Reflections
Photo by Mike Conway
‘Reflections are a great subject in street photography, although they can often be quite difficult to get right,’ says Cathal. ‘The exposures can be critical because often you’re dealing with extremes of light. Sometimes you will be faced with two light sources – those inside the building and those outside.
Photo by Mike Blythe
‘You can always use polarising filters if you’re looking to reduce the reflections from a building because you’re trying to shoot something that’s going on inside. Alternatively, you could just change your shooting position or wait for the light to change. Remember, though, that if it doesn’t cometogether, you can’t force it to work.’
Mono vs Colour
Photo by Mike Conway – Original
Street photography and black & white often go hand in hand, but is it always the right option? ‘Just because a picture is in monochrome, it doesn’t automatically mean that it’s a good shot,’ says Cathal. ‘People have a tendency to think that black & white equals “real photography”, but that’s simply not the case. It’s all about personal preference. Black & white can almost be seen as the easy option in some circumstances because it removes colour from the equation and therefore reduces the number of things you have to think about.
Photo by Mike Conway – Edited
‘When we shoot street photography what we’re essentially talking about is “pure photography”, as much as you can have such a thing. Would it not be purer to shoot things in colour as we see them rather than altering them?’
Your right to take photographs in a public place
These guidelines have been issued to all police staff by the head of Specialist Operations for the Metropolitan Police Service, to assist them in dealing with professional and amateur photographers taking pictures in public places.
While we must remain vigilant at all times in dealing with suspicious behaviour, staff must also be clear that:
- There is no restriction on people taking photographs in public places or of any building other than in very exceptional circumstances
- There is no prohibition on photographing frontline uniform staff
- The act of taking a photograph in itself is not usually sufficient to carry out a stop
- Unless there is a very good reason, people taking photographs should not be stopped
- Officers do not have the power to delete digital images, destroy film, or to prevent photography in a public place under either power (Section 43 and 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000)
