How to do the Fishing Technique in Street Photography

Introduction

Patience.

Some of us are good at it, some of us aren't.

If you want to be a skilled street photographer, then patience is really important. To get those shots which stand out compared to other photos, that are in their multitudes on the web and all over social media, you need to wait. Wait for the moment in time that will never be re-created. Wait for the spontaneity that is human existence - people doing their own thing, in their own time, and in their own way. And wait for the right person to enter the frame.

So who is the right person? It is somebody who dresses uniquely, somebody who is travelling solo, somebody who moves into the exact spot at the right time, in the right way.

Being patient, and waiting for that right person, as a street photographer, is learning and enacting the technique that is the ‘Fishing Technique’.

So what is the fishing technique and how do you exactly do it?

Let's get into it.

Hyères, France, 1932 © Henri Cartier-Bresson

History of the fishing technique

The fishing technique has been employed by famous photographers since the late 19th century and the early 20th century. Pioneers of street photography, such as Eugène Atget and Henri Cartier-Bresson distinguish themselves by capturing candid moments of the French people doing going about their daily lives. It was Bresson, whose notion of the ‘decisive moment’ - that split second went all the elements in the photographic frame align together to give you that perfect moment, directly influenced and inspired the concept of the fishing technique.

His photo of the man on his bike, riding past the spiral staircase, ‘Hyères, France (1932)’ is the perfect example of the fishing technique in its early form. The composition forces your eye to travel around the staircase, where it finally rests on the subject with that incredible sense of movement from the biker.

Think how this photo would never have worked if he had captured somebody walking past the staircase. 

Place de l'Europe 1932 © Henri Cartier-Bresson

The same can be said about his photo of the man jumping over a puddle, with the poster of the dancer on the wall, in the background. If Bresson had captured this image a moment too early, or too late, there wouldn't have been anything to think about. There wouldn't have been any parallels with the background. And it was just have been a man walking across a puddle.

This is the fishing technique in action.

So how do you do it?

It's not difficult. 

An area with a shaft of light, surrounded by shadow. Stand in a position where you can frame the composition to your liking, using the rule of thirds and other composition techniques and then wait for the right person to enter that shaft of light. Conversely, you could wait for somebody to enter a pool of shadow, surrounded by light.

You could even photograph a solo person walking down a flight of stairs that is surrounded by darkness, with daylight coming from the opening at the top of the stairs.

Patiently waiting on a second-floor balcony whilst you look through the viewfinder, as you point your camera down on the street, waiting for the right person to walk past, on the patterned pavement.

The options to practice the fishing technique are everywhere. However, it requires you to look for these possible scenes and usual photographic eye and knowledge of composition, to seek them out. finding the right location, with the right elements requires patience as well.

Who is the right person?

The right person could be somebody who dresses uniquely - wearing a suit, loud clothing, no clothing, uniform. 

Look for emotion - somebody, smiling, somebody holding something unusual, somebody crying, anger, love…

Body language - somebody talking angrily on the phone, somebody laughing, somebody dancing, somebody skipping.

The possibilities are endless.

So what are you waiting for? Don't delay, try the fishing technique, today.

Go forth and create!