Street photography in black and white or color. What is street photography, or how to photograph people on the street? Bright accents in street photography
Street photography opens up an interesting and vibrant world of everyday life for photographers. Street and reportage photographers capture the brightest and most emotional moments of our lives, they shoot on the streets and in shops, in the subway and public transport, these photographers, putting their safety at risk, portray the ordinary as it is. How to take original reportage photographs and interest the audience in your work will be discussed in our article.
wide angle lens
For street photography, it is customary to use shorter lenses. A street photographer with a long telescopic lens attracts the attention of passers-by, and people will resist shooting. A small, standard lens offering a focal length somewhere between 24-50mm won't be as conspicuous, and you can take beautiful wide-angle photos with it.
Camera setup
You should not look through the viewfinder all the time and try to take a picture of everyone you meet, so you will not only catch your eye, but you may miss all the most interesting scenes. Some masters, even holding the camera around their necks, are able to do interesting photos. You can hold the camera in your hands and take pictures discreetly. Set the continuous shooting mode, the aperture should not be too large, otherwise the picture will be blurry in case of a focus error, set f / 8, or so.
Best Places for Street Photography
Looking for the perfect shape
If you shoot in the city you live in, you probably know places with interesting compositional forms. Perfectly smooth lines and shapes look beautiful in the frame. Find such a place and wait for people to pass by. Pay attention to stairwells, lattices and beautiful bridges. You can photograph the shadows on the wall, they can serve as a strong visual complement.
Shooting from the hip
Author: Fábio Costa Practice shooting at hip height without looking through the viewfinder. We have already said that this is practiced by experienced street photographers, and it really works. So you will be completely invisible, people passing by you will not even suspect that you are photographing them. At first, the photos will be unsuccessful, but practice will lead to amazing results.
If you spot an interesting person or an interesting subject to shoot, follow him. We are not talking about the fact that you would follow someone, interfere and disturb passers-by. Nothing good will come of it, but be careful, try not to lose sight of interesting images. You may be interested in non-standard passers-by, people walking with a dog, lovers, etc.
creative moment
Look for ways to show interesting comparisons, combinations and associative plots. Don't shoot with templates, look for interesting shapes and take shots that make your viewers' imagination work. You can look for scenes where a billboard interacts interestingly with a passer-by, or how statues and architectural compositions fit with people.
Paparazzi
This type of shooting is one of the most difficult for beginner photographers. Paparazzi are not always liked by passers-by, as few of them like unexpected photos. Usually the paparazzi choose a large telescopic lens, with its help the masters can approach the person as close as necessary. Remember that with a large lens you will attract attention, but usually the paparazzi don't care. If a person is happy to take pictures, then show him the resulting pictures, and send them by e-mail.
Blurred people in the crowd
Use a slow shutter speed when shooting outdoors to help capture blurry photos of crowds. It is advisable to focus on one person or an interesting object - it will be clear, and all other people in motion will be blurred. When shooting with long exposures, you will need a tripod, because without it, the photos will be blurry. If you don't have a tripod, you can mount the camera on a stable base. Successful exposure can only be determined experimentally. Start with 1/4 sec., see what happens and, depending on the result, change the shutter speed.
Bright accents in street photography
City streets are filled with gray shades and gloomy plots; it is not easy to find bright accents and beautiful colors here, especially when it comes to industrial or residential areas. Try to find something expressive, beautiful, catchy, but not vulgar - it can be a beautiful car, or vehicle, a well-kept flowerbed or a themed restaurant. Include such elements in your photos, so they will look more interesting and attractive. You can try shooting in black and white, or by taking the photo in black and white using the software, leave one bright object. Some compact cameras are designed to be partially black and white, where one element retains color and the rest of the frame is black and white.
Street photography today has become a full-fledged genre of photography, and maybe even art. One can argue with the last statement, but you must admit that this is precisely the art - to be able to get a frame that will appeal not only to the author of the photograph, but also to tens or even thousands of people.
So hundreds of people wander around cities and countries, armed with cameras of varying degrees of advancement. Someone has an ordinary soap dish, and someone carries a camera with them, the cost is comparable to a quite good car. They look like hunters stalking their prey. The booty of a street photographer is a freeze frame of your life, your emotions, an important or not so important event. It is possible that those who were photographed by the photographer will already forget about the fleeting fact in his life in minutes, but everything will remain in the picture.
Tip one: Street photography is democratic and absolutely undemanding to technology. It doesn't matter what camera you have. The main thing is what and how you shoot. You can do street photography without having a camera at all. Modern smartphones allow you to take good pictures.
