Explore Craig Boehman's venture into fine art with "Desolation," where street photography meets the innovative realms of Generative AI. Witness a fusion that challenges traditional boundaries, blending real-life captures with imaginative AI elements to craft Impressionist-inspired prints that redefine creativity in the digital age.

Street photography has all kinds of benefits. I want to share a few of these with you because even if you’re not a hardcore enthusiast, you might be surprised by what the genre can do for you if you decide to pursue it even occasionally. I’m personally working on my ninth year of shooting street photography and I hope to be doing it for decades to come. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Knowing your purpose in street photography is one thing; packaging it and presenting it to the world is quite another. I guess I’ve known all along what my purpose has been in street photography and photography in general: turning people into art. It may sound generic. It may sound too vague. After all, isn’t that what portrait painters do? Or any number of other artists, for that matter?

Street photographers, like any photography enthusiast, do stupid things occasionally. And I’m not above it all; I’ve ticked most of the boxes on this list. The point is to learn and grow as street photographers and not repeat the same mistakes that hold us back.
I compiled the ‘7 Stupid Things That Street Photographers Do’ list based on my past mistakes and those of photographers I’ve explored the streets with over the past eight years in India and worldwide.

I’ll focus instead on three of the most important ones that I believe will help you take better candid shots on your next street photography adventure. The best part is that you probably won’t need to buy new gear unless you’re shooting film or own outdated tech (or just starting out). Essentially, these tips are for photographers using modern DSLRs and mirrorless systems although some of the tips would apply regardless of the gear you use.

I’m always thinking and rethinking my day-pack bag for my camera and gear. The day bag can either be a small backpack or a shoulder bag meant for a camera bag and maybe a couple of extra lenses and accessories. As a prime lens shooter who regularly shoots street photography, I’ve come to terms with what I really need to get the job done. Essentially, this means less is more.

The Mumbai Street Photography Bootcamp is a 9 a.m. to 2p.m. immersive experience in the art of street photography. We aren’t going to explore touristy sites! No! We will focus instead on learning the craft of street photography with the singular goal of improving our skill sets.
Through the use of exercises and proven techniques, we will capture both candid and street portraits under my supervision. We’ll explore the busy streets of Mumbai throughout the course of the day and capture life as it unfolds during the busy work week. I’ll instruct attendees to achieve set goals throughout the workshop with an emphasis on both candid and street portraiture.

I see a lot of crazy shit in Mumbai and if I’m packing one of my cameras, the chances are that I’m going to capture the moment even if the image isn’t technically immaculate. My definition of crazy shit may differ from yours, but for the sake of argument, let’s just say that crazy shit is a good thing and not necessarily a bad thing and hence desirable to capture. It could crossover into Bresson’s decisive moment territory, and I don’t see why it wouldn’t ever not be the case. Crazy shit is memorable. Crazy shit tends to stir up conversation. And Crazy shit can be epic. I’m always on the lookout for crazy shit in my street photography.

I’ve been using SKylum’s Luminar AI, and its successor, Luminar Neo, since before the public launch dates for each of these apps. As someone who has had to come to terms with the fact that he’s always late to the game in regard to most technical innovations, I made it a point to jump aboard the artificial intelligence ship before the official passenger list was tallied.

Had I rekindled my passion for photography straight out of school I might have been a fashion photographer in another lifetime. Not one of those guys who's stuck on set all the time in a lifeless studio, but someone who does fashion outside in the "real" world. As it is, I'm always looking out for fashionable people on the streets even though my preferred locales in Mumbai are almost always void of such individuals.

I’ve only taken the Sony ZV-1 out for a few short sessions so far, using it mainly from Point A to Point B runs in an auto-rickshaw and on a couple of short daylight walks. I only have a handful of images edited so far. And a full review of this camera won’t be possible for few months. But what I’ll do for those who are interested in a point-and-shoot that appears to be well-suited for street photography, is list a few observations and comments.

A frame within a frame is always on my brain - when I'm shooting wide on my 24mm prime lens. That's because I'm always considering foreground layers when it comes to composition. Shooting subjects straight on can be unflattering compared to other focal lengths that come with nice bokeh when opened wide up. The 24mm needs help, in my opinion.

Over the years I've seen a lot of photographers who claim to be storytellers. This is, of course, a great thing. People love stories and we need them. Here comes the but...but many storytellers I've seen don't actually take the time to tell stories with their images - they just tell stories in their captions. This is a critical line to be drawn, I think. In my view, you can't tell a story visually with one image. You can caption the hell out of it but it doesn't mean that a story is being told visually. In this medium, you need multiple images if you're going to visually tell a story otherwise you're merely providing part of the narrative. After all, a story has a beginning, a middle, and an end, right? Unless you're Quentin Tarantino.

If you've ever visited Howrah Station and taken the bridge across to reach there, you may have noticed the intermittent but neverending stream of porters sluffing bags to and from the station. When you get up close and personal with them, you get to see how hard and tiring that kind of work is.

Photographers who practice street photography are fond of contacting one another, seemingly out of the blue, for the opportunity to break the monotony of going it alone. In my experience, many of these outings are not as productive photo sessions I conduct on my own but they fulfill other purposes, one of which is belonging to a loosely-knit community of global photographers. No matter what you like to call it, street photography is a practice. At its core is the journey. And apart from our everyday senses, a special emphasis is placed on capturing and taming countless rogue photons to produce images.

I packed my umbrella and had my ziplock bag ready for my camera in case of a monsoon shower. The streets were crowded and it was business as usual on a Saturday afternoon in Mumbai.

I’ve heard too few photographers talk about the phenomenon between how we feel when we’re taking pictures and the results. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Germans had a multi-syllable word for it. But we English-speakers certainly do not. So here’s a common scenario to describe what I’m talking about.

Welcome to my series where I tell the story behind some of my fine art photography pieces. I hope to convey to photographers that street photography is a great source for creating art. If you’re like me and love the visual arts but lack any talent to paint or draw, photography has become my artistic surrogate that allows me to create whenever I desire. That’s because my companion passion is street photography and I’ve literally thousands of images to choose from to create fine art photography pieces, and with and with any luck, I’ll be producing works of art for years to come.

I’ll be the first to admit that shooting street photography on vacation isn’t always a fruitful endeavor. Whenever I travel to Goa, I have the same conversation with myself. Should I take the camera or leave it at home? If I take it, I’ll likely not use it that much and have to pack onto the flight with me as carry-on. If I don’t take it, there’s always the chance that I’ll miss the shot of a lifetime.

In Chapter 1 of Tales of Mumbai Street Photography, I’ll share a few of my favorite images from the past and recent shots from 2022. The purpose of these posts is to act as supplemental material for my Street Photography projects page.