Hit the street with a plan

Conceptual street photography

What is your street photography actually about?

Most street photography happens by chance: you walk, you look, and every now and then everything falls into place. Conceptual street photography turns that around. You choose a keyword beforehand, such as stillness, contrast or loneliness, and that word becomes a filter on your view.

In my workshops and masterclasses you work that way: one keyword, a group of no more than five, and a half day or two days to really dive into it. From Nijmegen to London, from Antwerp to Paris.

View the workshops and masterclasses Or try Streetwise!

What is conceptual street photography?

With classic street photography, you go outside and respond to what you come across. That works, but it's also unpredictable: one day you come home with strong images, the next day with nothing. Conceptual street photography gives you a starting point. You choose an idea before you walk out the door, and that idea determines what you see.

The result isn't a single loose photo, but a series: images that reinforce each other and together tell a story. And because it's no longer just about the person in the photo, but about what you want to say with the image, photographing on the street also feels lighter. Less driven by the question of whether something is allowed, more by the question of what you want to tell.

I wrote more extensively earlier about what conceptual photography actually means, and about why I started calling my own workshops this.

What makes conceptual street photography different

A keyword as starting point

You choose an idea in advance instead of waiting for chance. That keyword determines where you walk, where you stop and what you photograph.

A series, not a loose moment

One photo tells a story, ten photos make it felt. You build a project that lasts longer than the walk itself.

More freedom on the street

It's less about who's in the photo, and more about what you want to tell. That makes photographing on the street a lot lighter again.

How a conceptual street photography workshop works

From keyword to series, in a half day or two days.

You choose a keyword

Together we determine an idea that suits you: a feeling, a theme, a question.

We discuss what it asks of you

Before we go outside, we look at what that keyword asks of your photography.

Onto the street

With that keyword as a filter, you go looking, in a group of no more than five participants.

The start of a series

You go home with photos that together tell a story, and a project to keep building on.

Book a workshop or masterclass

Workshop in the Netherlands or Belgium

A half day from 10.30am to 2pm, in a group of no more than five. Among other places in Nijmegen, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Antwerp.

Masterclass London

Two days of street photography in a city you don't know yet, with time to really settle into your keyword.

Masterclass Paris

Same setup, different city: two days on the street with a keyword in your head.