The composition of this stunning black and white shot is the reason that we have chosen it to be the winner. The viewer is drawn into the image straight to the main subject on the opposite platform. The station sign has been skilfully centred in the shot and the image is very high-contrast and low-key, which is ideal for monochrome photography – our eyes were drawn straight to the highlights in the middle. We feel it has truly captured a candid and very real moment.
We really love this shot because it made us look twice. At first we though all three figures were mannequins, but on closer inspection we saw that the central figure was in fact a real person. Although his eyes are somewhat shadowed we can see that he is making eye contact with the camera, which helps to pull the viewer in. There is a high-contrast between the blacks and whites in this shot too, which make it very striking indeed.
Meet the expert judge
2,366 Images entered
1,948 Photographers
141,916 Ratings
Brief
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On the surface, street photography seems like a relatively straight forward genre, however, in practice producing unique and engaging street shots and candid portraits of ordinary people can be extremely difficult. Once you have mastered the correct approach and techniques it can be extremely rewarding and candid portraits captured in black and white can be just as alluring.
