Street Photography

Lesson Description

Students will explore the historic streets of downtown Savannah to practice street photography. They will learn how to observe and capture candid moments, urban landscapes, and the interplay of light, shadow, and texture. The project emphasizes storytelling, ethical considerations, and technical skills. Students will present a curated series of photos reflecting Savannah's essence through their perspective.

Students will return to class to edit and curate their work, presenting a final collection that demonstrates a thoughtful narrative of Savannah's street life.

Learning Goals

By the end of this lesson, students will:

Understand and apply the principles of street photography, including candid capture, framing, and timing.
Develop storytelling skills through visual imagery.
Experiment with composition techniques like rule of thirds, leading lines, and juxtaposition in real-world environments.
Practice ethical and legal considerations in photographing public spaces.
Use editing software to refine and present their work.

Vocabulary

Candid Photography: Capturing moments naturally without posed subjects.
Juxtaposition: Placing contrasting elements together in a frame to create visual interest or tell a story.
Leading Lines: Lines within a photo that guide the viewer's eye to the subject.
Narrative: The story or meaning conveyed through a series of photographs.
Ethics in Photography: The moral principles guiding behavior and choices when photographing people and spaces.
Composition: The arrangement of elements in a photograph.

Essential Questions

How can street photography tell the story of a place and its people?
What ethical responsibilities do photographers have when capturing public spaces?
How can composition and timing elevate the impact of a street photograph?
In what ways does editing influence the mood and narrative of an image?

Big Ideas

Photography is a powerful tool for storytelling and cultural documentation.
Ethical considerations are integral to responsible photography.
The streets are dynamic and unpredictable spaces for creativity.

Expected Outcomes

Students will:

Create a portfolio of 0 high-quality street photographs showcasing diverse compositions and subjects.
Demonstrate an understanding of storytelling through visual imagery.
Articulate ethical considerations in their work during discussions and critiques.
Utilize editing software to enhance photos while maintaining authenticity.
Present their work in a critique session, reflecting on their creative and technical choices.

Street photography. It sounds dirty. It sounds urban.

Behind every syllable is a honking horn, a toothless grin, a siren wailing in the background. Chewing gum under your shoe, the smells of the street wafting up to hit you in the nose.

Street photography is a harsh name for a beautiful pursuit. To tame the chaos. To frame the cacophony of modern life. To capture what it means to be alive.

Street photography is more than a phrase; it is a way of seeing, a way of experiencing life. Sports photography can be street photography on the field. Fashion photography can be street photography backstage. At its very essence street photography is capturing life without interrupting it. Witnessing and capturing a once-in-a-lifetime moment as it unfolds in front of you. A pursuit that intrinsically means photography without permission.

So street photography can be scary.

There are three important elements that make up a successful street photographer—probably more, actually—but for this assignment we will concentrate on three:

• Controlling composition in a fluid environment

• Controlling fear

• Controlling the visual narrative

On the street, you don't have a backdrop, no seamless, no directing of light. The world is your backdrop and you have to figure out how to frame your subjects within the space they and you inhabit. This means paying attention to the light, to buildings, to walls, to negative space.

Street photography terrifies me. That's why I practice it every day. Push yourself outside the boundaries of comfort. Photograph on the subway. Shoot that man sitting at the bus stop, or in Starbucks as the setting sun hits his coffee cup. Don't listen to that inner voice that says stop. Go beyond it.

Once you have the images, figuring out how to say something is the hard part. Are all your images random snapshots or a collection that speaks to your heart? How do you start seeing and shooting something cohesive?

SHOULD I MAKE THIS PHOTOGRAPH?

Street photography is about exploring. Not just exploring the world around you but also your role as a photographer, as an observer, as an artist. It's important to push yourself outside your comfort zone. You don't have to answer the question about why you're photographing—that insane drive within us all to create and document. We are nostalgic creatures after all.

You will have to answer to yourself—late at night amidst angst and regret—why didn't you make that picture? Why didn't you make that image of the old man in the café window? Why didn't you make the image of the mother and child sitting across from you on the train?

Fear. Uncomfortable, unfathomable self-doubt.

It's what holds back each and every photographer in every situation.

“Should I make this photograph? Is it wrong? Am I taking advantage? What if they say something? What if they get angry? What if someone looks at me strangely? What if I am chased down the street?"

Here are a few ideas:

Shoot with a friend or friends. Having people with you always helps with what I call shame displacement. Ever notice how groups of teenagers are always loud and rowdy? It's because they aren't embarrassed or scared when they're with a group. So to with photography.
Give yourself an assignment. Today, only pictures of couples holding hands. Or people drinking tea, or steam vents. An assignment is a way to streamline your thought process and give you more focus.
Pick a place instead of wandering. If you are a smoker or coffee drinker grab a cigarette or mug (this helps with not looking like a stalker, standing around the same place with a camera). Stand in one place and wait for people to walk through your frame.
This is the most important: Don't shoot for this assignment. Don't shoot for anything other than you. Don't make an image of an empty street because you think you have to. Make an image that is hard. Make an image that twists in you mind. If you start to walk away and regret it immediately, turn around and push yourself

Sites to Review

Standards

VAHSPH.CR.1 - Visualize and generate ideas for creating works of art.
VAHSPH.CR.2 Choose from a range of materials and methods of traditional and contemporary artistic practices to plan and create works of art
VAHSPH.CR.3 Engage in an array of processes, media, techniques, and technology through experimentation, practice, and persistence.
VAHSPH.CR.4 Incorporate formal and informal components to create works of art.
VAHSPH.CR.5 Reflect on, revise, and refine works of art considering relevant traditional and contemporary practices as well as personal artistic ideation.
VAHSPH.PR.1 Plan, prepare, and present works of art for exhibition in school, virtual environment, and/or portfolio presentation.
VAHSPH.RE.1 Reflect on the context of personal works of art in relation to community, culture, and the world.
VAHSPH.RE.2 Critique personal works of art and the artwork of others, individually and collaboratively, using a variety of approaches.
VAHSPH.RE.3 Engage in the process of art criticism to make meaning of works of art and increase visual literacy.

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