Street Photography can be a very dynamic and complex genre. How then, do you determine what makes for a good photo? Is there a formula that we can use?
...in Street, you only get one shot, and once that fleeting moment is gone, it's gone forever.
Street photography is about capturing the authenticity of humanity in our public and semi-public spaces. There are no lights to set-up. No models to pose. No weather or ideal shooting conditions to plan for. In addition to this, moments and humans, as they move through space and time, can’t be easily replicated. It's not a landscape photo where you can come back next week and give it another shot if the light wasn't quite right - in Street, you only get one shot, and once that fleeting moment is gone, it's gone forever.
Because of all of this, not only is ‘good’ street photography difficult to do, but what constitutes a ‘good’ street photo, can also be a challenge to describe, and try to break-down into a theory or formula that others can apply and learn from.
In no way am I saying that what follows is that sacred formula, or perfect theory that encapsulates all that impressive and meaningful street photos are composed of. I think that one of the greatest strengths of this genre is that it tends to break all of the rules of other photography genres. Ultimately, photography comes back to art, and art can and should absolutely be anything we can imagine, and beyond. Also, I’m always tweaking and adjusting the below, myself. So take it with a grain of film.
With that said, my many years of shooting street photography has taught me that there is a general acronym that you can apply to your photos in order to judge the overall appeal and greatness of your work. I got some of these ideas from an old youtube video I viewed some years back with a fellow street photographer giving a presentation on this very subject - what makes for a good street photo. The acronym that he used was DIE. Through the years, I’ve expanded that to DIMES. Allow me to explain.
DIMES stands for Design, Information, Moment, Emotion, and Soul. Generally speaking, If you can combine all of those in one photo (or series of photos), then in my opinion, you probably have some decent work on your hands. Let’s break it down.
Design
...good Street needs to go well beyond just a pretty and technically correct shot.
Design refers to the more technical and mostly superficial aspects of the shot. Things like composition, light, shadow, colour, lines, contrast, luminosity, balance etc. Design could also refer to things like the settings you used for the shot (aperture, shutter, focal length etc), as well as the gear (lens, camera). A lot of photographers love and excel at this aspect of photography, and I think that this is one of the first layers of photography, and maybe art in general, that a layperson would think of when they think of photography. Nothing wrong with this layer, but I think that good Street needs to go well beyond just a pretty and technically correct shot.
Information
This has to do with the story you are trying to tell with your work. What's the narrative? Is this about love? Hate? A critique on capitalist society? Is it about the life of a man living on the streets? A banana peel mingling with an apple core? Or maybe just a child lost in their own inner-world. Are you documenting something? Regardless, having focus or purpose for your shot is a great way to add much more substance and depth to your work.
Emotion
Most photography is about emotion. But capturing humanity in the streets naturally means that emotion is going to be a huge part of most images you capture - because after all, us humans are (very) emotional beings. Your photo should not only convey and capture the emotions of your subject(s), but it should also make your viewer empathize and feel some of those emotions themselves, as they engage in your work. I can't tell you how many times I’ve seen photos with great composition and design elements, and maybe even a decent story, but for some reason or another, I don't feel anything much when I view the photo. Imagine sitting through a movie at a theatre, but not feeling anything throughout - a photo should evoke something in us.
Moment
...the more you can notice and capture the big AND small moments, and everything in-between, the stronger and more engaging your work will be.
This one is closely related to information in that it can be part of a broader story or narrative that you are trying to tell, but I think that it’s often so important in street photography in-particular, that it deserves its own ‘layer’ or acronym in this formula. Capturing a special or unique moment can often be one of the more challenging aspects of Street, especially if you’re looking for those grand moments that are really rare and fleeting - such as a street brawl, or a crime being committed. I think that because 99% of the time while we’re on the streets, none of these grandiose moments happen, it's important for us street photographers to look for and capture the smaller, everyday moments that happen all around us, and most of us take for granted. For example, a child playing hide and seek with a sibling, though the legs of parents. Or an elderly couple, elegantly strolling down a main street, arms and hands connected. It doesn't always have to be once in a lifetime happenings - maybe leave that for documentary and photojournalism - but the more you can notice and capture the big AND small moments, and everything in-between, the stronger and more engaging your work will be.
Soul
All of the greatest and most celebrated street photographers had this one factor, perhaps more than any of the above, in-common. Somehow, someway, they were able to capture the human soul.
Yes soul. The hardest to capture. And also the hardest to describe the meaning of. This one, perhaps more than the other layers, is the most subjective. The idea of soul can often be a highly contentious thing, and yet, even cross-culturally, we all agree that this vague but essential notion lies at the core of our humanity - both individually, and collectively. Whatever it means to you, I think we all know a deeply soulful image when we see one. All of the greatest and most celebrated street photographers had this one factor, perhaps more than any of the above, in-common. Somehow, someway, they were able to capture the human soul. How did they do it? How do you do it? Again, that can be highly subjective, but authenticity, deep empathy, compassion, and curiosity for your subjects, and the world around you is a great starting point. Also never be afraid to turn the figurative (or maybe literal) lens inward, and explore some of the deeper aspects of yourself. The more you can understand who you really are, the more you can find and capture that in others.
Aaaand there it is - all five layers of what I think makes for capturing and producing good work, in this complex and incredibly diverse, beautiful and dynamic genre of street photography. Of course, and again I emphasize, this is not meant to be any kind of objective truth, or a sacred formula - just some guidelines, a framework, a starting point for when you feel a little overwhelmed or unsure about your work. I use this especially when I’m staring at an image or series and trying to determine if I like it or not - we’ve all been there, and those rose or tint coloured glasses are especially difficult to take off when it's our own work that we are judging, and that objectivity feels out of reach.
Something else to keep in mind is that none of the above layers are meant to work in silos - meaning that they can be combined together, mixed and matched, with some layers taking precedence over others or vice versa. You may for example, have an image where the Design elements of colour really work well to enhance the Emotion aspects, and perhaps the light guides the eyes towards the subject, and in-turn helps to make the subject and story stronger. Feel free to look at all of this more like a spectrum, or even a matrix, rather than individual aspects.
At the end of the day, as I’ve hinted at above, art is subjective, and street photography, by nature of the genre, doesn't need rules to conform to. That said, if you can combine all of these layers and formulas into one image, and they are all on-point, then you likely have yourself a keeper or two. Of course, if something ‘sparks joy’ in you, that's mostly all that matters.
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