Street photography – London
Street photography is something I love but rarely do. I had the privilege to spend a day with UK street photographer Chris Porsz in London a couple of weeks ago. We walked, talked and snapped pictures for nearly seven hours. It is so refreshing to connect with other people who share your passion for photography and not have to worry about making non photographers wait for you while you quickly frame a moment in time. My family is very patient with me when we travel but I also understand how frustrating it can be for them and I end up missing a lot of great photo opportunities. But that’s life!
Here is a selection of images mostly made that day while walking with Chris, others shot during the rest of my London stay. I learned a lot from Chris and experimented for the first time with hip photography. Keep in mind that I shoot with a dslr which draws a lot of attention. Some situations will not allow you to bring the camera to your eye so shooting from the hip while walking becomes the best option. There were quite a few missed shots but after a while I managed to get some decent ones.
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First experiments with hip photography while walking
First experiments with hip photography while walking
First experiments with hip photography while walking
Spray snow on a movie set...
interacting with people and making a candid street portrait is one of the best parts!
First experiments with hip photography while walking
First experiments with hip photography while walking
Chris taking a picture of me taking a picture of him!
- Cool green hair!
- One of my favorite shots this summer!
Valérie Jardin's Blog 
It was a pleasure to walk for hours through the streets of the Big Smoke with Valerie. She has captured her classic images of small detail ,shapes and patterns that I blindly walked by.
Together we became emboldened and it shows in her true candid shots from the hip. I love the David and Goliath image, dog on the counter and man under umbrella. An invaluable tip from Valerie was to use my white balance function which I now use all the time with much warmer images.
I hope we can do it again one day in London or Paris. Best wishes Chris
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Thank you all for your kind words!
@Anne, in street photography a smile goes a long way. In most cultures people usually don’t mind having their picture taken. If you want to make a street portrait, simply go to them and tell them why. The worse thing that can happen is a no, then just move on. I like candid street photography as well but street portraits are more of a challenge. Having a little bit of both makes for a nice story. Once you start, it gets very addicting! Good luck and have fun 🙂
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Love the image of the guy with the punk haircut sitting at the table……also the one of just the legs with the bottom of a kilt.
The rather candid shot of the man in the coat & hat turning & smiling at the camera is priceless too.
I took a day off from flower/garden photography to photograph some crowded laneways in inner Melbourne recently & like you, found it hard to shoot with the DSLR in my hands – strangers get rather shy or even annoyed if you photograph them eating & chatting with their friends at a sidewalk cafe. Next time I’m in the city, I’ll try your idea of shooting from the hip.
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Fabulous Valerie. It looks like you had fun and learned a lot. I agree with your favorite although the B&W of the tall man looking around with a smile is engaging. Hope we will see more.
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Oh, wow! This post is so timely and inspirational to me – I’m getting ready to take my teen-aged daughter to London next week and one of the things I’m MOST looking forward to is the photography! Since it’ll be just the two of us, and in light of the recent unrest, I’m taking my compact camera, but I don’t think that will be an issue in the final development. I’m usually much too cowardly to attempt street photography, but you may have just inspired me to give it a go anyway! 🙂
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Excellent shots. I am a fan of you and Chris. I know nothing about photography, except lately thanks to Mr. Orlando Uy, but I have good eyes to see beautiful works of arts :))) I do not have the right words to describe your works, but simply say I love them.
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Love these photos, esp the kilts, boots and cobblestones.
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I really loved it!! I’ve just started taking street photography, but of course theses are Fantastic!! Well done !!
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Very interesting, Valerie! I would love to do street photography, but I’m a bit shy (that why I prefer natures hot), but sometime I like to go in the city and try something different.
I never know what to say to a stranger without appearing to intrusive, you any suggestion?
I like the idea of hip photography, I looks easy like that, but I guest it’s not. 😉
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I like the hip photography because it allows for candid shots without feeling like I’m intruding into people’s personal spaces. I’d love to visit London just for the sake of taking photos. It’s been 33 years since I was there, having been born and raised there, and from what I see of the photos it’s changed quite a bit.
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