Street photography
The photographers
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Everybody street |
Jill Freedman"Jill Freedman is a well respected female photographer in New York, America. She is a photographer who document and in doing so has made award winning work which can be found in the museum of modern art located in New York." She has documented many things but I am most interested in her set of pictures where she documents the police of New York which is called "Street Cops"
“I hate cheap pictures. I hate pictures that make people look like they're not worth much, just to prove a photographer's point. I hate when they take a picture of someone pickin' their nose or yawning. It's so cheap. A lot of it is a big ego trip. You use people as props instead of as people.” Jill Freedman |
Freedman's work |
"A human touch" Jill Freedman
Describe the subject - what is going on in the image?
In the image a nyc cop is trying to help a woman who look like she's unconscious (maybe she's been muged or shot\stabed) . The cop looks as though he has seen this thing happen before the only difference is the victim. His hand is on her shoulder but what is he looking for in the distance?
Is the image in black and white or colour - what difference does this make? Sometimes when a picture is in colour the definition goes off and you loose interest in the photo so monochrome in this case suits. Mainly because things like the background contrasts lots with whats going on with the foreground because it is such a dark/deep colour. If this photo was in colour then the background would probably not be contrasting as such.
Describe the composition of the image - is it calm, still and clearly organised or is it full of action/violence/movement and a little bit chaotic? The situation looks quite mundane for the nyc cop (he's done this before) but from the perspective of the lady it looks calm. But somehow overall from the perspective of the audience it looks like an emergency that yes maybe this cop has dealt with once or twice before but still its an emergency.
Try to imagine where the photographer was standing/crouching - how close is s/he to the subject and what effect does this have? An image captures a moment in time where our hero (nyc cop) is saving a damsel in distress. But the hero wouldn't be known of if it wasn't for the photographer (Jill Freedman) she has blended in and just acted as if she wasn't the and so have the people around her.
Think about the angle of the viewpoint - looking straight on, tilted, up, down, across …? Was the photographer standing still or moving when the picture was made, do you think? I think the angle of which this photo was taken was a discrete angle and one that was not noticed by the subjects.
How much information is captured in the image? - has the photographer used a wide angle lens to suck in lots of information, or has s/he used a lens to draw us closer to the subject and isolate it from the background? As you can see the picture is very closed in on the two main subjects. In the photo itself there isn't a lot of information (i.e.: the black background and the the fact the picture is in monochrome) apart from the two people.
If you had to give the photograph a title (other than the one it might already have) what would you call it and why? If I rename "a human touch" I would call it "a knight in new york city". you see its a play on word because the photo is taken at night time and the police could be seen as a modern day knight (gentlemanly,kind,loyal,ect).
If you could ask the photographer 2 questions to help you understand the image better, what would they be?
1) what is your favourite photo that you have taken?
2) which photo do you feel most proud of?
In the image a nyc cop is trying to help a woman who look like she's unconscious (maybe she's been muged or shot\stabed) . The cop looks as though he has seen this thing happen before the only difference is the victim. His hand is on her shoulder but what is he looking for in the distance?
Is the image in black and white or colour - what difference does this make? Sometimes when a picture is in colour the definition goes off and you loose interest in the photo so monochrome in this case suits. Mainly because things like the background contrasts lots with whats going on with the foreground because it is such a dark/deep colour. If this photo was in colour then the background would probably not be contrasting as such.
Describe the composition of the image - is it calm, still and clearly organised or is it full of action/violence/movement and a little bit chaotic? The situation looks quite mundane for the nyc cop (he's done this before) but from the perspective of the lady it looks calm. But somehow overall from the perspective of the audience it looks like an emergency that yes maybe this cop has dealt with once or twice before but still its an emergency.
Try to imagine where the photographer was standing/crouching - how close is s/he to the subject and what effect does this have? An image captures a moment in time where our hero (nyc cop) is saving a damsel in distress. But the hero wouldn't be known of if it wasn't for the photographer (Jill Freedman) she has blended in and just acted as if she wasn't the and so have the people around her.
Think about the angle of the viewpoint - looking straight on, tilted, up, down, across …? Was the photographer standing still or moving when the picture was made, do you think? I think the angle of which this photo was taken was a discrete angle and one that was not noticed by the subjects.
How much information is captured in the image? - has the photographer used a wide angle lens to suck in lots of information, or has s/he used a lens to draw us closer to the subject and isolate it from the background? As you can see the picture is very closed in on the two main subjects. In the photo itself there isn't a lot of information (i.e.: the black background and the the fact the picture is in monochrome) apart from the two people.
If you had to give the photograph a title (other than the one it might already have) what would you call it and why? If I rename "a human touch" I would call it "a knight in new york city". you see its a play on word because the photo is taken at night time and the police could be seen as a modern day knight (gentlemanly,kind,loyal,ect).
If you could ask the photographer 2 questions to help you understand the image better, what would they be?
1) what is your favourite photo that you have taken?
2) which photo do you feel most proud of?
looking below
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Sometimes looking below can be more dramatic and interesting than a picture at ground level. It can give another side to and everyday story. and most of the time it can be more aesthetically pleasing than in a ground level image where you have the horizon, the ground, and the sky.
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reflections/shadow
Reflections and shadows are mysterious and can make the audience curious as to who\what is in the reflection. Sometimes you can't see whats in the reflection its just a dark shadowy silhouette of nothingness. Which is very aesthetically interesting.
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cropping
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Cropping an image down can be more interesting because you can focus on the colours and things that the photographer has spotted. And most of the time its quality not quantity when you are trying to find something good to photograph.
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What I leant from the film 'Everybody street'
Street photographers are unseen,stealthy,and do not draw attention to themselves. They are always on the look out for a good shot. And they blend into their environment of interest so that they can take photos more casually without any conflict happening. Street photographers like to take pictures of people who are not posing or aware that they are being photographed. They like to use simple equipment that is discrete and quick with taking a photo and easy to adjust simple things. Street photographers like the streets because so many unscripted strange things happen and usually it goes on unnoticed. Though street photography is in cities where police and ambulances are within 10 minuets range there are still dangers like someones reaction or depression from how hard life is for some people,there are many dangers. When a picture shows a snipit of someones life and hardship ,that is a successful piece of street photography.
Diagonals
Generally speaking diagonal lines are aesthetically pleasing when it comes to a photographs. It draws the audiences eye to the image because suddenly they can see lines where they are not directly drawn on. By having these diagonal lines it adds a sense difference and feels dynamic too. sometimes the lines lead to the main subject or object or sometimes they lead nowhere off the canvas and onto the wall
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My diagonals
Rule Of Thirds
A rule of thirds is like a rule of thumb. You do this by dividing the image into a grid. In this grid you can choose where and what is going to be the centre of the image that you are creating. The picture on the left shows how the rule works. The horizon is on the lowest horizontal line. And the tree is lined up with the cross over of two lines. Empty areas of sky and water are in the outer part of the grid in a L-shape.