The street photography style in Paris

The Street Photography is a major discipline practiced by the greatest photographers since the beginning of photography.
It is a realistic and humanist art that depicts people in spontaneous situations throughout public places such as streets, parks, shopping areas etc.

The street photographer, with his curiosity and keen mind, strolls in the city, catches the scenes and gives a new vision of the urban life through funny or minimal details. He can also depict the complexity of the human condition with a glimpse to the grim side of the city, like a genuine and objective mirror.

From a technical perspective, street photographers use focal lengths which give them and the spectator freedom of observation. If a 35mm is the standard focal length, a 50mm is often chosen for a fair magnification of the subject while at the same time putting the scene in perspective.

This movement was especially marked by photographers from the last century like Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Robert Frank, Helen Levitt, William Klein, Garry Winogrand and Martin Parr.

They see the street as « a theater of endless possibilities where the cast list is never set until the shutter opens » S. Howarth and S. Mc Laren, Street Photography Now.