In a previous article we discussed how cinema and painting can influence your street photography vision. But what does this mean in practice when we are on the streets with a camera hold in the hands? How can we apply something that we’ve learned from studying a painter or a cinematographer to our photography? Let’s start by saying that the more works you have seen, the more inspired you will be. Often inspiration is implicit and spontaneous. On the street, we don’t have time to think too much, our right brain instinctively work for us.
So, I might photograph a particular scene because i’m attracted by its composition and subjects, or maybe by a strong contrast between lights and shadows. But why does something catch our eyes more than another? Simple, It depends on our individual sensitivity and experience. Can a particular cinematic frame or painting implicitly influence our brain to capture that type of scene? Absolutely, and that’s precisely the point, but in the streets often we don’t have time to understand that.
We take instinctively photos of something that catch our attention like a particular scene composition, silhouettes, lights/shadows. And probably, in the exact instant in which we open the shutter clicking a button, we don’t know why. Sometimes after, at home, when we edit pictures, having time to think on it, we have a sort of epiphany: “I took that particular photo because probably it remind me a particular scene in a paint or movie frame which I love“. So right brain first on the streets, left brain after when editing.
An idea that the same Henry Cartier Bresson expressed many years ago as I wrote in another article. William Wordsworth wrote “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity” which is a similar concept applied in another art. By the way theory is over, time to see with five practical examples how it works and what i mean.
Example n. 1
Ok, let’s take few examples directly with my personal experience; well here is my photography inspiration. Look at following picture, I took it with my smartphone many years ago.
When I took this photo of my grandfather, I remember I liked the strong contrast and the minimal composition: essentially highlight vs dark shadows. But most of all i was amazed by the fascinating light coming from the TV, which I wanted to be completely overexposed in my final picture (thanks to Robert Frank for teaching me that overexposed lights are fantastic). I have no doubt, the scene in my mind was in black and white. While taking the shot, I had the impression that the screen was hypnotizing my grandfather, as if it was in contact with him, absorbing all his attention, and also his soul.
It’s as if there was a mystical element in the room, inside the television, a sort of superior entity, I don’t know if good or evil. I remember perfectly that while I was shooting, I wanted to convey this impression. I was also very fascinated by his pose and gaze, as if only a physical presence of this human being remained, an empty shell with no trace of spirit, probably reabsorbed by the magical element of the scene. I took few photos, scene was static, so I had time to choice best composition and point of view.
Here is the movie reference that (probably) inspired me implicitly. As i said before often when we take photos our right brain simply works as well as he can. It doesn’t overthink, It’s fluid. But after, when we re-watch pictures at home, our left brain starts working, judging and thinking. Why do I take picture of that? Why do I love that light and why do I find a mystical element in a common and everyday scene? Well, Do you remember a cult movie called Poltergeist? Oh yes, that probably was my “implicit inspiration” for the concept idea (a spirit inside TV), the scene composition/point of view and also contrast between highlights and shadows.
But probably there was also another famous scene in my mind taken from the wonderful Her with Joaquin Phoenix. Look at the pose and expression in front of a simple screen. A mood of monotony and (probably) sadness.
Example n. 2
Time to see something different. Let’s go on the streets. I took this picture in Rome with my Ricoh GRIII, it was 2022 (or 2021 I don’t remember), I edit this shot only in late 2024. Probably this is one of my personal favorite shot. I like the pathos and depressive mood of that scene as well as gestures, facial expression, poses. A hidden head add that surreal touch that I love in street photography. I took 3-4 shots of the moment.
In that case I remember I realized directly on the streets my primary inspiration: Edvard Munch, for sure, no doubt. I’ve just talked about Munch in a previous article, he is one of my favorite painters ever, an expressionist; he used colors to “express” emotions. I was clearly inspired by his paintings in my street photography: the depressive mood, the lifeless and cold embraces, the ‘curvatures’ and poses of the bodies. These elements are “the connection” bewteen my picture and his works.
Look at these “cold” embraces posted below. In the following one the man seems abandoned to himself, I find a similitude with the moment photographed on the street.
More passion and optimism in that one.
Example n. 3
Now it’s time to talk about surreal inspiration in my photography. An essential element which I personally love (obviously). It’s not by chance that i like also surrealims in cinema and painting. But how can I introduce a surreal element in my pictures? Different ways to do that!
For example when I have a strong light in front of me I try to put it in the frame replacing people’s heads like in the pictures shown below. This time I premeditated my shots having in mind the idea to reproduce that particular effect; essentially I started from a concept in my mind, an idea enormously inspired by my studies on painting and cinema. It’s the inverse process: left brain first for the idea, right brain after for the shooting practice and realization. In that case I wanted overexpose highlights.
One of my first article on that blog was about surrealism influence. In this example the inspiration comes directly from Renè Magritte and David Lynch (read previous article in his honor) as shown below. The parallelism is clear and direct, much more than in the other examples where it was more implied and conceptual (maybe also personal) and I had to explain it a bit. I search the same visual effect as you can see by yourself looking at the images below.
Example n. 4
Kiss in the streets, a classic. Two lovers isolated in Via Condotti, Rome. A picture taken many years ago (probably before 2020). Usually I like taking photos of lovers in the streets, it’s one of my favorite subject.
The detail I like most about this photo is the pose struck by the boy, which reminds me of a famous painting known to everyone: The kiss by Gustav Klimt.
Example n. 5
Last one is another different example from previous ones in which there was a direct connection. I took this picture relatively recently, I was in Rome, Venezia square. A storm was arriving.
Here is another shot, same idea behind. I took this one last year with my first compact film camera.
Why do I take these photos? Essentially for years I had in mind the ending of the beautiful Coen brothers’ film, A Serious Man, a movie not appreciated by everyone: that beautiful storm approaching with the soundtrack Somebody to Love by the legendary Jefferson Airplane in the background. I love this final sequence, it is consistent with the mood of the entire movie. I wanted to recreate something visually similar, a shot that conveyed the idea of an imminent bad omen over us. Deep down, I already knew that I would never be able to match the visual power of the Coen brothers’ frame.
So the concept is similar, but the result is totally different (keeping in mind what we discussed in the previous article in which I said that a movie director or painter can choice and create the scene, a street photographer not). But the focus point is that I was 100% inspired by that movie for this shot.
Another example always with clouds. Look at this picture taken with my smartphone.
For this shot i was inspired by the latest movie directed by the great Jordan Peele. Nope. In fact I remember than I took this picture few days after watching Nope at the Italian screening premiere. Do you see any parallelism?
And again Renè Magritte!!!
Conclusions
I presented five practical examples about how cinema and painting inspire my street photography vision. That’s my experience, this is me. Of course also street photographers inspire me everyday, both great masters and contemporary photographers, famous or not. I wrote this article as a sort of provocation because in my opinion we have to find inspiration everywhere, without limits.
It’s not by chance that my passion for photography began alongside my love for films and painting. I think there is an invisible but strong connection between these arts. Yes because for me street photography is art, is not only about documenting reality, is not only about everyday life; it means so much more to me. It’s something about what i think, what i fell, what i am. I try to express that through my photos, simply myself.
That’s all folks
Stay well, have always light in your life
Best, F.S.
Here is the link to my personal best pictures: street photography gallery
Read more about street photography, art, cinema
Feel free to write me if you have question or want to argument something.
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