Street photography inspiration: Ignore rules like William Klein

When you’re new to photography, one of the first things you think about are rules that will help you get acceptable results. In street photography, however, these rules tend to be more loose. The rules of composition, for example, are vital to getting a powerful photo. Still, it’s not impossible to get exceptional photos even if you don’t go by the book. Today’s street photography inspiration shows some perfect examples from William Klein.

In the video above, Alex Kilbee of The Photographic Eye reminds us that William Klein is widely regarded as one of the godfathers of street photography, for a good reason. While Klein worked with different photography genres, his street photography stands out. If you’re new to Klein’s work, this video makes a great introduction.

Kilbee walks us through some of the lessons we can pick up from the way Klein approached the craft. Central to these is breaking away from the rules if you feel they are starting to limit your work. As he said in the video, being yourself allows you to experiment and develop your own style. “Sometimes, you need to go beyond those restrictions that we put upon ourselves,” he said. We don’t always need to worry about being technically perfect or conforming to society norms to get great photos.

One thing that Klein’s work encourages us to try is to engage ourselves in the scene we’re photographing. Many of us start out as observers photographing subjects from a distance. But, we can learn a thing or two about Klein’s immersive style. Many of his photos bring the viewer into that very moment he pressed the shutter. If you’ve never done that before, maybe you can give it a go in your next shoot and see how it changes the look and mood of your photos.

• Posted on November 22, 2024