Call me stupid, but I’ve never been able to really understand what street photography means. Is it random pictures of strangers? Urban pictures? People living their daily lives? What defines a good photo in that category? For example, a good wildlife photo is one that shows an up close view of an animal in it’s environment, a good landscape photo brings out the beauty of a landscape with an attempt to make it look grand and dramatic. What sort of general criteria is there for street photography since it’s all the hype now
For me, there are two types. Street photography with unique moments and artistic (contentious I know) renderings of human life on the street (think Joel Meyerowitz, Alex Webb, Martin Parr, Saul Leiter) . Then there is bad Instagram street photography, or dare I say snapshots, of random people on the street making gestures or scenes that are just not interesting. All falls under street photography but some people are just better at it than most.
This. There aren’t any thoughts behind most of Instagram street photo.
Is it a question of evolution? The good photographers maybe initially were trying to be unplanned and somewhat random, but end up developing styles and themes that are theirs. This is due to introspective and attention to what they capture.
People set out on instagram with the goal of being cool and edgy which is not focused on the art. They never get to a point where the art is developed because they are not humble enough as the street photography is more about them than anything else.
Sure, but you just described everything ever. The NBA has incredible basketball players. Your local pickup game at true park, no so much.
Top tier professionals tend to be better at ___ than the average hobbyist.