


I think the main and most important difference is in the approach. Suzanne spends a lot of time roaming around a neighbourhood and engaging with people. She gets to know some people over an extended period of time and returns time and time again to the same places and to the same people.
In her portfolio, some of the galleries bear the name of a particular person : Doreen, Christine, Leanne … and she shows a particular interest in women.Suzanne used some Fujifilm cameras for a while, the x100v (with a 35mm equivalent lens) and an x-pro2 with what seems to be wide angle lenses, maybe a 16mm (24mm equivalent in full-frame terms) She has been using a Sony a7r3 more recently and has been experimenting with a 135mm lens, a short telephoto lens.

So what can we learn from Suzanne that can help us with our own street photography ?
1) The approach to the world around us is the main point. Let’s stop being stealthy and pretending we are not there. Engaging with people is a great way to get the pictures we want. That doesn’t mean always asking for permission. It means not hiding, being open minded and sometimes accepting that the photo will not come on its own, you have to go and get it.
I started a project on Flickr called the 100 strangers project : (link here). The aim is to talk to a person on the street and afterwards ask them for a photo. It is a great way to overcome shyness and to learn that most people are open-minded, even talkative and have an inner desire to talk about themselves and their life. I found it very difficult when I started, but now I am less shy and sometimes just talk to people without the aim of a photo.

3) Portraits taken up close with a wide (or widish) angle lens are very engaging.



Although many of Suzanne’s photos are of people in a desperate situation, her methods and her outlook on humanity is always respectful in the sense that she is curious about people and wants to tell the story of our societies.
Be warned though, it isn’t always safe and Suzanne admits to have being attacked and injured several times, quite severely on some occasions.
Click on any of the images presented here to visit her portfolio. Some other interesting links are :
- An article on the streetphotography.com website
- An article on the Fujifilm website which is particular to the X100v
- An article on the Edgeofhumanity website
- An article on the LensCulture website
- An article on the APFmagasine.com website
There are also some interviews on YouTube you can easily find.