I think those kind of labels in photography are dumb. If you were a wedding photographer, no one tries to say to that you aren’t doing wedding photography because you don’t shoot reportage style photos of the reception and instead focus on group shots and ‘set-pieces’ OR because you only shoot reportage style stuff and don’t shoot posed group shots. You are being paid to do photography at a wedding, therefore you are a ‘wedding photographer’. It’s defined by where you are, not your style. You don’t get this nonsense about labels in any other genre of photography. Just in ‘street’. I think it comes from a deep sense of insecurity most of us who do street photography often feel. It makes people too eager to try and almost justify what they do by placing a fancy label on it and trying to distance themselves from what others are doing. It’s fine to try and define your own style and find others who are like minded, but not if it means gatekeeping and being dismissive of others. It doesn’t elevate your photography and doesn’t help the photography world. Let’s keep it simple. If you take photos on a street, or any urbanised public space, you are a ‘street photographer’. Incidentally I really like your photos. Definitely ‘street’ in my book. 😊
@@mikehamilton7487 That is very insightful! I like the example of the wedding photographer, it's not about what they shoot or the style, it's about where they are and of course the event that they are hired to do. The insecurity is definitely a thing in street photography! I think for me it manifested into this video, haha. I 100% agree that gatekeeping and being dismissive of others is the bane of creativity. Thank you so much for the comment, for the kind words on my photos, and for watching the video! 😌🙏
This is great!. I think labels should sort photos as a tool, not create limits to your work, and you have taken this one step further. I absolutely love your focus on the "Intention" of the photo being equally important to content. I like the idea that two photos may look very similar, but be two categories depending on the "Intention" of the photographer. Did the photographer intend to take a photo of the environment or the people interacting with it? Two different categories. I think that's awesome! It added to my thinking of labels as tools, not as limits. Photography is all photography, and labels are simply a way to describe it. At its heart, we are just photographers. Thank you for the video, Sande!!!
I think you said it better than me in this video, haha. That is spot on, exactly what I'm trying to convey. Adding to that, I think the content and intention is linked together the same way word choices are linked to a writer. Looking at intention is almost like analysing a literature piece, "why did the writer/photographer include these words/elements? What was their intention?". Perhaps good photos are ones that make the viewers "feel" the intention of the photographer. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Very interesting film and interesting thoughts. I also like your photos (especially the one with the tram and the sign). For me, street photography is unstaged photography, the central point of interest (not in the sense of composition) of which are people or something related to them, but not necessarily taken only on the street. And I "mark" such photos that I take as street. Apart from that, I do a lot of architecture, detail, a bit of portraits and a pinch of landscape or macro. But that's something different for me, even if I am strictly in an urban environment. Another issue is the "etiquette" of a street/architecture/portrait photographer, etc. I understand that people who take photographs professionally have to "label" themselves more or less to find clients. However, I reject such "labels" (I can because photography is my hobby/passion and not a tool for earning money). I see myself as a "photographer of the moment" regardless of what I choose as the aim of photography, and since the aim of my interest at a given moment can be a person, a building, an animal, a detail or a flower, I would not want to have to limit myself or not show something just because "it is not canonical" or "does not fit the profile". Strict adherence to the "profile" would quickly bore me. Besides, when I walk down the street I look at everything and not just at a fragment and that is how I photograph.
"Unstaged photography" is a good way to put it. I agree that it doesn't need to be on a street per se, it can be places adjacent to that. However, I do think that there is a line somewhere. For example, unstaged photos at home aren't street photos. Well... I guess it still depends, haha. Also an interesting point on pro photographers, labels make a lot of sense for that purpose. "Photographer of the moment" resonates well with me, it's definitely the kind photography that I enjoy. Thanks for the kind words and thoughtful comment!
Labels a funny thing yes .I understand what you mean but if you think about the older photographers as Joel merroywitz or Herzog and even Many others , they didn't label their work.. To me street photography is the human presscence in the world as you can do street photography at small town or a beach or even cruise.street photography documents and records the time..nice video watched your stuff awhile but this is my first comment
That is very true! Perhaps labelling our work is a modern problem brought over by the internet, haha. I love your perspective of street photography. In a way, it’s a close relative to documentary photography huh. Thanks for watching and for the comment! I really appreciate it 🙌
Ahh, the one that I went to wasn't a photo walk. It was more of gathering and then a presentation/talk. I haven't tried a group photo walk before, but quite curious on how that would go!
If you focus on the streets, environment and surroundings. You are a street photographer. If you can't take a photo without the need for humans to be in the frame and in focus. You are a street portrait photographer. 9 out of 10 street portrait photographers will disagree.
Ohh, interesting! I haven't actually looked up the specific "street portrait" category. It does look quite distinct. If it were placed on spectrum of environment - people, I think it goes urban - street - street portraits. Well, that's based on an image search anyways, haha. The "can't take a photo without the need for humans ..." is definitely a limiting factor that perhaps come with a "label". I personally want to avoid that feeling and explore all kinds of photography 😄
@@sandeharsa the only times I actually want people in my frame, is when doing long exposure on a building/statue/monuments. Human trails, like we know light trails from cars 😊
What do you think about "labels" in photography?
