As I See It - 2020 Trends in Street Photography
I have been studying on the 2020 trends in photography. While there are some number of articles on trends in general photography, I could find no articles on the trends in street photography. So here is my methodology on discerning the street photography trends: If the trend resonates with my personal experiences, then I declare it a trend. In other words, this is just my opinion.
I think it was the proliferation of film cameras in my life that got me to thinking about this. I use the term proliferation loosely. While I know of many street photographers, I don’t actually know many. Probably a generous guess is that I know 20. One of them has been using a film camera for awhile. Another one started using one recently. That means 10% of all street photographers I know use film. That definitely screams trend to me. For sure, the move to using film cameras has been identified as a 2020 trend in general photography. So, yes, I declare film photography to be a 2020 street photography trend.
Trend: Animals are a photographer’s best friend.
Perhaps for street photographers this should be stated as “birds are a photographer’s best friend”. I now see pictures that include birds all of the time.
Photo by Irina Escoffery. Used with permission. You can see Irina’s street photography gallery on her Flickr account.
I was being a bit facetious when I suggested birds are the trend for photographers. I do truly think that if an animal is in a picture, people are going to take more notice of it. That is not lost on street photographers. If you want to see some street photography animal cuteness, look at the recent work of street photographer, Alan Schaller.
Trend: Motion as a new norm in graphics.
In street photography, I think the interest in pigeons may actually be more about putting a little motion in the picture than interest in animals. I see a lot of use of motion that comes from panning, intentional motion that arises from zooming a lens while the picture is being taken, and from long exposure.
Trend: An effort to preserve privacy.
This really resonates with me. I am moving toward being more and more interested in geometric and abstract street photography and I am not alone. I see many posts that include reflections and silhouettes and shadows.
Here is a lovely example of geometric street photography Hugo Levi.
Photo by Hugo Levi. Used with permission. You can see Hugo’s gallery on Facebook.
This partial silhouette makes the identification of the subject less likely.
Photo by Frederico Reale. Used with permission. You can see Frederico’s Instagram gallery at @fedeareale.
I think another part of the trend toward privacy is the phenomena that Eric Kim aptly calls “decapitation” photography. Examples of decapitation photography include:
A head that is in a shadow so it cannot be seen.
Photo by Ryan Davies. Used with permission. You can see Ryan’s Instagram galleries at @intothelight_ and @intothelightstreetphotography.
A head that is so dark it has no features.
Photo by Vanessa Cass. Used with permission. You can see Vanessa’s gallery on Instagram at @vcass_photography and on Facebook at Vanessa Cass.
A head that is behind an object, like a newspaper.
Photo by Paula Reardon. Used with permission. You can see Paula’s gallery on Instagram at @paula_r_nyc.
A head cutoff totally or at the eyes.
Photo by David Enzel. Used with permission. You can see David’s Instagram gallery at @dc_dhe and his website at www.enzelphoto.com.
Exercise
Do you think Corona virus will create a trend in street photography this year?