Street Portraiture by Matt Peers

With his natural Brum charm, photographer Matt Peers captures street portraits in his home city of Birmingham as well as the rest of the United Kingdom. Armed with a smile and disarming approach Matt engages people in a relaxed and appealing way. I know, I've seen it time and again on our photo-walks together. When he spots an interesting character, he strides over, while I follow at a polite distance, hanging back always within earshot, as he launches into his pitch for a portrait. Using his 1960s Rolleiflex camera which not only makes beautiful and classic square pictures, it is also instantly recognisable even to non-photographers as something special, something old and worth sharing time with. The camera itself becomes a talking point, and combined with his use of film, it creates the sense of a momentary artistic event. Conversation starts to flow as Matt skilfully poses and shoots three or four frames in as many minutes. It’s over before I can change a roll of film. His confidence, borne from practice and knowing what and how to ask a stranger(s) to pose for a photograph results in an impressive success rate, truly impressive.

Personally, I’ve always considered street photography an entry genre - easy to get into, you just need a camera and a town or city, right? Well it might be easy to get into but it’s not easy to excel in, that’s for sure. The best street photography tells stories, uses humour, has social meaning and stands the test of time. Its close photographic cousin, street portraiture, features these same elements and more. It’s neither easy to start nor to excel in; in fact, it might be one of the most challenging photographic genres.

Overcoming one’s own shyness and apprehension to ask a stranger for a picture cuts many of us out from even trying it, but that is only the beginning. Even if you muster the courage to ask, you immediately have to build a bridge of trust and comfort with a complete stranger while you fiddle about with your camera trying to work quickly, after all what good is it going so far and then forgetting to meter correctly while you nervously fumble about at the same time as trying to remain charming and relaxed in front of your busy new subject. Someone you have convinced to stop momentarily and have their portrait taken. This is no mean feat.

It gets harder, this is street portraiture, and the key word here is portraiture. Under pressure you now have to apply a whole new set of photographic skills and principles… and fast. Tapping into this genre to pose your hard earned subject, someone you’ve just met only moments before while you try to create a photo that conveys the initial interest that drew you to them from a crowd. All this, while showcasing their character, paying attention to composition, focus, and exposure and ensuring your shot aligns with your photographic style. This type of photography is not for the faint-hearted. Saying goodbye is the easiest part!

So success asking is one thing, but the real success is in the execution and outcome. And it is here that Matt’s work stands out. Beautiful posed and photographed, often expressive and fascinating his photography portrays faces, characters and stories that communicate the diversity of modern Britain, people from all backgrounds, ages and places stand together in his collections. Sharing a common thread as they momentarily look into his lens.

You can see more of Matt’s work on his website www.mattpeers.photography