Last Updated on 11/14/2019 by Mark Beckenbach
Here’s an interesting social experiment that anyone who takes street photos might learn from.
For most people, street photography typically involves “taking” something from the scene and the people in it. But what happens when photographers give something back to the people they photograph — something as simple as the actual photos they took? Recently, this was the idea Brooklyn-based Josh Katz decided to put to the test as a social experiment. Of course, he was in one of the best spots to do this: bustling New York City, the quintessential street photographer’s playground.
To perform this experiment, Josh needed to shoot with a camera that would allow him to readily give out the street photos to his unsuspecting subjects. There’s only one type of camera that does that: an instant camera, and he specifically used a Polaroid Spirit 600 camera for his project. His plan was to take photos of New Yorkers as any street photographer would, hand out the prints soon after, and chat with them a bit about the experience, if they were willing.
Watch the video below to see how it went down.
It’s fascinating to see that a lot of the people he took photos of were actually happy to receive their photos and talk about how they felt when he suddenly took their picture. As expected, a lot of them were uncomfortable about being photographed unannounced as they’re self-conscious about not looking their best in the shot.
On Josh’s side of things, he felt that the vulnerability often found on the side of the subject was flipped onto him instead. “What’s crazy about this is I don’t know what that photo turned into,” he mused after a quick chat with one of the subjects. Polaroid prints take a while to develop, and he didn’t get to see what they looked like because he would give the print to them immediately after shooting it. “It can be horrible, it can be great, and suddenly I feel like that the invasiveness of the photo taken is now flipped on to me…I feel vulnerable.”
The conclusion? This could be a valuable exercise to do once in a while. It will definitely allow street photographers to connect with people they photograph, gain deeper insights on their perspectives, and maybe help the people being photographed understand why street photographers do what they do.
If you enjoyed this video, please visit and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more photography tutorials and camera shenanigans from Josh Katz.
Screenshot image from the video