I haven't found a clear-cut definition of street photography, but we can recognise it when we see it. Here are some examples from the experts - Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Elliot Erwitt and (the lesser known) Danny Lyons.
So what makes the above photographs examples of the genre?
- includes a person or people
- candid (not posed)
- taken at the decisive / critical moment regarding action / emotion
- in a public place (the street being a typical location)
- difficult to reproduce (is therefore special)
- alludes to a universal / easily understood theme or concept
You might be inclined to add "and taken as a B+W image". Indeed many of the famous images in this genre are B+W and for four good reasons: good B+W film has been around longer than good colour film, early B+W film was better in low light than colour, colour can be a complicating element when taking a quick shot and finally B+W film is easier to manipulate in the printing process. But nowadays colour is just as capable as B+W (film or digital) and can be readily manipulated.
For examples of my efforts in the Photography: Street Department, go back through the images I've posted on this blog or check out my 'South America' blog. These are all in colour.
For fun, I've taken a couple of my images and re-edited them into B+W.
The first image was taken in Buenos Aires, of a group of street musicians. The second image was taken on a bushwalk (near Adelaide) with friends.
Spoiler
The third image of the attractive young couple kissing was taken by Robert Doisneau in 1950. For many years people wondered who the couple was, to be captured forever in this iconic image. From time to time, a man or women came forward claiming it was they in the photo. Some claimants even wanted to sue! In 2005 Doisneau revealed (admitted?) it was a posed photo; the girl was a model he hired and the guy was her then boyfriend. The image remains iconic but it cannot remain as a classic example of street photography.
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