## *Shoot him in the face, right in the face!*  
This is what I told myself, but I always chickened out.  I'm talking about street photography of course, and I had some strange notions I thought I needed to live up to...  

In my mind at the time, street photography meant:
* People in the street, not  the street itself
* Eye contact with the subject (_don't shoot them in the back..._)
* Black and white

I have since changed my opinions somewhat, but back in 2014, I was stomping around the streets of East Vancouver with my little Fuji X100S in hand, mentally torturing myself over my inability to live up to point number two.  I really felt myself a coward because I couldn't point my camera right in someone's face and press the shutter.

***"Faces in the window"*** was a series of shots I took trying to overcome my fears. 
 


![DSCF4132.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1520017903/fzmlowy5flup6nmggvel.jpg)

## _What's the subject?_
The guy seated at the table made an interesting subject, and _he couldn't see me_ so I felt safe.  The people in the window could see me, but the _glass kept me safe_.  (Yes, I actually walked around thinking of stuff like this!)  So who or what is the subject here?  For me, it became the people in the window, and I ran with that concept for a while.

## _Does it have to be Black and White?_
It doesn't, that's silly.  Black and white is kind of traditional, but if that's the _only_  reason you have for doing it, why not just use colour?

![Girl in Window copy.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1520020753/xzpupscb0i7zfmkjkgma.jpg)

In the photo above we have some nice colour and the girl can't see me, and even if she does the glass is "keeping me safe."  (Unless the unseen boyfriend attached to that hand comes charging out of the restaurant....  this has _never_ happened!)

## _Does it have to be a candid shot?_
I put a lot of faith in the idea of _candid_  street photography.  Yes, I wanted to see some eye contact if possible, but I thought if I saw the subject before they saw me the photo would be stronger.  To some degree, I still think this might be true.

![Girl in coffee shop copy.jpg](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1520021331/nixnbfxnhidastwp5jk1.jpg)

So there I was in a coffee shop taking a candid shot of this beautiful young woman, and one second after clicking the shutter she stopped, looked me straight in the eye and gave me a huge smile.  "Ah... can I take your photo"  I asked?  She said yes and I took three more shots, but they were all garbage.  The moment and the magic were gone.

## _What are your thoughts on street photography?_

Do you feel the need to capture people's faces directly?  Do you find this difficult, and if so, how do you handle it?  Please share any thoughts you have in the comments, and thanks for reading!

The first photo in this post is my entry for the #streetphotography contest by @juliank and @photocontests.