Street photography—technology makes way for conten...

Postscript　A Probe into the Social Value of Street Photography for Journalists

Street photography—a“compulsory course”ignored by photojournalists

It is difficult for the photojournalists to reflect their independent thinking on these kinds of photos，and it will not be helpful to change the subordinate status of photojournalists in the newspapers.What's more，it makes them more easily to be substituted by text reporters.

I have to say that the photojournalists are under high employment pressure nowadays.Sometimes，the more original methods they use，the more professional and irreplaceable they are.In the era of efficiency，street photography seems to be an untimely way of shooting，but it can exercise photographers'ability of observation，help deepen their understanding of photography，and let them take a fresh，contemporary story in the common daily life.

Street photography—how the value of image changes with time

Many young photojournalists complain that there is nothing to shoot.In my view，life is the simple thing you have to face every day.There is no need to have high-level theme to shoot，the charm of photojournalism lies in the fact that there are things to shoot every day.Nowadays，Chinese society is in an era of great changes in the human history：the city we live in runs in an extremely high speed and changes happen in every minute.Millions of population bring a large number of realistic contradictions，which let the news photograph exist everywhere—even there is no major event，or you don't have access to the scene of the historic event，you can also take wonderful photos if you want.In other words，as long as life continues，the subject for shooting will never be lacked.

Then what can we specifically shoot？According to my experience，I recommend to shoot something that has the characteristics of the times.With careful observation，the common things like street trees，billboards，electric cars and even logos on clothes are inadvertently conveying some slight sentiment and complex moods.All of the things that people placed in the corners intentionally or unintentionally have their own words.They have the possibility of reinterpretation，just like a set of codes of the city，which can give the readers enough imagination and a sense of ritual.This kind of news photography may not have direct photographs，clear information or strict timeliness，which may easily be ignored because they are too common.But as time goes by，they will be more and more valuable.Zheng Gu，a famous photography theorist and curator，said that he believes in people who shoot more.I am inspired by it.No matter you are intentional or not，the most basic property of photography is recording.Although you may not be aware of the meaning or the information contained in the photo，the property of photography has recorded for you.That's why you have to take more photos，no matter you understand it or not.There are many things we don't know how it will develop or what it means.If you try to understand all of them first，you will definitely miss a lot of things.In a word，the things that look meaningless today might have a great value in the future.If you put it aside and look back later，it is the history.Just as Susan Sontag said，“Time will eventually position most photos—even those at amateur level，at the level of art.”

In the 1980s，I stood on the top of a tall building which was still in construction at the Dongmenkou in Ningbo.I took a picture of the city center by splicing.It was just for fun at that time，but today，I am moved by it.Some scenes are too familiar to us because we live there.We pay no attention because of the familiarity.When we look back，that era was gone.However，what was hidden in these photos make you hear the footsteps of China's progress with the changes in city.The electric motorcycle series which won the China News Award in 2015 was originally a series of photos of street photography.At first，I just shot these pictures out of interest，but only a few years later I realized that the safety problem of electric motorcycle has become a big social problem.I did not take this group of photos intentionally，because I found that I can observe and record our daily life on the road，the story and fate of the characters carried by various types of vehicles as bystanders.I tried to show the progress of the city and people's attitudes towards life by recording the state on the road.Therefore，there is an image of“electric motorcycle”.Furthermore，if I get some new understandings in the future，those photos can also be formed to other topics.

Street photography—technology makes way for content in the new media era

After all，photography is a way to observing and understanding life.For a photojournalist，there is no need to carry a professional camera to enter into a photography state.Such state should be with you in any moment.When we do the street photography，the mirrorless camera is always more suitable than a professional one.As for the reason，I think the most important one is that mirrorless camera is more convenient to carry.Moreover，the limitation of technical equipment can reduce interference.As a result，it can help the photographer to focus on the expression of content and the refinement of the theme.

In addition，the mobile phone is also a good choice.It is small in size and quick in operation that it barely interfere with the object when shooting.When you take photos with your mobile phone，you are completely a bystander.You can watch it develop freely，and grab the most vivid one from the changing scene.Because the individuals will not make any artificial manner subconsciously，the reporter can easily capture some chaotic but subtle scenes，and the most vivid expressions，making their photos livelier and more dramatic.The charm of the city is revealed in these natural images completely.

Of course，you should also pay attention to some legal issues when doing street photography，such as respecting the willing of the subjects.As for the photos that are not allowed to be made public，you are not permitted to use them for profit or guide the public evaluation，otherwise it is easy to infringe the subjects，privacy and portrait rights.The city street，as a public space，is a natural studio for photojournalists.Street photography leads to a new shooting manner.Photojournalists is nothing but transfer shooting into a wider space to express a relationship shoot from the occurrence place of one event to another，but also express a relationship in a wider space.If you can comprehend the core of everyday life by shooting a lot of photos and build up your own thinking，you will have the confidence that no one can replace you in any moment.