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To you, what would be the *single* most defining attribute of street photography? 

49%
78 deviants said The moment.
21%
34 deviants said That it have a strong element of humanity.
18%
28 deviants said That it be candid/unposed.
6%
9 deviants said That it be in black & white.
4%
7 deviants said Other (comment below. remember, SINGLE element)
2%
3 deviants said That it be on film, preferably Tri-X
0%
No deviants said That it be taken with a completely mechanical camera.

Devious Comments

:iconbqw:
`bQw Mar 1, 2009  Hobbyist Photographer
Apparently, I pissing off street photography purists. :D

So I just wanted to know what the community thinks what defines street photography.
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:iconeliza-mac:
Tough picking just one, but I go for "the moment". Capturing a perfect moment, that's heaven :love:
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:iconpaulmckinnon:
I say the moment and the candid.

I wish people would stop thinking that street shot have to be in black and white!!!

As I wrote before in an interview...

I enjoyed Obsidian-Fox's new article [link] . It explained why street photography needed to be in black and white before. Technology has changed and now there is no reason to automatically convert every street pic to black and white anymore. Since I was inspired by the Life magazine photographers some of my all time favorite photos are in black and white, but that is pretty well because they had to be. Those reasons no longer apply.

Sure I’m sure there are some cases where black and white suits the pic, but I think those situations are rare nowadays. I think street photography more than any other photography should represent what was captured as close to reality as possible. In real life we do not see in black and white so in a way presenting a picture in black and white is lying. It is at least only telling part of the story, the part that does not involve the color that existed in real life.
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:icondefiancetotale:
~defiancetotale Mar 1, 2009   Photographer
I'd like to suggest that by removing insignificant detail, b&w essentializes, synthesises, brings us back to what originally drew us to the photo. Graphically, it might not be as close to what we saw, but emotionally, it just might.
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:iconpaulmckinnon:
Fair enough. I don't happen to consider color an insignificant detail, but I guess some people do :)
Reply
:icondefiancetotale:
~defiancetotale Mar 3, 2009   Photographer
That sounds demeaning. How about details without particular significance. I'm not saying that colour as a whole is insignificant, but I do think that it often (specially in street) has very little to do with the essence of a situation, and that the attention it commands can, in those circumstances, become distracting.
Reply
:iconbqw:
`bQw Mar 1, 2009  Hobbyist Photographer
I shoot black & white as an artistic choice. In the street there is such a variety of color that it often translates into visual confusion in an image.

b&w simplifies things. ;)
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:iconpaulmckinnon:
Yes b&w makes for a simpler image.
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:iconmihaibrrrr:
~mihaibrrrr Mar 1, 2009  Student Photographer
the moment AND black and white
Reply
:iconbqw:
`bQw Mar 1, 2009  Hobbyist Photographer
Ahhh...

single ;)

BTW, why is b&w important?
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