How to do Street photos which are identifying the place

This is one of the major themes that I share with my students. In my Street Photography workshops we work to get photographs that will still make sense when the decades have passed.

Eje - 2021

How many chances do many have of returning to the same country that is not theirs? From 2020 even less than in the past. And imagine, as street photographers, doing it with photos that don't look like they were taken in Mexico but, rather, you could have taken them anywhere in the world. Would you be happy? I don’t think so. I strongly believe that a photograph doesn’t need only to be a good photo. A photograph, a good photograph should be iconic in some way. And when it comes to Street Photography I have to see a belonging to the place. Otherwise it's better to take pictures of the kitchen tiles.

When I photograph I am concerned with documenting the human condition and I am concerned with contextualizing the story. The setting should be clear most of the time. If you think it's difficult it is, but in twenty years I have this photo that shows a moment in Eje Central, one of the most important avenues in Mexico City.

The ideal would also be to be aware of where you photograph yourself. Possibly learn about the history of the street you photograph. Am I adding complication to street photography? Perhaps. But ask yourself why and photographers on the street. And I hope it's not just to get appreciation on instagram.

Of course, if you are a foreigner, you can be relatively interested in the whole toponymy of a place. As I wrote in the past, it is always essential to know your goals with photography. Personally, I like to think of a photographer as a conscious being, with an above average culture, really interested in what he/she photographs. How do you tell yourself interested if you ignore most of what you do?