In an over sharing world, making photos comes with pressure. It’s important to step away and focus solely on yourself. During the summer I wrote a piece that questioned if, in the digital age, any of us truly take photos for ourselves. As many photographers build up their social media following, there is an expectation put on them to deliver in a consistent way. For any artist, playing to the beat of your audiences drum can be very demanding and difficult. Every photo walk becomes a means to an end - and passion becomes work. Does it always have to be like that? Take Photos Without Expectatio ..read more

Photo by Deva Darshan  You won’t change a thing just by telling the world what a good person you are. The war on the treatment of women in street photography continues. The more I read on social media the more I realise that most of what is being said has no bearing on the representation of women within the field. Rather, it is just an opportunity for other street photographers, often male, to jump on the bandwagon and get some high fives. Cryptic Whispers I have lost count of the number of times I have seen men post on social media something that looks like this. “I am so angry at what ..read more

Photo by Simon Abrams An artist's mind is a sensitive place. What flows through it will always impact their ability to create. That is why it is important to remove as much toxic influence as possible. My opinion is that someone who has a creative brain becomes more susceptible to the good and the bad that comes their way. I have developed this way thinking through years of my own experience and through dialogue with other creatives. When things are good they are really good. And when things are bad they are really bad. I’m learning that the way I live my life has such a huge impact on my abi ..read more

Photo by Jordan Whitt  Photography records a moment in time. It leaves a mental footprint and can shape the way we think and feel about the world. I have been thinking a lot about how street and documentary photography can shape the way we feel about certain social norms. The more a certain topic gets covered, the more it becomes a part of our everyday life. I think photography certainly has its place in promoting positive (and negative) attitudes towards everyday subjects. Breast Feeding In this piece, I am going to focus on breastfeeding as an example. After coming across the work of A ..read more

In the modern era, portfolio reviews have become big business in the photographic world. In this week’s episode of A Photographic Life United Nations of Photography(UNP) founder and curator, Grant Scott, discussed the business of portfolio reviews. He explored the positive and negatives of paying for a review, and  explained his aim to create a free feedback community for photographers. Overpriced portfolio Reviews Scott stated how he has seen portfolio reviews being offered for as much as £150 for a 20 minute Skype conversation. In my opinion, these kind of prices are absolutely damagin ..read more

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa  “It doesn’t matter what others think; I just shoot street photography for myself”. If you’re somebody who likes to converse about street photography a lot, I am almost certain you have listened to someone make the above statement before. It’s highly possible you have even said it yourself. However, in this digital world, do any of us shoot street photography just for ourselves? How do we shoot street photography for ourselves? The most well-known example of shooting street photography solely for your own enjoyment is Vivian Maier. As the now well-known story goes ..read more

There is a certain satisfaction in helping someone kick-start their photography project. Kickstarter is a wonderful website where photographers (amongst other mediums) can use it to help raise money to bring their project to fruition. It's a win for everyone, as in return for your backing, depending on how much you invest you will receive some form of product. There are many reasons to show your support for a photography project, other than receiving goods because of it. It could be to help a worthwhile cause, support something you are passionate about, or simply to just help a fellow artist ..read more

Photo by Jiroe The ethics of street photography are widely debated, and for some, have become a little tired. One of the oldest and most common discussions is whether or not we should take photos of homeless people. The topic came up at this year’s Street London event. Some say yes, it’s all fair game. Whilst others suggest it’s taking advantage of a person at their lowest point. Personally speaking, I no longer take images of homeless people. I see no purpose to it. When we start to make our work ‘socially aware’ we need to be sure we are really making a difference with it. The truth is that ..read more

London - Street Photography is dead, at least that is what the pessimists will have you believe. However, if we take ourselves over to Brick Lane, the home of this year’s Street London event (hosted by Hoxton Mini Press), then there was an abundance of reasons given as to why that certainly isn’t the case. The event was extremely well attended. A far cry from the tired rhetoric that street photography is for a small group of elitist middle-class white men, the venue was filled with a diverse group of ages, genders, and identities. The same was true for the lineup. Crossing paths with document ..read more

Leeds - On Sunday 5th August the city centre was taken over by 40,000 people. It was the annual Pride event, the biggest celebration of the LGBT community.  A city often affiliated with the white rose, Leeds was transformed into a vibrant place filled with pink, yellow, orange, green and blue. This was a celebration of strength, a celebration of freedom, and of course, a celebration of love. I was there to shoot street photography, and in the process was able to learn a valuable lesson. The hurdles of love As a white heterosexual male with a liberal upbringing, it is unlikely that I will ..read more