Colour Street Photography

The digital era enables photography to be instantly reviewed and gives photographers access to colour post processing.  Back in the day, black and white was more readily able to be processed in a home dark room.  Now photographers have instant choices; shoot in black and white or visualise in colour.  Colour adds an important dynamic to street photography as it becomes part of the narrative of colour street photography.

 

Colour Street Photography
Colour Street Photography in Shoreditch

Colour Street Photography

Colour street photography is powerful and makes an image resonate with emotion. Colour becomes an integral part of the story telling  aspect of street photography

I love colourful street photography as it tells us about the environment and enables us to feel the sense of place.  In the photo above colour is restrained and exemplifies the feeling of confinement of the old woman.  There is a contrast in scale between the woman and the street art image.  The woman is diminutive within the scene, yet she maintains her space with dignity and leans away from the large scale image of the face.  Colour is important as without it, the scene would be greyscale and the human element lost.  It is the colour which maintains the connectivity with the subject.

Understanding how colour impacts on a street shot is integral to the street image.  Colour adds interplay between the elements in a shot, which we see in the photo above.  We also see the world in colour and it is colour which draws me in to photograph.  I am very responsive to the scene and it is the resonance of colour which makes me frame the composition.  I also make compositional organisational decisions due to the way in which colour fills a scene.

Look out for colour on the street and allow it to move you so that you respond with great colour street photography.

See more in my Street Photography Portfolio.

Photographs and content may not be used without permission.

© Lou Smith 2017, All Rights Reserved

 

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