The Essentials of Street Photography

by James Maher

Explore the streets with The Essentials of Street Photography. This 141 page guide is not only about teaching you how to technically approach the streets, how to edit your work, how to overcome your fears, or how to get sharp, close-up candid shots without getting punched, although it will teach you these things.

It is about teaching you how to conceptually approach your work so that it has something to say.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

231 pages, ebook

First published December 5, 2012

About the author

James Maher is a lifelong New Yorker and has worked as a street and portraiture photographer in New York since 2003. He loves dumplings and can tell you where to get the best Chinese food in New York, but he's a terrible driver. He writes about photography, New York, and marketing for creative freelancers.

Reviews

[Luis · Rating 4 out of 5]

...I was hoping for compelling street photography images that exemplified the material discussed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the insightful interviews more. The aforementioned give a perspective of how nuanced, and based on personality, photography can be; in this case, how a photographer's view of the world functions as a filter through how he approaches the execution of and final editing of his work. The tips at end of the book are spot on, especially the one on overcoming fear. I can victoriously claim a strategy all the vein presented helped me early on.

Personally, I wish James Maher would had addressed the issues of empathy and respect more in this book. If you are going to shoot people, you really need to care about people. Many folks doing street have no concern for the people they photograph which eventually shows; they are just out to make a name for themselves, if they can. Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the correct thing to do. Yes, subjective and debatable but food for thought for you aspiring street togs.

This book is primarily for beginners attracted to street photography; however, more experienced street togs will come away with some keen guidance. I like that the author wrote nothing in stone: I am so sick and tired of the "20 Rules" and so forth of what is and isn't street photography, and the interviews will confirm this for you. I came away with much to meditate on in spite of doing street photography for several years. Some of my street work has been sold, exhibited, and used in several types of mediums from magazines, textbooks, book covers, and publicity, across the globe. I call it more documentary than street. For me street refers to where the type of documenting is going on. Yes, it comes down to capturing life where and when it's happening.

[N. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely not your average "how to man up and photograph complete strangers on the streets" title (though that very topic is dealt with in one of its chapters), this is a real treatise on how diverse and inclusive street photography can actually be.

"Inclusive" because it practically knocks out the false belief (preached ad nauseam by an unfortunately growing number of snobbish, mostly mediocre, photographers) that mortgaging your house in order to afford premium gear (Leicas, Hasselblads, fast Canon L lenses and the like) is the only way to go in order to join their "selected" brotherhood; as Maher and his interviewees show that any gear will do - you don't even need a tack sharp wide-angle lens for that. Mind you, and to the aforementioned old men's utter disgust, we are told by both the author and the some of the other equally-well established photographers, that even telephotos are a valid option, when it comes to tackling the subject. (though looking in retrospect and into my own portfolio, I'd always suspected that).

"Diverse" because it deals with the most commonly-covered subjects found on similar titles but also with less pondered-over ones, such as why street photography still "doesn't cut it" with neither fine art buyers (damn you landscape photographers!) nor gallery curators.

So, all in all, this is a great, no-frills street photography book that manages to stand above the crowd in its entirety giving in the process advice (keep it simple!) good enough not only for this genre but maybe even others and life itself!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como fotógrafo callejero aficionado, me encontré con The Essentials of Street Photography en un momento en que estaba buscando mejorar mis habilidades. El libro me dio una buena base en los fundamentos de la fotografía callejera, y me ayudó a comprender mejor cómo tomar mejores fotos.

Me gusta especialmente la forma en que Maher explica los conceptos de composición, iluminación y técnica. Él usa ejemplos claros y concisos para ayudar a los lectores a comprender cómo aplicar estos conceptos en sus propias fotos.

También me gusta que Maher aborde temas más avanzados, como la ética de la fotografía callejera y cómo publicar sus fotos. Estos temas son importantes para cualquier fotógrafo callejero, y Maher los aborda de forma clara y concisa.

En general, creo que The Essentials of Street Photography es un libro excelente para cualquier persona que quiera aprender sobre la fotografía callejera. El libro es informativo, entretenido y fácil de leer.

[Shikhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hoped for cool street photos, but I liked the interviews even more. They show how personal photography can be, and how a photographer's perspective influences their work. I wish the book talked more about empathy and respect when photographing people. It's important to care about them, not just chase fame. This book is great for beginners into street photography, but even experienced folks can pick up useful tips. I like that the author doesn't set strict rules. It made me think a lot, even though I've been doing street photography for a while now. I see it more as documentary than just photography. It's about capturing life as it happens.

[Wojtek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second half is very good

The first half of the book feels like manual how to take sneaky photos.

Second half, interviews with photographers is actually very good and gives a lot of insight into street photography.

[Petrov · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m new to street photography

For me it was interesting reading. Interviews and suggestion for exercises are well worth to think of. The book is not technical.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read several articles by John. I purchased his book on street photography because his explanations of how he goes about his process were clear and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book for a new street photographer or one that is looking for a spark in their photography.

[Jami · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the form.

[Cheryl Crotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a subject that I have wanted to explore. I thought the details were very well written and shared. Now to go out and really put some of these techniques to use.