Street photography comes down to three things. Light, color, and weird people. That is the whole formula.
I took the Fujifilm X-H2 out to the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville to prove it. If you have never been, Big Ears is this wild mix of Americana, folk, and world music, and the crowds show up dressed like the parade never ended. Colorful clothes, colorful personalities, alleyways and squares full of characters. It is a street photographer’s playground.
I shot most of it on a long lens, somewhere in the 80 to 200 millimeter range. Do not sleep on long lens street photography. The compression separates your subject from the background in a way a wide lens just cannot, and here is the practical part: nobody really wants you in their face. A long lens lets you work without being part of the scene.
One thing I want to be clear about. I have a real problem with photographers who go out and shoot homeless people like they are props. It is cheap and it is easy and I do not think it belongs in street photography. Now, on a festival weekend in Knoxville, I will admit it gets tricky telling the music lovers apart from the folks living on the street. But the principle stands. Punch up, not down.
So that is the recipe. Find the light, find the color, find the weirdos. Thanks for watching.
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