Street Photography | Michael Beaumont

Sisters Crossing A Street is a photograph taken by Sabine Weiss in 1924. This photo is featured in the Lehigh University Art Gallery’s Taking It To The Streets Exhibition. I chose to analyze this photo because of its effective use of composition. In the foreground, the viewer’s eyes are immediately drawn to the Sisters. Their deep black cloaks catch our eyes in the center of the composition. Contrast is created through the juxtaposition of the Sisters’ black cloaks and the pure white sky. Leading lines from the paint on the street point the viewer’s attention towards the Sisters. The one-point perspective of the buildings also pulls the viewer’s eyes towards the focal point of the image. Using the rule of thirds, we can see that the center section of the photograph has the most visual interest. The photograph has a dynamic range of tones, ranging from pure white to deep black. The dynamic tonal range is used to separate the subject of the photograph, the SIsters, from the urban background. Scale is used to trick the viewer’s eyes. Since we are so close to the Sisters, they take up most of the photograph, making the skyscrapers behind them seem less tall. The portrait format of this photograph compliments the photographer’s interesting use of scale. Typically, the portrait format is used for photographing people. In this case, the photographer is focusing on the Sisters by taking the photo in the vertical format. Weiss uses a short depth of field to further separate the Sisters’ from their background. By blurring the background, we are able to focus on Sister’s stern expression.