Street photography

Sometimes it's luck and sometimes it's judgement and oftentimes it's a combination of both - with a dollop of pre-visualisation and anticipation. I like this very much in terms of both its stillness and its movement. Plus the red and the green frame the man on the 'phone perfectly. Well seen and well executed.

I think that this is wonderfully seen and the abstract nature of it is entirely compelling however I think this doesn't quite work because of the surrounding contextural details of the other cars. This is a rare occasion where a longer lens might have gotten the photographer in closer and excluded the extraneous - but still first class effort.

I think that this is tremendous and reminds me enormously of André Kertész's work with shadows in (especially) Paris in the 1930s. This frame is a little larger in scope and the figure is dwarfed by the architecture but its positioning is such that viewer can take a leisurely (visual) stroll around the frame. Indeed the figure is almost superfluous to the composition. This is well seen, exposed and executed. Well done.

This has pretty much all of the elements that I'd suggest is analogous to keeping three plates spinning at once - and when that happens - it's often just luck that elevates an image from good to excellent. This is very well seen and only the exposure on the boy (and perhaps the delineation of the cat) has prevented this image from going further. In terms of the former, it's always a good idea to slightly underexpose by say half a stop overall - but you're very close. Keep up the good work!

Sometimes the light is there and sometimes that image is there and when they come together we have a lovely frame. I think that this almost works in the sense of a reportage image but in terms of affect, it works as an emotional scene-setter to Havana that ticks off the elements - sun, shadows, colour and 'picturesque' poverty. I'd have liked to have seen more intimacy and closeness and in that way more than just use the anonymous figures as props on a what might be seen as a movie set - but this is a strong image, well exposed. Nice.

I really like this and, as opposed to the myriad images of 'people walking past something' - an increasingly tedious trope - this frame is about looking and finding the extraordinary in the everyday. It strongly reminds me of the late Congolese photographer, Kiripi Katembo Siku, famous for his series 'Un regard' (A Look/A Reflection), where he captured surreal, dreamlike images of daily life in Kinshasa - as much out of necessity as aesthetic challenge - but this is rather beautiful in its simplicity and the merest hint at the edge of the pavement is well thought through in that it shows without shouting and gives us a visual anchor. Excellent.

I think that there's a really interesting image forming here but it doesn't quite live up to the billing. Certainly there is a tremendous potential and I especially like the boy with the trumpet but the exposure is slightly off which means the blown sky is the brightest and first thing we look at. Sometimes, although we have to be speedy, patience and a simpler composition - a higher/lower angle and perhaps shooting 'through' one of the figures might have meant the (necessary) exclusion of the motorbike. Still a very good attempt and it's nearly there. Keep pushing.

Almost. This is a frame with potentially lovely shapes and in that potential echoes Robert Frank's tuba player in his 'Political rally, Chicago, 1956'. The difference is (apart from this being in colour and a landscape shape) timing and intimacy. The extraneous detail of the scene means that although the dynamic shape is present, it fails to dominate and the rest of the details - sky, river, other musicians are a sort of flat accompaniment. Sometimes, we have to try different ways to frame - landscape/portrait, from in front or from behind. Think about how the background will impact your image and whether you need that at all. Keep pushing.

This is a charming moment pretty well captured and nicely observed but both the exposure and the background let it down. Let's deal with exposure first. It's always a good idea to have a constant running commentary in your head about what exposure each scene contains and if you're shooting at say 1/125 at a decent ASA you simply need to figure out an aperture. In terms of composition, sometimes speed is of the essence but here a figure in the background is lurking and, I get the feeling that this image (it isn't perfectly sharp - think about hyperfocal distance) may be the result of snatching at it. Try and think what you want from the frame, breathe, compose with foreground and background in mind and then press the shutter. Be deliberate, don't try to hide what you're doing and engage when necessary. Practice and this will become second nature. Good attempt - keep going.

I think this is a frame that has tons of potential but what are we really being made to see here? Is it the child, the portrait, the film star images or the bus? If, as I'm presuming it isn't the latter the how might we frame the 'action' of the artist in relation to other apposite elements? One way is to really think what might be the most useful device - shooting through the artists hands? Shooting through the pictures of the film star? What might we exclude and what angle might we take? From eye-level as here which has some possibilities but limits what we might force the viewer to see - or perhaps getting lower. As an exercise, see if you can frame this better in your imagination and next time be brave and move in closer. Keep thinking and better images will come.

There are so many potential images within this image but by framing it to capture both the performer and the entire scene that potential has been diminished. This kind of photography is about making split-second decisions about what is visually important and striking. Is it the children shot through the bubbles? Is it the performer? Is it a view perhaps through his arms? It's likely not one, unless we're very fortunate or Henri Cartier Bresson, that includes the rather confusing background of the Amsterdam architecture. I always think that when approaching something like this it's always a good idea to look around and think what might work. Sometimes one has to react to what's in front of the lends but oftentimes a strong picture is the result of intent and visualisation. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't - and this was well seen but try and compose for what might happen and see how you go.

There's a really interesting image within this frame but it's compromised by your composition. I'm interested in the musician, his pose and his instruments. I'm less interested in the entire context of the street and by framing him with so much extraneous detail you detract from what could be a telling image about the street and Paris itself. Try and think about what you want to frame before you do. Get close and try different angles. Keep pushing.