how his street photography evolves.

Antonio is an investigative journalist by trade so his approach to street photography is very interesting.

Antonio picked up one of the first Sony RX100s and took it with him on a recent trip to Europe. I asked him to share some of his photos and some about the camera and his style of street photography. Enter Antonio…

I have a 7D Canon and the usual collection of lenses for my day job. There is definitely a big difference in size and weight between the 7D and the RX100, for me it was a matter of freedom of movement and lightness to roam in the narrow streets of Rome and the other cities I visited in Europe. I was looking for something like that and still with superb quality. The RX100 was both.

Like a lot of mirror-less cameras, the RX100 seems to like being shot straight into the light.

Most of the time, my subjects didn’t even know I was taking their picture, and the ones that did, not once felt threatened by the small size of the RX100. Usually when using the Canon 7D to photograph people at close distance they react right away when they hear the shutter “click..click..click”. The shutter in the RX100 on the other hand, is almost silent and is very quick.

The RX100 allows for fast, candid shots in street situations.

I was shooting most of the time in Aperture mode. Automatic mode did an acceptable job, but I preferred the balance of control in the Aperture mode (since I didn’t have a lot of time to familiarize myself with all the other settings). You can actually go complete Manual, which is nice for a camera of this size. Aperture mode proved to be actually very good in most instances. Night shooting was excellent. Having an F/1.8 lens gives you plenty of room to shoot in low light conditions.

The Sony RX100 can be used for impromptu low angle candid shots.

The “feeling” of using the camera is like being almost invisible. The RX100 is very light to carry and you might forget that you are carrying a camera with you. It also feels “retro” with the leather cover that attaches onto the bottom of the camera. I felt like a photographer taking pictures in the 1940s, and since I am a Journalist I felt a little like a “War Photographer” on assignment. Maybe the only thing missing is an actual viewfinder. That would make the Sony RX100 “the mother of ALL cameras” for street photography.

The RX100 handles low light, dark and gritty scenes with some noise but it feels more like film grain.

I had read about the cultural differences in taking pictures of people on the street in Europe. But Rome proved to be a very good place to shoot street photos. Looking at some of the other pictures on this blog, I still think that London is probably one of the most attractive place in the world to do street photography.

I would like to think that I can create (in people looking at my pictures) a link to a place and moment in time. I want to make the viewer feel like a real spectator of a realm of life that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. My street photography should allow my subjects to “tell” a story with just a glimpse of their faces and bodies.

Lucas (Shot Taken – São Paulo, SP – Brazil)

Q. What did you want to be when you grew up?
A. Pilot

Q. Where would you like to be right now?
A. Beach

Q. If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?
A. Amedeo Modigliani

The posed portraits can be less authentic if the subject is uncomfortable. So you need to work hard to make them feel safe and open up a bit.

It’s great fun to get out and meet new people. It feels more like design research, urban anthropology or investigative journalism than photography. I am naturally a bit shy, so the exercise of approaching random strangers is a real adrenaline buzz.

Candid portraits versus posed portraits

The most recent street portraits video that we put on YouTube attracted some interesting comments and questions. The chief of which was “Where are the photos from the shoot?” So today, I’m sharing the results from the Asked Portrait style video. We were out shooting on Brick Lane in East London when I caught the eye of the proprietor of one of the shoe stores. I don’t normally shoot stall vendors and street performers because they’re so used to it. But something about Ahmed was captivating. I grabbed a candid shot as I walked by before we stopped to chat with him. Ironically, the candid shot is actually quite good.

The candid shot is more gritty than the posed shots and captures the moment.

It’s interesting to contrast the candid portrait to the posed portrait. In this case the candid shot has a bit more personality and emotion. This is common with a beginner anthropologist or storyteller. You can see in the video that I did my best to chat casually with the subject. But I could have done more to direct him. Once a subject starts smiling like a tourist posing then you’re in trouble. This type of smile with the mouth (not the eyes) is a mask that hides the real person and their real story.

Capturing something real in a street portrait

The posed portraits do capture a certain glimmer in the eyes that I like. You can still get some good shots by talking to the subject so that their eyes come back to life as they interact with you. You can do all sorts of things to shock them back into a real expression. The best is to make them laugh.

The posed shots are more intimate and instead of capturing the moment, they capture the person.

Don’t be afraid to coach your models. It’s ok to try and get them to stop smiling by asking them to do something such as “look down, then look up” or to make funny faces. Anything to change up the expression so you get to see the real them. One trick is to get them to jump up and down. This is a safe behaviour but it gets someone back totally into the moment.

Street portraits on burst mode

Don’t be afraid to spray and pray. What rescued this shoot was that I had lots of shots to choose from in processing. The more photos you take, the more chances that you will capture the exact moment that their expression changes and you see their life story in their eyes.

Shoot on burst mode and try to grab shots before the subject is ready or after they think you’ve finished. The best shots will be the ones where they have forgotten that you are taking the photo. If you shoot a lot of frames then you can pick the best one afterwards rather than regretting that the focus was out or the subject blinked.

This shoot was interesting because you can learn as much from what I did wrong as what I got right. But that’s the real joy of street photography. You can always be growing and improving.

You can see the video of us shooting on Brick Lane in the Street Portraits post.