Portfolio Pre-Production

 Being that I specialize in street photography, I'd say there isn't much to say when it comes to what I do for pre-production. Given the point-and-shoot nature of street photography, you can't really expect to capture exactly what you were planning on shooting.

Sometimes though, I research other photographer's examples of street photography; particularly older examples, circa 1960 and older, simply because I like the aesthetic and authenticity behind it and is what I try to emulate in my work. It also helps give me inspiration and think of certain subjects I might seek out and photograph while on my way to my location. But like I said, this often doesn't work out as I plan. About a week ago I went downtown hoping to capture video/audio of a motorcycle driving by. What I got instead was an ambulance blaring its sirens. It made for a somewhat interesting clip, but there wasn't much I could do to prepare for something like that.

My thesis that I'm trying to stick to with my portfolio is the idea of recognizing the mundane. When I go out to do street photography, I try to capture people simply carrying out their daily lives uninhibited by me, because that can create potential for a great scene. The subjects may see what they're doing as mundane, but the way the camera is positioned and frames the scene can tell a story much more interesting than what's being observed at a base level.