Photog Blog!
Taking authentic travel street portraits is both daunting and difficult. But it’s not underwater rocket surgery. American photographer and photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt famously said, “It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” This little play on words isn’t just clever; it’s the essence of most travel street portraits.
It’s difficult to capture the extraordinary in the mundane if you don’t click with the people you’re taking photos of. You need to have a genuine interest and appreciation of your subject to bring the same feeling out in your photographs. When you can do this, you can showcase the unique aspects of a city or culture and capture the many faces that make the stories of a nation or community.
So, how do you imbue authenticity in your travel street portraiture? Let’s find the solution to getting that click right.
Authenticity Reveals Respect, Experience, and Cultural Appreciation
Authenticity is a buzzword at the moment, but it’s always been one in photography. However, being authentic is a fairly nuanced and elusive quality that can be difficult to capture in visual art. Yet, you’ll find that the best work almost always possesses it.
Authentic street portraits are true to the subject’s nature. They are about meeting them where they are, enhancing what makes them unique, and being careful not to project your own ideas about who they are or what they should be in the moment.
When traveling and experiencing different cultures, class systems, and historic backgrounds, being mindful about how you portray them is key. Smile, show respect, and have an open mind when encountering people on your travels. In situations where permission seems the right way to go, this approach will garner more positive reactions and lead to a more relaxed subject.
How to Capture Authentic Street Portraits Around the World
Being a good portrait photographer is largely about having a good eye for opportunity and knowing how to connect with people as you travel. It’s also about being prepared for anything and allowing your instincts to guide you.
If you’re gearing up for a street photography project abroad or are a little rusty on the process, use these tips to achieve authentic, compelling shots from those who came before you.
1. Learn About a Destination Before you Visit
Obviously it’s not advisable to enter a foreign country blind to its history, culture or people — especially as a photographer wanting to capture those very things. Performing a bit of research before your trip can help prepare you for important cultural norms and inspire you about how to approach your project.
Remember, street portrait photography is very often an intimate experience. Strangers won’t always trust you (would you :), and that’s OK. But you can win them over by showing them that you’re here for more than just a quick snap or two and a buck when you get back home. It will be much easier to strike meaningful connections that result in good work if you have some background knowledge. Learn some of the local language, even if it is just hello and thank you and say cheese and you’re lovely, and understand any basic customs or traditions that you should respect and adhere to. It pays off.
2. Ask Before You Shoot?
This is a tough one, as travel photography combines a mix of styles. At times, it includes a documentary or photojournalist type of shot, where asking permission or posing someone is not practical. Street photography purists would not call it street at all. Once you’ve asked permission, you have lost that candid moment you hoped to catch.
So, if you want to capture authentic street portraits you need to know what you are after, and you need to read the room. You’ll notice that people’s attitudes change as you travel from place to place and depend on culture, customs, notions of privacy, and personal space. In India, taking photos of women on the street without asking for permission can potentially lead to serious repercussions. In the UAE it’s illegal!
Bruce Gilden, an iconic street photographer based in Brooklyn, New York, is famous for his intimate (some say ambush) approach to capturing strangers on the street. He controversially admitted that when it came to street photography, “I have no ethics,” but he also said, “I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them, or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images, I live with them.” Bruce has a lot of house guests.
This unique take on street portrait photography is probably why Gilden captures such rawness and honesty in his subjects. He understands his connection to them and allows it to guide his photographic work, thus achieving a more realistic outcome.
Here’s a look at two very different travel portraits taken on the street. The gorgeous color image that has graced the cover of more than one photography magazine, was taken by fine art travel photographer, David Lazar, with obvious permission granted. The gritty BW image was taken on the streets of Phnom Penh by documentary shooter Bennett Stevens. No permission necessary!
3. Create a Visual Narrative
Being a great travel photographer takes time, and getting great portraits on the street takes a lot of work. It is not always easy to slip into a mindset where you can clearly see the potential for a shot that tells a story, and often, the moments in which you do are fleeting. Dealing with rejection can be hard at first, but you have to keep at it and learn to use it as motivation.
Some of the world’s greatest street photographers spend years focusing purely on practicing the art of subtle observation. French-American photographer Elliott Erwitt once said:
“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
Once you have gotten permission to photograph someone, or permission to be part of a particular environment which is even better, (a group of street hawkers, for example) it is important to consider the context in which you are capturing them as a person or persons. Consider how the environment, surrounding atmosphere, people, and situations impact the moment you share with your subject. What role are they playing in the story you are telling? What role are you playing as the observer? Is it affecting your subjects? If so, be patient. You will be surprised at how quickly the forget about you!
Asking yourself these questions can help you create a visual narrative that is true to the individual whose portrait you are taking and true to you as the photographer, the storyteller behind the lens.
4. Get Closer
Once you have someone’s permission (explicit or tacit) to take their portrait, don’t be shy about getting closer to them for a more intimate shot. Distant or mid range environmental portraits have their own charm, but there is something about an up-close-and-personal perspective that works for street portraits, especially if you’re shooting in a crowded space.
The wrinkles on the face of a flower seller, the sweat on a street food cook’s brow, or the hands of a tradesman at work all add a narrative to your photo and show true character.
5. Shoot in Aperture Priority Mode
When taking spur-of-the-moment street portraits, it helps to keep your camera in aperture priority mode. This will enable you to capture high-quality photos in a range of settings, lighting situations, and environments, keeping your work true to the nature of its surroundings.
Once you’ve put your camera into aperture priority mode, it is best to adjust the shutter speed to match your preferred pace manually. Manually adjusted ISO settings can help you create a more nuanced visual narrative specific to your subjects as they shift.
6. Keep Your Camera Charged and Mind Ready
French photographer and artist Henri Cartier-Bresson was renowned for his quick eye and decisive, creative approach to street portraits. He urges:
“There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative. Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”
Cartier-Bresson’s words highlight the ephemeral nature of great street portrait opportunities and remind us that being ready to capture them spontaneously can be the key to more authentic portraits during travel.
You never know who you will encounter or what kind of situation you may stumble upon—but being ready to capture it at a moment’s notice pays off. Keeping your camera’s battery charged and within immediate reach is just a good habit. In addition to preventing you from missing out on great photographic opportunities, your camera is always safe where you can see it and ready for action 24/7.
7. Stay True to Your Work
French-American photographer and filmmaker William Klein is known for his uniquely ironic visual style. He is famous for promoting a decidedly individualist stance on creative work, stating, “Be yourself. I much prefer seeing something, even if it is clumsy, that doesn’t look like somebody else’s work.” Check out the brilliant documentary about Klein with Klein, linked on the Luminous “Films on Photography” page. Lot’s of gems there.
Klein’s words are a good reminder that trusting your instincts and capturing moments or people that resonate with you is always worth a try.
99% of all the street portraits you take will not be masterpieces, and that’s to be expected. Staying true to your vision and following your intuition means that your work will always be original, and originality is the key to authentic photography. Being motivated enough to be patient with yourself cannot be overemphasized.
8. Shoot Your Shot
Being a traveling street portrait photographer can be an exciting and fulfilling way to capture the world at large. However, there’s a lot to learn about portrait photography. When you throw in the travel and street side, it becomes a multi-layered neo-art-form that requires a whole lot more than a camera and a plane ticket.
On Luminous Journeys Photo Tour Workshops, they spend a fair amount of time teaching and practicing the art of travel portraiture. By being honest, respectful, inquisitive, and engaging with an authentic smile of your own, your street portraits will only get better and better, and one day be indistinguishable from pro level. That’s a combination that every amateur travel photographer dreams of.
Comments are closed.