I think label makes more sense when you start a photography business and want to capture a specific market group for marketing 😃
Yeah, true! Very useful for that
I think those kind of labels in photography are dumb. If you were a wedding photographer, no one tries to say to that you aren’t doing wedding photography because you don’t shoot reportage style photos of the reception and instead focus on group shots and ‘set-pieces’ OR because you only shoot reportage style stuff and don’t shoot posed group shots. You are being paid to do photography at a wedding, therefore you are a ‘wedding photographer’. It’s defined by where you are, not your style. You don’t get this nonsense about labels in any other genre of photography. Just in ‘street’. I think it comes from a deep sense of insecurity most of us who do street photography often feel. It makes people too eager to try and almost justify what they do by placing a fancy label on it and trying to distance themselves from what others are doing. It’s fine to try and define your own style and find others who are like minded, but not if it means gatekeeping and being dismissive of others. It doesn’t elevate your photography and doesn’t help the photography world. Let’s keep it simple. If you take photos on a street, or any urbanised public space, you are a ‘street photographer’. Incidentally I really like your photos. Definitely ‘street’ in my book. 😊
@@mikehamilton7487 That is very insightful! I like the example of the wedding photographer, it's not about what they shoot or the style, it's about where they are and of course the event that they are hired to do. The insecurity is definitely a thing in street photography! I think for me it manifested into this video, haha. I 100% agree that gatekeeping and being dismissive of others is the bane of creativity. Thank you so much for the comment, for the kind words on my photos, and for watching the video! 😌🙏
I think labels belong on clothes-it doesn’t matter-just go out there and have fun doing photography.
Maybe the only label needed is: “photographer” 🤙🏼
Yea! Or go even more generic: artist 👀😆
@@sandeharsa that works too!
This is great!. I think labels should sort photos as a tool, not create limits to your work, and you have taken this one step further.
I absolutely love your focus on the "Intention" of the photo being equally important to content. I like the idea that two photos may look very similar, but be two categories depending on the "Intention" of the photographer. Did the photographer intend to take a photo of the environment or the people interacting with it? Two different categories. I think that's awesome! It added to my thinking of labels as tools, not as limits. Photography is all photography, and labels are simply a way to describe it. At its heart, we are just photographers. Thank you for the video, Sande!!!
I think you said it better than me in this video, haha. That is spot on, exactly what I'm trying to convey.
Adding to that, I think the content and intention is linked together the same way word choices are linked to a writer. Looking at intention is almost like analysing a literature piece, "why did the writer/photographer include these words/elements? What was their intention?". Perhaps good photos are ones that make the viewers "feel" the intention of the photographer.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
nice video! nice shots!!
Thanks! 🙌 I've watched your videos before, love your work!
Very interesting film and interesting thoughts. I also like your photos (especially the one with the tram and the sign). For me, street photography is unstaged photography, the central point of interest (not in the sense of composition) of which are people or something related to them, but not necessarily taken only on the street. And I "mark" such photos that I take as street. Apart from that, I do a lot of architecture, detail, a bit of portraits and a pinch of landscape or macro. But that's something different for me, even if I am strictly in an urban environment. Another issue is the "etiquette" of a street/architecture/portrait photographer, etc. I understand that people who take photographs professionally have to "label" themselves more or less to find clients. However, I reject such "labels" (I can because photography is my hobby/passion and not a tool for earning money). I see myself as a "photographer of the moment" regardless of what I choose as the aim of photography, and since the aim of my interest at a given moment can be a person, a building, an animal, a detail or a flower, I would not want to have to limit myself or not show something just because "it is not canonical" or "does not fit the profile". Strict adherence to the "profile" would quickly bore me. Besides, when I walk down the street I look at everything and not just at a fragment and that is how I photograph.
"Unstaged photography" is a good way to put it. I agree that it doesn't need to be on a street per se, it can be places adjacent to that. However, I do think that there is a line somewhere. For example, unstaged photos at home aren't street photos. Well... I guess it still depends, haha. Also an interesting point on pro photographers, labels make a lot of sense for that purpose. "Photographer of the moment" resonates well with me, it's definitely the kind photography that I enjoy. Thanks for the kind words and thoughtful comment!
Labels a funny thing yes .I understand what you mean but if you think about the older photographers as Joel merroywitz or Herzog and even Many others , they didn't label their work..
To me street photography is the human presscence in the world as you can do street photography at small town or a beach or even cruise.street photography documents and records the time..nice video watched your stuff awhile but this is my first comment
That is very true! Perhaps labelling our work is a modern problem brought over by the internet, haha. I love your perspective of street photography. In a way, it’s a close relative to documentary photography huh. Thanks for watching and for the comment! I really appreciate it 🙌
@@sandeharsa much 🙏 and kudos and ofc I does take social media as a taste and dont get saturated with it..nice photos I forgot to mention
what are photography meets like? do you get much work done and does it feel like you're taking the same pictures as everyone else?
Ahh, the one that I went to wasn't a photo walk. It was more of gathering and then a presentation/talk. I haven't tried a group photo walk before, but quite curious on how that would go!
If you focus on the streets, environment and surroundings. You are a street photographer. If you can't take a photo without the need for humans to be in the frame and in focus. You are a street portrait photographer.
9 out of 10 street portrait photographers will disagree.
This comment will probably be auto deleted.
Ohh, interesting! I haven't actually looked up the specific "street portrait" category. It does look quite distinct. If it were placed on spectrum of environment - people, I think it goes urban - street - street portraits. Well, that's based on an image search anyways, haha.
The "can't take a photo without the need for humans ..." is definitely a limiting factor that perhaps come with a "label". I personally want to avoid that feeling and explore all kinds of photography 😄
@@sandeharsa the only times I actually want people in my frame, is when doing long exposure on a building/statue/monuments. Human trails, like we know light trails from cars 😊