Out of Chicago – Street photography
You know that question: “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” My answer would be “Street photography”. Oh my, oh my… I am all kinds of scared when it comes to street photography. Or let’s say street photography doesn’t come anywhere near my comfort zone and in my opinion is one of the most difficult type of photography to do. That’s why I went to Chicago with the hope that I’d learn some magic trick from the likes of Valerie Jardin, Thomas Leuthard and Marie Laigneau. So let’s say there were few things that made me gain some extra five percent confidence. Just some random things that stuck to my brain:
“There is nothing wrong in doing street photography. You are documenting street life”
“Smile and compliment people, we only pick people who are interesting, so this should be a compliment for them”
“We don’t shoot people that are vulnerable or in embarrassing situations”
“Be patient, not everyone is a good subject. Pick an interesting place and wait for the right person to pass by”
“Your gear is not important. You can document street life with an iPhone, but the smaller the camera, the better it is”
“Get closer, try as much as possible to get candid shots”
“In the worst case scenario, run!” 🙂
“Or explain what (and why) you are doing this.”
So I took few street photography photowalks, and these are some of the pics I came back with. All photos are taken with my Fuji x100S, so no zoom. I also took my first ever street portraits (two handsome guys, lucky me) 🙂
Taken from the train’s platform. Looking for interesting light patterns. Waiting for the right subject to cross. Sat there for about 35 mins.
I am not renowned for my patience, so I slightly changed my position with the hope I get lucky.
Pretty blurred, but they were running, so I thought the three ladies make for a good pattern.
Only God Can Judge Me. This is the first guy I asked for a street portrait, and he was happy to pose. And I got a pretty good message too. I am ashamed I don’t remember his name though…
Meet Zack. Valerie asked him if I could take a portrait of him. He had nothing against it. Pretty cool guy!
On my way back to the airport, I took my camera out when I saw this wall feature.
And a colour one.
Claudia Curici Photography 
Well done Claudia, keep going. I love street photography and it certainly gets easier the more you do it. You took some great shots here.
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Thank you ‘Mondetreker’ (since I can’t find your name anywhere) :). Thanks for encouraging me, it really matters! Sydney must be a great place for street photography.
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No problem Claudia, I tried to follow your blog but I received a message saying it doesn’t exist ?? Perhaps you have it set to private. Sydney does have some great locations for street photography and photography in general, but the good thing about street photography is you can do it pretty much anywhere. All the best.
Mark
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Oh, I just saw you followed, so it must be working 🙂 Thanks again Mark, all the best. If you ever visit Dallas, give me a sign. Cheers, C.
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Ok, I can now follow you. Yeah!
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wow! you get better and better! super! so wonderful! bravo!
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Nice!! I am scared of street photography too.. I honestly do not know how to approach a stranger and ask them if I can take a picture of them. This post is encouraging!
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Hi Jahnavi, I’m happy you found this post useful… Now that some time has passed since my Chicago photowalks, I can confirm I am more confident when taking street photographs. Also, something I did’t mention in this post and I find it quite helpful, is go with someone else, have a partner in crime, or a group. It helps 🙂 Also, some of the best street photography is made without asking people for permission. xx
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Thank you for the advice, especially about street photography without asking for permission. I would love to get natural shots, but have always been worried if its okay to not ask permission.
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You are welcome, for advice look at those people I mentioned in the article, they are mastering the art of street photography 🙂 Regarding permission, it depends where you are. In the US there is no issue, but there are countries where you are not allowed to take and share pictures without permission. So I guess it’s about knowing the country’s laws and cultural sensitivities. If you are in Chicago you are lucky, there are so many interesting subjects 🙂
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