Statement of intent by brian dry

Street Portraiture Statement of Intent

By Brian Dry

Statement of Intent Street Portraiture By Brian Dry Candidate Name: Title of Theme:

Brian Dry Street Portraiture

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be undertaken: To capture a minimum of 10 images for the first project module of the Principals of Photo Image Capture Level 2, of ordinary people in street surroundings who look like they have some character or a story to be told in a moment of time from a facial expression, the lines in their face or the body language or clothes enhanced by the lighting and situation of the target subject.

The images will be captured in ordinary street situations without being pre composed. The aim of the image capture is to promote thought, contemplation and study of the subject by the viewer.

The target audience apart from the those judging the project are those who want to see meaning in a photo rather then just beauty or shock. If a viewer likes to ponder an image and take in the surroundings and light along with the target person to invent a story of that subjects circumstances at not just the second the shot has been taken but establish the in their own mind, how the person lives.

Looking for and capturing such images requires forethought regarding the geographical area most likely to produce the subject matter. Also light, time of day and your own safety considering the photographs will be taken incognito.

Reasons for selection of theme (including inspiration from the work of others): Looking at photographers like Cecil Beaton who created amazing black and white portraits of some famous but also some very interesting people coupled with the street and fashion photography of Bill Cunningham who, while not being the best photographer, has a knack of capturing the unusual on New York streets.

The other main inspiration is street portraiture captured by unknown or at least, not famous photographers on the web with their images displayed on DeviantArt. Looking at these street portraits gives me the inspiration to pick up my Canon and just go and take pictures and Street Portraiture is the genre that interests and excites me most. The unexpected and the unexplained circumstances of an unknown person in a moment of time.

True unsolicited street portraiture is challenging due to the uncertainty of the material, the subjects, the weather and the surroundings.

The material may just not be there. You need to find subjects in the right circumstances within the scope of the project or you miss the meaning and intention of the image.

The subjects have to be those within the scope of the intent. Those who show a story from the demeanour of their street profile, their stance, their awareness, their stare.

The weather will affect the quantity of material. People hide in the rain and look happy in the sun.

The weather also affects the light. The intention is to take black and white portraits (unless colour

tells a better story) of people walking, sitting or living on the streets and I propose the best weather would be afternoon, autumnal light to soften the contrast between black and white reducing white to grey to reflect the mood of the subjects.

The surroundings will make a great deal of difference to the image. Busy like allot of people around the subject, bleak with grey buildings or rubbish, affluent outside a bank or Mercedes showroom, run down with those who find themselves in bad times or affected by alcohol.

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why: Canon 7d will be the main camera. This camera can take 8 pictures per second which helps in street portraiture because the expressions on peoples faces change constantly so burst of 10 pictures may catch the one single expression or movement required.

I will be using a Canon 24-70 2.8L lens. The large 2.8 aperture will help capture movement in low light by enabling a faster shutter speed without increasing the ISO to levels where the image becomes too noisy. In some cases a Canon 70-300 4.0ISM will be used depending on distance to the subject and the available ambient light. One other lens which may be used is a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime depending on how close I am and how aware the subject is of my presence and intensions.

Flash will not be used unless subject is posed. This is to stay incognito so that I catch the subject in a completely natural state and not posed. If using a flash in a posed situation, the flash will be a Canon 430 Speed Light ii. Either off to avoid shadows and reflective flash back or on the camera for ease of use as the situation dictates. No tripod will be used for this type of photography.

Only the integral camera light metre will be used due to the nature of the photography subject.

Using a light meter in front of a subject you are trying to take incognito will not work for the picture.

All images will be shot in RAW format processed where necessary in Photoshop CS5. Where the photos are to be printed or uploaded, the will be converted to jpeg format. The medium for this camera will be a 32MB Compact Flash card with a processing speed of 15mbps I will be wearing jeans, trainers and an inconspicuous jacket as I want to fit in with the normal environment which considering the area I am intending to shoot in, London’s Soho and China Town, will be busy with tourists and a mixture of local people and visitors. My camera bag reflects an ordinary back pack and does not draw attention as something which may contain expensive camera equipment. Not carrying a tripod means everything can go inside the bag.

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message: Shooting street photography is best undertaken incognito for effect. Catching someone looking naturally in thought or just going about their business makes for a much more thought provoking and interesting image than posed for this particular genre. As inspired by Cecil Beaton with his photographs of unknowns in their own squalid environment and Bill Cunningham with his street style and inimitable knack for spotting and capturing the unusual on the New york pavements, I am looking to capture that unexpected moment when something unplanned happens either by the subject or the photographer.

Black and white will be mostly used for processing images unless natural colour brings out something else that will be lost in B & W. I will also try to use bokeh where the situation permits to bring the subject out from the background. Depth of field will play a part in this where a shallow DOF will pull the viewer’s eye to the subject pushing the surroundings to the background.

How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message: No flash will be used as it is candid street portraiture. Shadows will play a part and given the time of year, I may use a filter to bring out the autumnal feeling. I will try to create a darker side by looking for people away from direct sunlight with grey surrounds where possible.

The afternoon light will be conducive with the type of people image I am looking for; Sultry, moody, thoughtful. However, as night falls, I will be looking for subjects closer to ambient light like shops, street lights or electric advertising walls such as exists in London’s Piccadilly.

The light setting on the camera will be set to cloudy or shadows as as the weather depicts and as the night comes in, I’ll change the setting to tungsten for lights coming from surrounding shops and street lights etc.

Safety considerations: No flash or tripod will be used so no safety considerations to be made for these items.

Safety considerations in street photography means you should consider road safety and other people when standing taking the shot i.e. stopping all of a sudden in the middle of a crowded pavement could cause people to walk into you damaging themselves, you or equipment or stopping in the middle of the road is not advisable without due consideration to the traffic circumstances or someone to observe while you are busy with the shot.

I intend to take all the pictures in public places and therefore, no permission or documentation is required from authorities.

The photography equipment will be kept in a closed bag at all times except the camera and lens being used at the time.