Over the years, I found that approaching the streets in new places requires a documentary photographer’s mindset. While I’m interested in the aesthetics of street photography and the candid, spontaneous nature of making photographs, it becomes difficult when working in new communities.
What is the difference?
When I consider documentary and street photography, the main difference is a documentary photographer is spending an extended period of time in a particular location, and integrating themselves in a community, becoming closer to the subject on a personal level. With street photography, you rarely interact with people, remain a fly on the wall, make pictures, and move on. While I find this approach to be effective and easy as anybody can take a camera out onto the streets and make work, there is something to be said about getting to know a place on a deeper level.
Access is key
One simple way I found to achieve this deeper connection to communities is by carrying an Instax camera with me into the field. When you approach a scene or group of people, offer to make prints and gift portraits to people in the moment. The gift of photography sets people at ease and allows strangers to trust you more. With this trust, you can then make more work and continuously go back to the location and make photographs that you are interested in. When you return, you can make pictures candidly Without asking for permission and be that fly on the wall like a street photographer. It’s actually very simple to build a relationship in a new community.
Carry an instant camera, and you will gain instant access.
How to get closer
When I spent time photographing in Jericho, I made it a point to return after six months of photographing there and spent another 3 months living with a family. Every morning I would wake up and knock on this young man, Mohammed’s door. I would watch his morning routine, eat breakfast with him, and he would take me around town every single day. This kind of access only comes when you truly integrate yourself within a community and live there for an extended period of time. Each day we would visit this old man, Hassan’s house and water his crops in his garden. We would sit on his porch outside, talk about life, and simply relax. Sometimes Hassan would even drive us to interesting locations that I would photograph. On one of these adventures, he took us to the desert where me and Mohammed hiked around the river in Jericho.
Make a friend
Having a friend is critical when you are photographing in more dangerous locations. One time I got into a confrontation with this young man who broke the camera strap off of my neck. When Mohammed found out about this, he communicated with the people that I am no threat, and even fixed my camera strap for me using tape.
Get close
The point is, when you become closer to a community through the documentary photographer’s approach, the results in the photographs you create become much more compelling and interesting than simply making candid street snaps. When you get access to a community, you can then make photographs that tell a visual story without posing people. Over the years I learned that you can have a documentary photographer’s approach, but still remain in the vein of street photography. You could say the work is street , or say that it’s documentary. It really doesn’t matter to me. I’ve always had this approach since I’ve started and find it to be the reason I’ve had success in making candid photographs over the years.