What makes a Great Street Photograph?

My links:

Music licensed with Epidemic Sound:
'Ocean Air' by Aerian

I share some thoughts on what I think makes a good street photograph, including some helpful advice from fellow street photographer Joshua. K. Jackson on building layers of interest in your images to make them stronger. Share it on if you found it helpful.

#streetphotography #hitrate #buildinglayers

[WoodenChickenHead]

One of the anecdotal tales of ‘hit rates’ that stuck with me was Robert Frank’s seminal street photography work “The Americans” where he took 27 THOUSAND photographs for the project and whittled them down to just 83 for the book, and this was during the film days where you really had to work hard to take 27, 000 shots.

[matarun]

Sean, you said "I hope this is help"

This is BEYOND helpful.

This is the stuff that makes me follow your channel for years.

This is priceless information and I learn a lot just by watching this video.

[tsitsagi]

Right now for me it's the best channel about photography. Sean is not only an extremely good photographer but he explains things in such a good way. Thanks a lot!

[simonbnyc]

There are some good observations here but my advice is even simpler. Don't overthink anything. Many of the finest photographers like Eggleston, Shore, Leiter, Haas, Herzog and Gruyaert produced masterpieces that never went beyond one or two layers of interest (by layers I'm not referring to composition) and they weren't really seeking out anything beyond this. It was an approach closer to pop art than documentary photography. I suppose this is why they couldn't really be categorized as street photographers today. If your goal is just to document beauty in the everyday world then there's nothing wrong with that. If you have higher aspirations then that's OK too. Just don't worry about "hit rates", "bangers" and "keepers". None of those things are important in the long run. Oh, and never, ever be concerned about having your work described as "boring". That shouldn't be a concern. Maybe call your photographs "austere" instead.

[RolandKaufmann]

Love how well you explained the layers. It has really made me look at my images much more critically. Instagram is loaded with single layer images so when I come across a photo that has 3-4 layers it’s amazing. Really inspires me to level up the skills I have by increasing my scrutiny of them.

[DebiSenGupta]

This is probably one of the best videos I have seen on YouTube. It simplifies what a great photograph is and how we can try to get something which maybe one day be considered to be a great picture.

[streetphotographyguy]

Mastering layering in Street Photography is like mastering gourmet cuisine in cooking. Great video as always Sean! Very insightful.

[johnwaine]

I wish someone had told me this 10/15 years ago! I might have stuck to photography more consistently, and not given up on it so many times because I kept producing so many boring images without knowing why. I've instinctively thought all this to myself but never felt it was valid. I'm getting too old now to make full use of this wisdom. If you are young enough to make a photographic life then this is a great mantra to follow.

[peterarens]

Thank you for your compassion for us. You are the real Inspiration for Beginner- and Hobbyphotographer. (Sorry if my English is not 100% correct) Best wishes from Germany🙂

[Quietcloud]

This was the single best explanation of street photography I have ever heard. I have often been mystified by the dozens of photos posted in FB street photography groups because I can see no reason why they were shot in the first place. Now I can at least try to articulate what I see as a good street photo and perhaps understand where to start in learning the genre for myself.

[michaelschmitt]

Very well explained and laid out. Street photography as I have observed it, is very diverse and varies in style. For me, it's not easy to say what a great street photographs looks like. I think it more subjective than objective. 
"In 1757, British sceptic and essayist David Hume wrote, 'Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty' (Essay XXXII, Of the Standard of Taste)". [from Writing Explained]

[AbleExplorer]

I've been searching for a way to understand the content of a good and great photo. You nailed it. Thank you so much !!

[almostgreen]

I can’t tell you how helpful this was. This is why street photography is a spiritual practice!

[speliotis]

The Master You explain things so eloquently.... & what a great opportunity to go to TUSCANY & create powerful images with good food and wonderful people....

[toine]

Hi, Sean.
This is a very strong video.
A video we can all learn from.
I want to start street photography but without the people.
Actually, I want to photograph the mundane and abstract subjects on the street.
I have been photographing for almost 35 years, so I have the basics reasonably under control.
In the photography I did for this I had a rate of 9 out of 10.
But there I had everything under control, the subject, the light, and the emotion.
I photographed black and white still lifes.
But now that I've started shooting on the street, I've found out how difficult it is to take a good photo.
I have just started but I hope, I am now 63 years old, that I can make one booklet with good photos.
But I don't put pressure on myself and see that I improve every time I go out.
I'm not there yet but as long as I see improvement I will keep going.
Thank you for this nice video that I really enjoyed watching.
A warm greeting from the Netherlands,
Antoine.

[lpark]

This is such a great way of thinking about the practice of photography and what makes a great image 🙏👏 reminds me of Randall Jarrell’s line about poetry: “A good poet is someone who manages, in a lifetime of standing out in thunderstorms, to be struck by lightning five or six times; a dozen or two dozen times and he is great.”

[Atomicgherkin]

I love you and your channel! Though I’m self taught, you’re the teacher I wish had when I first started. Thank you again for your effort and encouragement! 😊

[randallhartman]

This might be the greatest vieo EVER about what we do as photographers. Thanks for hitting it out of the park and allowing to catch it.

[TheTuscaloosa]

I could watch Sean everyday. Nobody is more philosophical about photography.

[michaeld]

Love it. This is a great framework for thinking about photos. I would also add another aspect to the alchemy layer that I don’t think you mentioned. That would be a sequence or some thread tying a group of images together. I don’t remember the photographer but there was a series of pictures of people who were walking at a certain in NYC taken years apart. Individually the images were unspectacular having just 1 or 2 of layers you’ve described here. But as a series they were all elevated and really brought up interesting thoughts on human habits and routines.