So it has always been assumed by many that Street Photography is the easiest photography genre/method. You might think it's just about going outside and shooting anything and anyone just as long as you're on the streets.
Hell no.
As far as I've observed, there are two types of SP noobs, and, IMHO, they are the most accurate reflection of the difficulty of this method. They are:
(1) The trigger happy. He who shoots obsessively and fails to remember the basics of his photography once out on the streets. He shoots random strangers and scenes and even cityscapes and what not without paying attention to composition, lighting, balance, exposure, and all those technical stuff. And yet proclaims his works as SP solely because they were shot on the streets.
*difficulty faced: keeping on track with the rules of photography amidst the spontaneity of SP
(2) The paranoid shy type. He who can't lift his camera up to his eye around strangers even when a grandeous moment is unfolding in front of him for the fear of being called a creep/try-hard/pedo/manyak/spy/noob (denial. we all know the feel). He often misses to shoot the decisive moments, instead he just watches them come and go (with a twitch in his heart, knowing those moments will never repeat themselves. ever. again).
*difficulty faced: uneasiness in shooting in public spaces
Or you can be fluctuating between these two types. Depending on your mood and confidence level. Just like me. At first I was the shy type. I even sweat heavily when I was outside with my camera slung around me. Man, the tension was unbearable. haha. But then I got over it but got too trigger happy. Which I later realized was just as bad.
"drop mo muna ang word na STREET at mag focus ka dun sa kakabit nitong word na PHOTOGRAPHY. Alam mo na marahil kung ano yun. Once na ma-master mo ang 2nd word na yan, para mo na din na master ang SP dahil ang SP ay Photography in its simpliest form."
*rough translation:"(referring to street photography).. For the meantime, drop the word STREET and focus on mastering PHOTOGRAPHY, instead. Once you've nailed that, SP will be much easier to do since SP is photography in its simplest form."-Leanne Jazul (Founder, Usapang Kalye)
*This was the most influencial advice I got while trying to learn SP. And the one that made me realize how difficult SP truly is. It was one of the comments of Leanne on a photo which I posted on Usapang Kalye (more commonly known as UK, an FB forum which critiques works, and discusses and teaches SP in the most straightforward [read: brutally honest] way). And it was what pushed me to revisit and rediscover the basics of photography in the context of the streets - rules of composition, lighting, balance, visual literacy & design,etc, which all the while I thought I have already mastered. Honestly, the lessons I've learned from UK made a great impact to my SP learning process. The streettogs there were the ones which made me realize my wrongs and lead me to the right track (since I was once mislead and went astray. haha). So yea, BIG THANKS to UK!
Hope you got my point, BTW. In case not, I repeat, SP is not easy. Go ahead and see for yourself. ;)
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