Creative street photography ideas : Playing with billboards

Another great classic of street photography is to compose with the giant billboards used for advertising to create unique pictures, micro comedies or dramas. Very often, the desired effect is obtained when a billboard either presents a feature that supports a character action, or, on the contrary, presents an element totally opposing it. In some cases, a scale effect between a character and the picture displayed in a background creates a fantastic impact on the viewer.

Tip 1 : Different approaches

Picture (c) FaniKanawati

Picture (c) Fani Kanawati

The easiest approach is to find a great poster having a high photogenic potential (pictorial, funny, or dramatic), and to wait before it. Then to patiently watch the moment when an atypical person comes and pass-by or make an action before the billboard. It requires a lot of luck but also a lot of time and patience, and the result is not guaranteed. Also you can lose precious time waiting that could be dedicated to other better catches.

So the most rewarding experience remains the typical street photographer approach : capturing this very fortuitous moment resulting from a combination of three major elements: 1) A billboard with a high potential, 2) a subject in complete match (or mismatch) with this billboard, and 3) the presence of a street photographer at this precise moment to observe the scene and freeze this moment, that will never happen again.

Tip 2 : Words impacts

A street photograph relying exclusively on the wording on a commercial might not have the same impact : the wording might not be seen, at first glance, not understood, or totally ignored by the viewer if it is not supported by pictorial elements.

Picture (c) William Darhy

Tip 3 : Scale effects

This effect is created when a giant picture, seems to interact with a character, creating a fantastical effect.

Pictures (c) Matt Stuart, Richard Bram

Picture (c) Matt Stuart

Picture (c) Richard Bram

Tip 4 : Add fortuitous accessories to the characters

A character in front of a billboard is provided with an unexpected accessory. This case is self explanatory, a good picture is worth a thousand words:

Pictures (c) Richard Bram

Picture (c) Richard Bram

Tip 5 : The character in the picture seems to be interacting with real people

Probably the easiest effect to obtain, when a character imitates the posture or the gesture of a character on a billboard in the background.

Pictures (c) Richard Bram, Amani Willett

Picture (c) Richard Bram

Picture (c) Amani Willett

Tip 6 : Be a smart street photographer

Of course beyond the impact of the picture, the street photographer is always looking for this unique moment, this magic instant that will only happen once and only once.

Picture (c) FaniKanawati

Picture (c) Fani Kanawati

The billboard technic is really easy to obtain, very difficult to master, and you will see a lot of street photographs using it all over the web. It is very tempting to publish a photograph where a character more or less have the same pose than a character on a billboard. So be smart, and inventive, think twice (or more) as suggested by Nick Turpin, and just publish the shots that really worth it. More importantly, a good street photograph should present something unique, meaning : the moment captured can only happen once, and only once, and you were smart (or lucky) enough to capture it. Also, don’t forget to have fun.

Among the big names of street photography, many are those who have used this effect, which consequently becomes a classic. However the “bigs” distinguish themselves by the boldness of the shots, the impact on the viewer (fantastic, dramatic or comic) and more importantly, the incredible impression of unicity.

Contributors

Picture (c) FaniKanawati, Richard Bram, Amani Willett, Matt Stuart, Nils Jorgensen, Ronya Galka, Gonzale, Carmen Amato

Gallery of great street photography using billboards

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