Taking it to the streets
I have always found street photography to be incredibly intimidating.
Not only are you potentially taking pictures of strangers, but what if they see you? And worse, what if they yell at you?
Luckily, my first time doing street photography alone was nothing like what I described above. I was in New York City to watch my partner run the NYC Marathon. The day before the marathon, while Andres was still sleeping, I decided to take to the streets and try street photography. I was nervous since cameras can evoke strong emotions from people, but I felt ready to take on the challenge. I posted up in Times Square near the red stairs and clicked away!
The chairs near where I was sitting.
Getting Comfortable
As I sat, observed, and clicked away, I got more and more comfortable with the idea of taking photos of strangers. I decided that when I took a picture, if someone saw me, I would smile. Most of the time, people didn't even notice, but when they did, the smile did the trick. Being a portrait and event photographer, street photography feels out of my comfort zone.
The next challenge I wanted to conquer was asking someone to model for me. Luckily, I saw a couple tying to take photos of each other and I worked up the courage to offer to take pictures with my camera. They agreed and were thankful, but I was still nervous so I didn't get to model them as I would have normally. Regardless, the photos came out beautiful and they were so happy that they immediately posted them to Instagram!
The experience
All in all, my first, solo street photography venture was a success. I still have a ton of room for growth, but I feel more confident in going out to the street to take photos. This really pushed me to look for subjects and take a photo without thinking. It also helped me work on my ability to focus a subject quickly and to take the photo well in one or two shots. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to capture the beauty in life, not just with posed models and portrait photography, but through spontaneous moments and the everyday beauty you can find out on the street.
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