“The street photographer must make photography a part of his or her daily life; otherwise, photography will not be more than a hobby for the individual and a necessary and attentive production environment will not be created. As I have always said, knowledge, experience and experience are very important here.
“As a photographer, especially as a street photographer, you should never go out on the street without a camera. If you go out on weekends or during your free time just to take pictures, you are making a mistake. You should go out to be a part of the street and always have your camera with you. A street photographer should immerse themselves in the life of the streets, witnessing the world passing in front of them. They must become a part of that life. When appropriate, they should interact with all kinds of places and people that belong to the street. A street photographer must be honest enough not to do all this solely for the purpose of taking photographs. They should not approach someone with a careless and superficial attitude, saying, ‘Hello, may I take a photo of you?’ and then walk away after taking just two shots. Instead, they should genuinely care for and respect the other person.”
It must be ready for the rhythm and conditions of the street. Never be afraid of rainy weather. He should be aware of the atmosphere created by rain and all its effects on the city. He should not be a conformist who only takes photos in sunny weather. Only when you step out of your comfort zone does life challenge you. One must face this challenge, resist it and adapt to it.
Don’t get bogged down in photographic rules and technical settings. Remember that you are producing in a free space and what you need to create your own photographic language is not just rules, but the language of expression. Know that so-called instructors who impose rules on you, who tell you ‘don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t take vertical frames, don’t use Photoshop’ will not add anything to your photographic career and stay away from these people. Work with instructors who support your motivation, always aim to move you forward and constantly emphasize that you are completely free. Photography is an individual workspace, be aware of this and try to produce alone as much as possible.
Remember that a street photographer is also a documenter. Every photograph you take is a document of the city and urban life. Walking the streets with this mindset may take you out of your style, but this is a good thing. Training your eye in this way improves your perspective and therefore makes it possible to document different details of life in the city.
The street photographer should not talk about equipment all the time, knowing that it will do nothing for his photographic career. Talking about equipment is the job of camera manufacturers and dealers, not the street photographer. The photographer should be interested in how to make better photographs, talk about it and think about it. Only when you start talking about photography are you on the right track. That’s why you should invest in education for development rather than constantly investing money in photographic equipment. This is an important issue for both your own development and for the productions you will make in the name of photography to make a contribution to photography.
The street photographer must have quick thinking and foresight. Even if he comes face to face with an instantaneous image, he must be able to make a design in his mind before pointing his camera at the subject. In order to take photographs on the street, he must understand the spirit of the street and keep up with its rhythm. In order to do all this, of course, he must have a certain equipment. For this reason, the street photographer should not only feed on photography, but should also be interested in other branches of art, especially painting and cinema.
See the world with your own eyes, not with the eyes of others…”