Mediocre Street Photography

You think that you’re a failure as street photographer, do you? Well, you probably are. What’s wrong with that? Go ahead and fail. But fail with wit, fail with style. That may be the only way any of us will ever learn.

Social media is flooded with subpar street photography. It’s a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares anymore; nobody goes beyond their own carefully preserved optimism; their comfortable little God damn mediocrity. Just pointing in the direction of a person does not qualify as photography.

Equipment for Street Photography

Like many other things in life, less is more. You want to become invisible. In fact, entirely ignored. Power, time, gravity, love. The forces that really kick ass are all invisible. Manual film cameras are less obtrusive than bulky and heavy DSLRs.

Use prime lenses. My favorite length is 35mm —I like to capture the action from within, and when you consistently use the same focal length, you become aware of what your photo will look like even without raising your camera.

Street Photography is extremely rewarding and a great way to meet wonderful people —ordinarily, better than going to the woods alone.

Give it a try,

— F. Robleda