In the late 70s, diCorcia used his family and friends as subjects for his staged photographs in such a clever way that it made the viewers think that the images were shot spontaneously. Later, he started taking pictures of random individuals in urban places worldwide, such as Calcutta, New York, Tokyo, Rome, Hollywood and Berlin. He often hid the lights in the roadway to illuminate a subject in a unique way, separating them from other street people. He then captured accidental poses, unintended facial expressions and movements, with a sense of drama.