5 Tips for Street Photography Beginners
by Kai
At one point in my photography life I only did landscapes. At one point, I was happily content with trekking through fields, stepping in cow pats, making my way up a bloody big hill in order to get one elusive shot. It was incredibly therapeutic: it was mainly about enjoying the journey and, when you arrive, soaking up the environment in your own time and thinking about the shot; the light, the filters you’ll use and taking your time to get composition so that the trees all line up with however those photography books told you it would look good like.
The buzz you get from shooting street photography is completely different: there’s no time to stand there to soak up the fresh air (well, the air isn’t that fresh anyway) and contemplate your shot nor is there a planned journey to get your shot. Street shooting is rewarding because you don’t know what you’re going to get until you see it, it’s like a photographic box of chocolates (well, at least that’s probably what Forrest Gump would say). But there’s a whole lot more than just seeing something, because you have to capture it too. Knowing when to press the button and seeing the shot at the end is a great feeling. Henri Cartier Bresson was a complete genius, not just for being such a talented artist, but also for summing up street photography with two words: “decisive moment.”
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1. Don’t look like you’re a convicted sex criminal
Sounds silly, but think about what kind of person you would trust coming up to you and taking a photo of you.
2. Settings
Either don’t bother setting the camera settings at all and snap away or think about it before you get into the zone. You don’t want to faff about when that shot is about to be made because you’re just making things harder for yourself. If you’re just starting out then you might want to try putting it on P mode to begin with and just concentrate on shooting. Don’t give a crap what some trolls on the internet say about P mode not being “pro”, that’s utter tripe.
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To be honest, I use Aperture-Priority mode quite often when doing street stuff. Then I team that up with choosing spot-metering, which is something that I’ve gotten used to when shooting Leicas, and lock the metering and focus on the subject (centre point) and then recompose. But, of course, you can choose the metering that suits your style more.
Shooting with a Leica M on the street is a slightly different process but if you’re using a DSLR then the point is essentially the same: have those settings ready before hand so you don’t have to think so much about the settings when you are busy taking that shot.
3. Get into the zone
I think that there’s nothing more threatening than someone shooting with a long lens from afar. Snipers are scary, a man with a handgun less so. At least with close quarters stuff - from the point of view of the person on the receiving end - they are within punching distance of you.
Treat your subject like a stray cat (no need to stroke their head): approach slowly or else they’ll notice you and think you’re a convicted sex criminal, and then make your intentions clear without forcing it in their face. Usually when you are this close you will know whether they want their shot taken or not, whether they are comfortable with you around with a camera, or simply think that you look like a deviant.
4. Judge your subjects
Alright, so there’s all that hoo-haa about teaching you how not to judge a book by its cover (which was probably first said by an ugly person), but in this case you should. Once you’ve studied some human behaviour you can kinda tell how they are going to react when they have their photo taken or just a camera pointed their way. If they look like they don’t want their photo taken then you don’t force it or you ask politely. Then thing is, once you’ve asked them, the shot usually doesn’t have that mood in there anymore because they will probably pose for you. Even if you have taken the shot and they show their discontent (which is a nice way of saying “pissed off”) about having their photo taken then you just give in and stop it.
5. Watch and predict what they are going to do
When you are at a location, there won’t always be something happening for you to just waltz on in and casually take your photo. Spend a bit of time not just to look whether they look like they will cave your head in for taking their photo but also get a feel of what kind of person they are, what they are doing on the street, where are they going, what action are they going to do next. It makes the photo much more interesting if you at least have a bit of empathy for your subject.
The thing with street photography is that you won't always have stuff to shoot. It doesn't matter that you're not creating Henri Cartier-Bresson street shots to begin with - as the master himself says "your first 10,000 shots are your worst" - what matters is that you get out there and spend lots of time shooting. Of course there will be some shots that are complete rubbish, but you'll also get your keepers too. What matters most is that by shooting more you will get more practice, and the more practice you get the more comfortable you will feel with your camera and the situation, which will mean that you only need to think just a little bit about the shot rather than fumbling around with your camera and getting scared or scaring off your subject.
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 | Kai presenter of DigitalRev TV, is passionate about photography and collecting camera equipment that he never uses but caresses gently in his spare time. He has a tendency to talk about his love for Nikon & Leica equipment as well as speaking his mind in a rather forthright manner. |
