Journal | Paris Street Photography: Confronting Photographic Clichés
Paris Restaurant | Photo by Joep Hijwegen
Street photography in Paris.
Aside from New York, there is no city associated more strongly with the medium. When I planned a weekend visit to the ‘city of lights’ last September, it felt like a dream come true. But I was also nervous.
If there is one thing I am always cautious of, it is photographic clichés, and opportunities to revell in them would certainly be abundant. Although the current state of the world certainly didn’t help, this fear of cliché was also one of the reasons that I haven’t travelled much for photography.
When I initially started to take pictures in my home town city of Utrecht, I believed it to be the most boring city in the world. And when the first good images emerged, images that I treasured and that felt truly mine, I gave the boringness of the city a lot of credit.
After all, I had to be imaginative. I had to work my very hardest to find inspiration, to frame things differently, to use creative techniques. My home city, to me at least, had no natural charisma. So I worked hard to invent it, and learned to create dramatic photographs out of nothing. Photographs that were truly mine.
But what if I would go to a place that is interesting? A place with iconic buildings, a lively nightlife, a fashionable populace? Would there still be space for my vision? Or would it simply take over, force me to capture it in all its glory like it wants me too?
I feared the latter. I was deeply worried that Paris was, if anything, too photogenic to capture in any other way than the countless great photographers before me had. Would I come home with images of a romantic and soft paradise, nothing but a less pure version of the Leiter and Doisneau images we all know and love?
On the train, just outisde of Paris | Joep Hijwegen
A Different Perspective?
Sure, I knew there were different sides to the city. There is darkness and grit, and no matter how many times you’ve already been there the smell will still take you by surprise. It is busy and oppresive, and you definitely feel like you have to watch your back. Just outside of the center you are quickly confronted by its inequality and the social problems. But I am no documentary photographer, and I didn’t have the desire nor the time to turn this into a project about a different Paris.
What I dreamed of was to use its iconic scenery and bristling life to paint a picture of myself, just like I did back at home. To capture the dual nature of my state of mind: a sense of dreamlike wonder, but with an underlying anxiety. The former compounded and enhanced by its many bistro mirrors, Art Nouveau design and powerful colorscheme. The latter brought to the foreground by the overwhelming environment and dark edges.
It’s a confusing thing to hope for: to be torn between opposites. To hoover in romantic bliss and brim from excitement but also feel trapped and overwhelmed, even threatened in some ways. And yet I did. Because I had no illusions that I could somehow force this perspective. If I were to go home with the images I hoped for, it would have to be because they naturally transpired through my state of mind.
Lady waiting at busstop | Joep Hijwegen
Couldn’t change it if I tried?
Ultimately, I am very happy with the results of my weekend. For all the reflection and thinking I did on my trip beforehand, I quickly discovered that photography remains such an instinctive affair that I lost all my power over what I would shoot as soon as I was there. My fear of repeating clichés was not unfounded, but neither was my expectation of my own state of mind. I did not have to hope for a perspective of both wonder and anxiety, it is quite simply how I am.
In some ways, it felt like I couldn’t have gotten different results if I tried. And yet, I think my reflections had a positive effect. I think it is definitely good to be aware of what makes your images uniquely yours, and to think of how to bring that forward in a new environment, and to be wary of any pitfalls. It allowed me to be selective in both my shots and edits to tell the story I wanted to tell.
It allowed me to marry my internal world with the external. To make images that were both iconically Paris and yet felt as my own. Below are some of my favourite images, and some tips on how to dance the line between iconic and expected.
My tips for iconic but personal photographs
Don’t just look at the environments unique characteristics in terms of direct, but also indirect qualities
What I mean by that is to look for unique opportunities for framing and compositions you wouldn’t have in other places.
The direct formal qualities of Paris would be things like the many bistro’s, strong color scheme of red and green and the formally dressed waiters. These are nice to capture, but it will quickly look like travel photography or simple documentation unless you work in the indirect formal qualties as well.
By indirect formal qualities I mean things like the many three-way intersections with rounded corners, the ample mirrors all around and the fact that most restaurants are two stories. Not things that are interesting to take pictures of by themselves, but they allow for different perspectives, angles and therefor stories than anywhere else.
Furthermore, it allows you to create images uniquely to a place without even putting in anything recognizable, allowing lots of space of your own vision.
Don’t capture how it looks, capture how it feels
Embrace the spirit of a place and how you experience it. Ironically, this might sound very cliché, but it’s a principle that I’ve sticked by for years.
Granted, it is not always easy to actively ‘feel’ how to capture something, but definitely don’t shy away from being expressionistic rather than realistic in your images.
That boring couple on a first date gone awry might not be going through the heights of romance, but if that’s the mood you feel in that scenario, try to snap the moment their looks hint at love. Or, if you feel unwelcome and uncomfortable in the luxury of a fancy restaurant, time your image of the waiters to frame them as menacing rather than hospitable.
If both of these examples sound too specific, that’s because they describe my approach for two of the images above.
It is all in the detail
I shot my image of the man holding the pen on the first day. At first I felt silly. I could have shot this anywhere, with anyone, right? Why did that feel like one of my keepers of a trip to a different city? I soon realized that it captured something unique about the place. The pen, the suit, the colours. Not only does it refer to Paris’ history as a refuge for writers, it also reflects its stylishness and the colour palette in a way less obvious.
The lady in red grasping her baret at the busstop is another example of an image that quickly could have escaped me, and that I almost didn’t take until her posture and hand gesture turned it from cliche to personal. It perfectly defines my feeling of Paris, with everyone tenderly holding on to its fragile romantic and classic imagery, in a city that is otherwise quite harsh.
Intention is born in the edit
Take all these tips with a grain of salt and don’t sweat the results too much while shooting. It would be a waste to limit your own enthusiasm and instincts. Remember that the selection and edit is ultimately where you choose what you will show to the world, and that you can always decide what story you’ll tell from there. It’s not what you shoot that makes who you are as a photographer, it’s how you express yourself to the world.
In Conclusion
Although I am quite happy with the results of my first photo trip in years, I do think it would require more time to truly go beyond cliche and dig into the essence of a place and what it means to me. This is my first written article, and therefore I can imagine it is quite rambly. Nevertheless, I do hope that you find something of value in it.
I’m also very curious if my fear of naturally photogenic places is something universal or quite unique to me. Have you ever gone on a trip with the worry of becoming unoriginal? And did those fears come true? Let me know below!
If you have any suggestions or ideas for future articles, also do not hesitate to put them forward, as I’m always looking for input.