Guillaume Flandre explains how an open mentality is vital for street photography success
Guillaume Flandre is a UK-based photographer who creates a mixture of street and travel images. “The line between travel and street photography is blurred,” he contends. “I like to include street-style photos whenever I travel anyway. A lot of my inspiration comes from street photography, so that’s what I like to see and create.”
Guillaume has great respect for the 20th-century pioneers of street photography, although his eclectic style also draws from contemporary creatives and completely separate imaging genres.
“I’m inspired by classic photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Joel Meyerowitz. I’m also inspired by an active American street photographer called Joe Greer. He travels a lot, so I relate to that as a photographer.
“I like fashion photography and still life as well,” Guillaume continues. “I take inspiration from all different types of photography.”
An open-minded approach
As someone largely working in previously unseen locations, Guillaume cannot rely on local knowledge to feed his compositions. Because of that, he tries to reduce his expectations and simply feed off the energy he finds.
“I have an open mind about the kind of pictures I’ll make,” he explains. “I don’t necessarily have a clear plan or angle in mind. I spend my first hours experimenting and walking around, thinking through lots of pictures until something clicks and I think: ‘That’s an angle I’d like to explore a bit more.’”
“Sometimes that turns into a specific series, while sometimes I’ll make lots of different types of pictures and find the coherence afterwards in the editing or selection process. Often there’s some link I’m not conscious of when I make the picture.
“I go in blind, basically. I’ll see what happens in the moments that you can never predict. It’s what makes street photography super fun – you never know what you’re going to find.”
Though there are certain fundamentals that Guillaume feels confident drawing on when he’s chasing a result. “There are things I can usually leverage – common patterns. When you see a nice light on an interesting background, a specific texture, a reflection, I use that to force my luck,” he asserts. “I will stay there, frame up that background and wait for something to happen in front of it.
“Patience really works in street photography; if you stand there and wait, something interesting is bound to happen. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but I’ll sometimes wait half an hour because there’s a background I want to do something with and I’m waiting for the moment to come.”
All the while, Guillaume keeps an eye on his surroundings, ensuring that nothing unexpectedly passes him by. “That’s the more reactive side,” he adds. “I’m always alert for something to happen in front of me, and I make sure my camera is already in my hands, ready to photograph with a setting that makes sense for the lighting and environment. I’m always pretty sure that if something happens quickly in front of me, I’ll get a sharp picture.”
Mapping out the streets
To help with his work, Guillaume keeps an exhaustive record of promising photo spots. “It’s research that’s never-ending,” he acknowledges. “I always have a map with interesting locations that I’ve never visited. If I happen to go back somewhere years later, I have references of things I noticed last time.”
Upon arrival in a new place, Guillaume typically starts by heading to the epicentre of activity. “I might go to a big market or a very busy street because there will be a lot of people moving around. I’m usually drawn to busier places, but sometimes I like to go out of the way and get lost.
“I’ll go to a neighbourhood because of a big busy street, but then I’ll go off track a little and explore the quiet areas around it. I find interesting places that I didn’t know existed in the first place.”
Despite his love of exploration, making photos that perfectly depict his findings is not Guillaume’s main intention. “My goal is not necessarily to be a documentary photographer,” he notes. “It’s not about framing the event as it happens – it’s more about making a beautiful picture.
“Obviously, that’s dependent on what I find beautiful. But my real motivation is to take something that’s mundane, something the common person wouldn’t find beautiful, and show the beauty in it.
“Even if I don’t have a camera, I’m always looking around and noticing things. It’s almost a childlike wonder for the world. I try to show what I see with my photography. It’s a way to say, ‘Look at this. Even though it’s a trashcan, it can still be beautiful.’”
Guillaume’s street photography equipment
“My current camera is a FUJIFILM X-T5, and I’ve probably used the same main lenses for the last ten years,” Guillaume notes. “Those are the FUJINON XF56mmF1.2 R and XF23mmF1.4 R. I like both for very different types of picture, even though a 56mm lens isn’t a classic focal length for street photography.
“There’s less variety with the 23mm, but it gets a lot of movement from people and elements within the frame.
“With the 56mm you have to focus in on one thing, so you tend to make pictures of details or flatten out the picture, and that can create an interesting effect. You can make a whole series like that, alternating between wide frames and details.
“From time to time, I try other lenses, but I keep coming back to these two. Sometimes I’ll carry both throughout the day, but other times I feel like travelling even lighter, so I’ll pick up the camera and think: ‘On this particular day, I’m going to gamble – I’ll bet everything on the 23mm.’
“I usually miss certain things on the first day and see lots of opportunities that make me think switching to the 56mm might be a better choice. That’s how I alternate lenses.”
While it can feel demoralising to let imaging opportunities slip because of equipment limitations, Guillaume views these restrictions as a way to foster creativity.
“I have to accept I’ll miss some pictures,” he explains. “It’s hard at first, but now I take it as a challenge: ‘Today I will find beautiful pictures with this lens.’ That’s also why I think it’s important to walk around without a particular aim and open mind, because that’s when you start noticing opportunities.”
For a street photography camera body, the 40.2-megapixel X-T5 balances portability and performance in a way that suits Guillaume’s tastes. “The X-T5 is just the right size for me,” he asserts. “I love the GFX System – I’ve used it for street photography. It has an interesting aspect ratio and leads to some very good details.
“But at the end of the day, the X-T5 is both light and discreet, which means I can carry it around more easily on longer trips. It’s great in terms of quality and there’s a good burst mode, which can help make sure you get the perfect picture in street photography.
Keep your head up
With years of experience in the genre, Guillaume has learned never to dwell on missed opportunities. “The most important lesson is resilience,” he asserts. “You’re going to miss a lot of pictures and mess up a lot of great moments, ones that would have made the picture of a lifetime. It’s going to come out blurry, you won’t have time to get it or you won’t have your camera with you.
“You have to be resilient and keep going. You’ll force your luck and something great will happen next time. It will never be exactly what you’ve been looking for, but you just need to let that go. You can remember in your head what happened. Not everything has to be a photograph.”
Instead, he suggests looking onward to your next great image. Similarly, Guillaume posits that two components must combine to make a truly excellent street photograph.
“A good street photo surprises you. It could be that the scene itself is surprising – you didn’t know this thing could happen,” he muses.
“But the photos I prefer are the ones where the content – the scene that’s happening – is interesting in and of itself, but also framed in a beautiful way that enhances the scene.
“The combination of the two is a miracle. When you see a photo like this, you wonder: ‘How do you even make such a picture?’ You imagine it’s been set up, because it’s such a unique moment that’s been made in a way that’s aesthetically perfect. When you achieve that combination, you have an amazing photo. That’s always the goal.”
