TAOP Int'l Presents - Street Photography Roundup: Clichés & Titles

Arnold is a retired veterinarian, street photographer, and writer whose work has appeared in photography publications including KLICK Magazine and Mobiography and has been exhibited and recognized in numerous photo competitions. He is also an enthusiastic, borderline‑neurotic street photographer with a tendency to obsess over questions most people would wisely ignore. While other photographers simply go out and take pictures, Arnold can happily spend hours wondering whether umbrellas are clichés, whether photographs should have titles, and whether any of this really matters. This presentation is the result.

In the first half, “Avoiding Street Photography Clichés,” Arnold looks at familiar subjects such as silhouettes, cell phones and umbrellas, exploring when they become visual shortcuts and when they become effective storytelling tools. Using examples from his own work, he argues that the problem is rarely the subject itself, but our tendency to photograph the obvious instead of the human story beneath it. The second half, “Should Street Photographers Title Their Photos?” tackles another surprisingly controversial question: should photographs stand entirely on their own, or can a title deepen meaning and guide interpretation? Drawing on iconic historical images and his own award‑winning photographs, Arnold explores the advantages and pitfalls of both approaches.

Arnold says, “Street photography is often described as photography of everyday life, but I think it’s really photography of small human moments.” Whether discussing clichés or titles, the underlying question is the same: how do we create photographs that communicate something genuinely human? His goal isn’t to provide definitive answers, but to spark a conversation about how we see, interpret and present our work.