VINEET VOHRA'S A - Z GUIDE TO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
Our Leica India Ambassador, Vineet Vohra, shares his tips and tricks on street photography.
Street photography makes familiar into something poetic and at times mythical. It consists of various factors such as proximity, similarity, intuition, direction, and closure.
Always ask yourself “Why do I want to make this picture". It is important to ask "WHY" rather than "HOW".
“Why” is the reason behind what you are doing and it starts reflecting. Photography is all about expressing yourself and to discover who you are. Be intuitive, make images which are spontaneous, transitory and instinctual, something that you make in a fraction of a second. Something you blink and you miss, something which is "you".
Keep your eyes peeled on this page as we take you through Vineet's A - Z guide to street photography, updated weekly!
A - AESTHETIC APPEAL
It's a branch of philosophy dealing with beauty and taste, so it relates to the initial feelings when you look at something.
B - BACKGROUND
The part of an image or a scene that forms a setting for the main figures, the circumstances or situation prevailing at a particular time or underlying a particular event.
C - CONTENT
An expression through a medium, can be speech, writing, or photography.
D - DYNAMICS
Effective action, vigorously active, forceful or simply energetic.
E - EMOTION
An affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced from our cognitive state of mind.
F - FORM
Simply means framing, external appearance of a clearly defined area.
G - GRAPHICS
The art of drawing, pertaining to use of diagrams, make an image look diagramatic
H - HUMOUR
Humour is a delightful aspect of life that brings joy and laughter to our everyday experiences.
I - ILLUSION
Something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
J - JUXTAPOSITION
An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparision or contrast.
K - KEEN EYE
Finely tuned as an edge, characterized by distinctness of perception, extremely sensitive or responsive.
L - LEICA
Liberates me, simply an extension to my eye.
M - MINIMILISTIC
Using simple elements with little embellishment in an artistic way.
N - NECESSARY ELEMENTS
Essential, indespensable or requisite.
O - OBSERVATION SKILLS
Act of noticing or perceiving instantly.
P - PROXIMITY
Nearness in place, time, order or relation.
Q - QUIRKY
A peculiar action, behaviour or mannerism. (something strange)
R - RANGE FOCUS
Knowing your distance from your subject or subjects.
S - SIMILARITY
The state of being similar, resemblance or echo.
T - THREE DIMENSIONAL
Having or appearing to have length, breadth and depth.
U - UNIQUE MOMENT
Limited in occurance to a presented situation.
V - VANTAGE POINT
A position, or a place affording some advantage or having the view in your command.
W - WHIMSICAL
Erratic or unpredictable odd ideas.
X - X FACTOR
Elusive quality that sets someone or something apart and makes them truly exceptional.
Y - YOURSELF
The most authentic version of who you are, and embracing your uniqueness is a key to personal growth and fulfillment.
Z - ZEAL
Eager desire and enthusiasm.
VINEET VOHRA'S A - Z GUIDE TO STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
"The Leica M10-R or should I say the “M”arvelous 10-R is an phenomenal camera for passionate street photographers. It is getting back to basics shooting with similar style to Leica film cameras with integration of modern technology, it buddy engulfs the photographer into the romance of shooting and concentrating on the moment rather than worrying about what they missed, making me realise that street photography is about “do it now” and not go back home and do it later.
The build quality is fantastic and made like a work of art like all other Leica M cameras but it feels more compact and lighter, the ergonomics of the Leica M10-R is exceptional, it feels intuitive the minute one holds in the hands and makes me never leave it. While doing street photography, I require a compact camera that’s inconspicuous, best in range focus so that one concentrates on the moment and creates enough depth of field, coz I need to create that three dimensional feel, keeping in mind to have foreground, mid ground and background all in focus, long battery life, fabulous image quality, and built to admire and inspire all day.
The marriage I need is Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6 with my M10-R, Leica lenses are best in what they do, photographers strive to capture as much light as possible, all around sharpness, no distortion, something that is progressively different with my Leica Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6, the tiny pancake lens is a all day walk along pair with my M10-R, I keep it on f11 and pre focus and all I have to do is press the shutter so to make images which are spontaneous, transitory and instinctual, something that you make in a fraction of a second, something you blink and you miss, something which is “YOU” I need M10-R and Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6."
About Vineet Vohra (@vineet_vohra)
Born on 2nd November, 1973, in New Delhi/India with a first class degree fine arts from the prestigious College of Arts, Vineet Vohra is a self-taught photographer and street photography is a passion that he live like a discipline. Although he started shooting as a wild life photographer for two years, Vineet switched to street in 2001 and it instantly became his passion and first nature. As Leica's first ever Indian Ambassador, he had conducted workshops as a Leica Mentor in Leica Akademie, with various publications on Leica blogs. Vineet's works and stories have been published on various prestigious magazines, newspapers & blogs all over the world including National Geographic, NYT, The Guardian U.K. and have been a part of various collective exhibitions in London, New York, Miami, Vietnam, Tel Aviv & India.
