Fine Art in Street Photography: Intention

Summary

The website content discusses the process of creating fine art through street photography by approaching scenes with intention, visualizing potential images, and capturing them in a way that evokes emotional and intellectual responses.

Abstract

The article emphasizes that transforming candid street moments into fine art requires a deliberate and thoughtful approach. The photographer must have a clear intention when capturing an image, envisioning the scene as a painter would with a blank canvas. This involves a creative process that may begin with an idea that the photographer seeks to materialize or with an inspiration that emerges from the environment. The photographer must be patient, observant, and ready to seize the right moment, often requiring multiple attempts to achieve the desired composition. Research and imagination play crucial roles in this process, as demonstrated by the author's experience in capturing a photograph titled "Haunted" at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon. The author's approach involved envisioning a scene reminiscent of a sci-fi cyberpunk movie, utilizing the architecture and natural light to create a dramatic and thought-provoking image without the need for models, costumes, or artificial lighting.

Opinions

The author believes that fine art in street photography is achieved by going beyond mere candid moments, requiring the creation of visually and emotionally compelling images.
It is suggested that having an intention or a preconceived image in mind is crucial for directing the scene and capturing the intended photograph.
The author values the importance of research and imagination, referencing the inspiration drawn from existing photographs of MAAT and the desire to create something unique and different.
The process of fine art street photography is likened to setting a stage and directing, with the photographer taking on the role of both artist and director.
The author expresses that the transformation of street scenes into fine art does not require elaborate setups or equipment; it is about the photographer's regular presence on the streets, openness to serendipity, and ability to express personal vision through the captured images.
The author encourages readers to find inspiration in the shared insights and looks forward to their reactions and engagement with the concept of fine art in street photography.

Start with an intention in mind

You need to approach the scene or the subject with intention. The intention of create something that is (still) not there. Like when you start painting on an empty canvas.

It may start with the feeling that you can achieve something either by working on the framing or playing with the light and shadows. You then get excited under the anticipation that you can achieve “that” picture which starts to idealize in your head. You get into the zone. Eventually, you get the click that makes you smile. You get that sense that you won the day.

It can also start with a picture already in your head. You close your eyes and you “see” that this can work if you can get the right ingredients. You then are patient. You go around. Study the scene. Framing through the viewfinder the different possibilities. Release the shutter a couple of times.

You take a sneak peek of the scene on the camera screen. Do you get the exposition right? Do you need to compensate? You look at the pattern of the movements of the potential subjects that will be the protagonists in a stage that you are putting in place. You shoot several times. All fall eventually to the right place. You get that smile again.

Research and imagine

My photo “Haunted” at the beginning of this text is an example of the second approach.

I saw some photos on the internet of that exquisite piece of architectural creativity close to the river Tagus in Lisbon: the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT). That texture, those wall shapes, those shadows that are cast in multiple directions depending on the time of the day, people constantly passing by or entering to visit the museum. From certain angles, it seems like a sort of spaceship.

I thought this could be a good canvas for a story or some surreal composition. I also thought that most probably this was a spot in Lisbon already quite photographed and with street photos already taken. A quick Google search confirmed it. A good example is the two night street photos below from the great Rui Palha with the silhouette against the texture of one of the walls of the MAAT and a couple at the top of one of the beautiful exterior staircases.

That gave me some inspiration, but I wanted to do something different. That spaceship look. Those dramatic shadows. I envisaged a photo taken from a sci-fi cyberpunk movie where technological achievements juxtaposed social loneliness.

Set a stage and direct

The photo “Haunted”.

Sunny day, around noon, with strong and harsh shadows. There was a man seated in the shadow on the stairs in front of the main façade. He decided to stand up and start walking in the direction of the brighter area of the scene. I made some shots and tried different points of view. The shadow on the stone stairs was making a beautiful organic shape converging to a vertex.

I was able to get a shot where my actor got himself on the spot that I had “directed”. Depending on the viewer’s interpretation, he may seem to be haunted by a shadow, escaping from it or leaving a blackness trail.

The process of transforming street scenes before your eyes into a canvas that allows you to express your artistic view is Fine Art. You do not need models, costumes, artificial light, or a studio. You just need to hit the street regularly, be open to what happens there, have ideas, and look to opportunities to express yourself through those captures that are a reflection of yourself.

I will continue to explore the reasoning and the how-to behind the making of some of my street photos.

I hope you can get inspired.

I will be looking forward to your reactions.

To make Fine Art out of street photography you need to go far beyond the capture of candid moments.

Start with an intention in mind

Research and imagine

Set a stage and direct