What Actually is Street Photography?

Reading time: 6 minutes

Pretty much every photographer who makes photos on the street has an opinion on what is, or isn’t, classed as street photography. This is often hotly debated and it can be quite a polarising subject. 

It’s understandable though because as artists we are always in search of an identity and a style that’s our own to show to the world and sometimes definitions, or a framework to work in, can help us work out what our identity is and the direction we want to explore as a creative. 

If you’re a beginner street photographer looking to find out what it’s all about it can be quite confusing and there are a lot of opinions floating around, so in this article I’m going to explore the definition of street photography and show you some of the different types of street photography that you can experiment with yourself.

So, what is street photography? 

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines street photography as: 

“A genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place”

And I think that’s quite a solid, concise definition. Next I asked Chat GPT for its definition of street photography to see what AI comes up with and it’s definition was:

“Street photography is a genre of photography that captures candid, unposed moments of everyday life in public spaces, often emphasising the human element and the unique interactions between people and their urban environment.”

Pretty good! And finally here is my definition of street photography which often changes but for now is:

‘Candid photographs taken in a public space that capture humanity in some way’

By candid I mean photographs that are not staged. For me that’s the main rule, I just don’t stage my street photographs. Generally the photos I make while out of my home that includes humanity in some way, I define as street photography. That could be showing humans literally, showing things made by humans, or both. 

I clearly make my work under that definition and that’s why I call myself a street photographer. Now this doesn’t mean the photos I make are good street photographs, or street photography that you want to look at, and that’s OK - art is subjective after all. I think what makes a good street photograph is a topic for another time, though I’ll touch on this a bit later on.

Carolyn Drake who’s a Magnum photographer says: 

“I think every photographer should define what the street means to them in their own way. There’s no one way of defining street photography.”

And to be honest there is no right or wrong way of defining street photography and most importantly you should never feel boxed in by definitions or people’s opinions at all. You may take photos in a public place and not define yourself as a street photographer and not call your work street photography which is absolutely fine or you might make work that you call street photography even though others don’t agree, and that’s absolutely fine too.

Is street photography legal?

A quick note on the legality of street photography, it’s perfectly legal in the UK to take photos of people in public, and there’s a long and celebrated history of photographers documenting life on the streets here. However always make sure to check the law in your own country, or when you travel, because when it comes to photography of people in a public place it’s not always accepted.

There is always a conversation around the ethics of street photography but that’s a topic for another article.

What kinds of street photography are there?

Now that we’ve defined street photography broadly, what kinds of street photography can you try that fall under that definition? There are a bunch of different ‘sub genres’ of street photography and the following are a few themes and types I like to explore in my street photography that you may want to experiment with too: 

Documentary - This is when you include environmental context and tell a story about a place or subject or both. Common themes explored in documentary style street photography are social and political problems such as injustice, conflict and inequality.

Abstract - This is where you can include textures, such as reflections, shooting through objects and masking areas to make less figurative more abstract work. 

Subject/Story Driven - Where you make the focus of your image a person in a more figurative way. You may want to try and capture moments of emotion and try to portray the story of a person or people in a scene.

Light and Shadow - You can play with light and shadow to frame your subjects as well as create mystery, mood and texture. I made a video on tips for light and shadow in street photography you can check out here if you like. 

Details - This is where you focus more on details on the street, maybe using a longer focal length to isolate interesting  elements of people or textures.

Silhouettes - Using harsh light sources and dark shadows you can create silhouettes which can make for captivating images.

Minimalist - This is where you make more stripped back images that are more simple and less complex often highlighting the scale of an environment, usually shot on a wider lens. This is a great type to try for beginners as it allows you to be further away from your subject and it can be less nerve wracking to do that when you’re starting out.

Night/Low Light - Night street photography is a whole different beast, but it’s a lot of fun. Easier in the colder months when it gets darker earlier. Check out my video for night street photography tips if you’re interested.

Travel Photography - One of my favourite kinds of photography because, well, I love to travel. With travel street photography the aim is to incorporate a sense of place to the images and find the stories you want to tell from where you’re visiting.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but just a brief overview of the kinds of styles you might want to experiment with.

What makes a great street photograph?

Well, that’s the million dollar question and I think that deserves a whole article itself but in a nutshell, for me what makes a great street photo is a combination of four things: timing, composition, light and story - if you can get a strong sense of those four things than the chances are you’ll make a great image. 

Great street photos are like a little treat, you look at one and it makes you feel something, and while that’s very hard to achieve, the process of trying to make those little delights that we call great street photographs is just the best thing to spend your time doing in my opinion. 

Street photography at its core is all about creativity and connecting with the world around you. Ultimately how you define your photography and define yourself as an artist is up to you. If you choose to call yourself a street photographer or a photographer full stop that is absolutely fine or if you prefer a different term like visual artist or however you want to label what you do then that is absolutely fine too. Anyone that tells you otherwise isn’t worth replying to.