Streets in motion

Tips & Tricks

1x Blog-Tips & Tricks

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“Everything is in motion. Everything flows. Everything is vibrating.” ~ Wayne Dyer ~

The motion represents a great moment of interest in the street photography. The motion initiates a story, suggests a consequence of the captured moment or communicates what happened before that moment. But what is suggested or anticipated by the act of motion only emerge in the mind of the viewer. Technically speaking one cannot create a movement from a static image: the image doesn’t move, it is a still moment on the screen or printed on the paper. But is the imagination that it is guided by the photographer to discover the sense of the motion in the static image and complete the scene by suggesting what just happened or anticipating about what is going to happen.

“7873” by Patricia Soon

The motion is tightly bound to the street photography because the street is alive, thirsty for life, quickly moving and going through unrepeatable moments. The street is not a collection of buildings, cars and people standing still, but a dynamic representation of the radiating life with all these elements permanently vibrating and communicating each other by motion.

From the technical perspective the motion in street photography can be highlighted mainly either by freezing the moment, long exposures, panning or zooming. A dog rushing curiously towards the photographer, a bicyclist on his way home in the rain, the urban market agitation are only a few examples of motion stories in the street photography. Regardless of the technique employed and apart from obviously communicating the fact that something is moving, there is also a subtle reason of using the motion in the street photography: it conveys the mood! The tranquillity of the urban sunset or the everyday street rush can be both induced by the motion.

The motion is also a trustful ally in separating the subject, eliminating the distraction and finally guiding the viewer to the right message of the photography. It is, therefore, an amazing tool of creativity in the hand of photographer, able to transform a trivial slice of street life into a remarkable story and a challenge to refine the street images!

Using the motion in the street photography requires practice, experiment, skills and a lot of patience. But when is mastered it makes a huge difference! I invite you to discover the emotions conveyed by the motion in the series of street photography below captured by 1x members!