Exploring Urban Photography: Why I Believe it Can Lead to More Success Than Street Photography

Cigarette Break

Ocassionally I have taken a street photograph that I like, as with the photo above. I think it captures a candid moment and the scene is very natural - a kitchen worker taking a break at a backstreet entrance, surrounded by litter and graffiti. In my opinion, the contrasting elements tell the story of the moment and they lead to the success of the image.

But I regret to say that I don't capture images like this very often.

While I like doing street photography, I find it to be challenging as I believe it is a very specific, skillful genre.

I think that if we are to capture street images that will stand the test of time and that will mean anything in the future they have to have some intrinsic value; either that they tell a story of events and characters in a certain place and time or that they depict a unique moment on the street; something unusual, quirky, humorous or with some kind of emotional impact.   

Alternatively, successful street images could have a strong visual element - images that are interesting to look at and that will entice the viewer to linger over them for a while rather than quickly pass over.

I realise that these types of images are not always easy to come by, but that anything less will just result in boring pictures that no-one is interested in.

Although I will continue in my quest to capture these images in towns and cities that I visit, I feel at a disadvantage by not living in a major city or in one of the iconic street photography venues such as New York, London or Paris. I don’t often get the opportunity to visit such places with time to spend doing street photography.

While I will still enjoy the chase of the good street image, and I always enjoy the process of street photography regardless of whether or not I come home with a good image, I find that an occasional switch to the more all-encompassing urban photography genre might give me more success.

Why do I think I could have more success at urban photography than street photography?

I think there are two main reasons.

Firstly, in my opinion urban photography is not quite as restrictive as street photography in that images can consist of anything that exists in an urban environment. Buildings, parts of buildings, unusual features, shape, pattern, colour are all aspects of urban landscapes that you can play around with. This allows for creativity and experimentation - work with light, colour, shape, form and pattern, or abstract photography - resulting in photography that shows an urban landscape in all its diversity.

Urban photography seems to be a more forgiving form of photography than street photography. It is not judged as rigidly or as precisely as street photography tends to be.

For example, I was recently in a local town on market day. I thought I might come away with some interesting shots. I did see some scenes that I might have felt were worthy of shooting on previous occasions but when I asked myself if it would be of interest to anyone the answer was no. The scenes were of everyday occurrences, possibly worthwhile if documenting this place on market day, but otherwise uninteresting. They did not tell a story, did not reveal a unique moment, nor would they have lasting visual appeal.

So, I turned my attention to urban photography and, if nothing else, I enjoyed the experience which made it a more successful outing in my view.

Here are some urban images that I hope will illustrate my point:

As I think these images illustrate, urban photography offers endless potential and enjoyment, with no pressure to produce any particular type of image.