Street Photography Is Not a Dogma

There’s something constantly happening in the world of street photography

A lot of people tends to approach it like a religion: with its own commandments, orthodoxy, and even high priests. Scroll through social media or drop in on certain forums, and you’ll see it: a rigid idea of what street photography should be. Candid only. No edits. No eye contact. 28mm or you’re doing it wrong. The street must be the same and…similar. Anything else is not real street.

Honestly? That’s not just boring: it’s a misunderstanding of the very spirit of this craft.

A Wider Understanding, Thanks to the Masters

I’ve been photographing the street for years. But I’ve also been (and I am still) a student of it, diving deep into the work of photographers who shaped the genre long before Instagram or YouTube tutorials. And let me tell you this: no two masters shoot the street the same way.

Berengo Gardin, Brassaï, Winogrand, Levitt, Shore, Meyerowitz, Branzi, Uminicini, the Mignon collective: each of them saw the street differently. Each brought their own context, their own philosophy, their own sensitivity. Some were social documentarians, some were surrealists with a camera, others were poets of the mundane: but all of them shooting the street because they elected the street as the place where they realized most of their work, and this fact to have as a reference Joewl Meyerowitz marks the difference and make them street photographers. There is no single school, no “pure” form. Street photography has always been plural. This is what gives it its power and vitality.

My own wider understanding of street photography comes precisely from recognizing this richness. It’s not about following a checklist on a blog. It is about approaching the street with curiosity, with openness, with a hunger to see. That’s the real condition to do it good. This is why I prefer to talk about the experience of a photographer on the street and not about a genre.

As a Coach, I Don’t Offer a System: Only Guidance

I coach photographers, since 2011. And one of the first things I make clear is that I’m not here to give you a system or a doctrine to follow. I don’t believe in recipes. What I offer is a conversation, a confrontation with your own instincts, a push to help you recognize what you want to say with your camera. And I focus on that, I focus just on the photographerin front of me and trying to help him/her to find his/her inner voice to come out and being translated through the photos.

There are no universal rules in street photography, because each photographer brings their own way of seeing. What I do is help you clarify that vision: not replace it with mine. If anything, my job is to help you forget all the noise, all the dogma, and return to the act of seeing.

Street Is Personal, Not Prescriptive

You know, guys. I don’t shoot to impress judges. I don’t care about fitting into trends or festivals. My focus, especially now, is on black and white photography: because it strips away distraction and lets me go straight to the emotional core, and yet I shoot a lot of photos in color. My decision isn’t part of a purist stance, but a personal one. It’ helps me see better.

Street photography, when done honestly, is a self-portrait. It’s a mirror of the photographer. That’s why I believe rules are not only useless: they’re dangerous. They reduce something intimate and expressive into a competitive sport. And in fact those applying that approach, street photography as religion, they are all thinking to festivals and awards. Where we can “appreciate” always the same and homologation reigns.

Hey, currently I don’t have anymore in my camera equipment a 28mm. I am pretty sure this thing is blasphemy for many street photographers out of here.

Let Go of the Religion

There’s a quote I love that says, "In art, there are no mistakes: only discoveries." That’s the energy I want to bring back to the street. It’s not a temple. It’s not a classroom. It’s a place to wander, to listen, to respond with your camera. Some days it’s lyrical. Some days it’s brutal. Sometimes you come back with gold, sometimes with nothing but silence: and that’s all part of it.

So no, I won’t tell you how to shoot. I won’t sell you a rulebook. What I offer is an invitation: to look again, to walk differently, to make photography yours again. That is the only thing to count: what is your personal vision? What is making your photography different from the others? Are you showing your own perspective or you are just repeating a formula, made from others? Why the world pf photography, so full with images everyday, needs of you?

Street photography is not a dogma, guy. It’s a living thing. Trasforming. Changing. Free. Just like life is…