So I’m going to Paris in a few weeks, and I will be bringing my new 70-200mm f4 for the trip.
However, i have this thought in my head that I don’t really know what to photograph. I usually take pictures of people and situations with people in them, as those are memories I want to hang on to.
When I see a lot of street photographers on YouTube etc, I feel like they take some well framed and pretty, but also irrelevant images. Would they ever go back to an image of a busdriver they snapped at an intersection?
I’m not putting those people down, but I personally have a hard time seeing the real value in that. I guess that simply making a nice shot is a great feeling. And a really nice shot might o ly happen once every 1000 images.
But what makes a nice image to you? Can the image stand alone? Or does it have to be part of a series with a certain theme to it?
I’m looking for some fresh perspectives on street photography that will get me excited for my trip :)
To me, if I’m travelling, my photography is about capturing memories that I can look back on.
That being said I will always look for a unique angle or perspective. Take pictures at your favourite tourist destinations, but try to be creative with it.
For pictures of people on the street, I agree that it’s a bit irrelevant to photograph something (e.g. a sidewalk with pedestrians) if that thing could just as eaily have been captured at home. If it does not convey a sense of the place you are in and have spent money to travel to and experience, why take it?
However, if in your example of a bus driver, if you could see that the writing is in French, and the next stop display is visible, that could provide context and place the image as part of your travel snaps.
So to me travel photography is about creating interesting photos that are contextualised within the image or series of images, and with that context they will add to your memories to look back on!
Have a great trip!