What Is Street Photography?

Street photography is that type of photography that captures the human essence in relation to the urban environment in a sincere way.

This is a very general definition. There is great controversy with what is and what is not street photography. So, in this article Yotvat Kariti, a street photographer, will leave you some generally accepted points of what is and what is not street photography:

· It is not a prepared or posed photograph.

· It is not necessary for a person to appear, but their footprint does, that it is evident that a person has passed through there and has left some kind of trace.

· It is a photograph that tells a story or conveys an emotion.

"If you can smell the street when looking at a photo, it is street photography," says Yotvat Kariti.

At first glance, street photography may seem straightforward. We all carry a camera with us when we go down the street, which makes it very accessible. However, according to Yotvat Kariti, taking a real street photograph, a good street photograph, is not that easy.

To avoid possible and typical confusion about what is and what is not street photography, here, Yotvat Kariti will make a couple of clarifications.



STREET PHOTOGRAPHY VS. DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY

It is possible to confuse street photography with documentary photography. However, although they share many aspects and the former can be understood as part of the latter, they have clear differences.

Yotvat Kariti indicates that street photography is spontaneous, while documentary requires prior research to send a clear message. The first is intended to excite, the second to vindicate or denounce.



STREET PHOTOGRAPHY VS. URBAN PHOTOGRAPHY

For many years they have been the same. However, Yotvat Kariti indicates that in recent times a new photographic style has emerged that requires a distinction and a separation so as not to confuse the true concept of street photography. It is urban photography that responds more to street photography than street photography.

Yotvat Kariti claims that in urban photography, the important thing is not the story or the emotion, but the technique and aesthetics. In addition, urban photography is based on prepared photographs, while street photography implies that it is a candid, spontaneous photograph, without any type of intervention. Make no mistake about it, yes, there will be photographs that can be understood as both a street and urban photo, but others in which the difference is very evident.

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