What does a street photographer shoot and what is the street photo genre about
If you do not talk for a long time, then street photography is about people's lives and people themselves, with their joys and sorrows, with their thoughts and experiences. These are streets, but the streets are not empty, but filled with people, movement. About movement - when we say the word "movement", we most often imagine someone walking or something that is riding, flying. In fact, movement is a broader concept. Thought is also movement. Only inanimate objects are static in themselves. Like death, it is also static.
In the last century, there was such a fashion - to photograph deceased relatives, giving them living poses. Such photographs look creepy - this is an imitation of life and it is unnatural. Death does not move - it is the end, a complete stop. Every life is dynamic. Any living object is in dynamics, even if it just stands and smokes:
Street photography - Moscow 2016 Sometimes street photography refers to any pictures of the city. This is not true. There is a very clear division between urban landscape and street photography. The urban landscape, which I will talk about in the next article, is a separate genre of photography, where the hero is the city itself, its architecture, landscape. Street photography is all about people. It does not matter whether a person is walking, riding a bicycle or a car, just standing there, thinking - the person is the main character of street photography. There is a difference, as you can see. In one case, the main plot is the creation of man, in the other - the man himself.
Moscow - May 2016 The main feature of street photography
Street photography is a complete lack of staging. You don't prepare the stage, you don't force your models to stand there, take such and such a position, smile or cry. You don't even know who will be your model and what he or she will do in a second. Maybe he will cry, or maybe he will laugh, or maybe he will notice you and send you to hell, and even chase you with very bad desires.
Tip #2: When shooting outdoors, use a telephoto lens or compact cameras with high magnification. The main thing in street photography is naturalness, and what naturalness when you know that you are being photographed. You are always waiting for a bird to fly out. This is at best, and at worst, people may be vehemently opposed to being filmed. Therefore, it is better to shoot from afar, armed with good optics.
Victory Park - May 2016 Who to shoot and what events to capture
Who to film? A complex and at the same time simple question that can be answered unequivocally - people. People, person, woman or man, children or one child. It doesn't matter who. What matters is how and when. So we come to the most important thing - at the time of shooting. When to push the button and when not to. Here the question is not only in the shooting technique, but there are also aesthetic and ethical aspects. There are a lot of questions, and most of them do not have a clear answer. Each photographer decides for himself. Whether to shoot people at the funeral, heartbroken or not, whether to shoot the expression of feelings of love, rage, aggression or not to shoot. What all street photographers agree on is that you can capture moments of joy and happiness. And is it worth filming the joy of an alcoholic who has bought a bottle or just got drunk, or the satisfaction from a job well done by a hostess who has just slaughtered a chicken for dinner? Complicated. I repeat once again - each photographer decides for himself what is acceptable and what is not.
Tip three: If you want to get a strong shot, then it is best to shoot at holidays or some kind of event. People in such moments are more emotional and hold themselves back less. Watch people at street parties - they are liberated, they think less about how they look. More emotions - better photography.
Hermitage Garden - a feast of food When to shoot
Any time of the day. You are limited only by the technical parameters of your equipment. You can shoot during the day, morning or night. It does not matter. The main thing is that you can see what you want to shoot. But in general, it is better when there is good lighting - it can be the sun, street lights. Otherwise noise can ruin your photo. Although, sometimes noise is added on purpose. But, still, it is worth remembering that the less light, the longer your shutter speed and higher ISO. And also remember that the less light, the more noisy or blurry your picture will be, and maybe both will turn the picture into an incomprehensible mess, a mess. You can, of course, later say that this is such an idea, and they say this is how I see the world. But we are not talking about painting, but about photography, which captures the event. An event, not your state of mind.
Evening Arbat - July 2016 Color or black and white photography - which is better?
Different photographers have very different ideas about color. Someone thinks that street photography should only be black and white, someone admits that street photography can be in color. Actually, the color doesn't matter. Color is not an end in itself and not a canon. What matters is the plot and what you want to emphasize. Let's talk about what color is. Color is our subjective perception of the reflection of the light flux from objects. For a person, there are no identical colors - everyone perceives colors differently. Pink or red - this is understandable, but there are details. Are the details important or not? The devil knows. There are only two colors that we perceive in the same way - black and white. Even color blind people do not confuse these colors. That is, if you want all people to see the same picture in color, then a black and white photograph is preferable. But it's not even about how we perceive color, but about the plot and what we want to convey. I'll give you an example. We film a weightlifter during a push or hold. The veins tense up, the face turns red, the eyes pop out of their sockets, the whole face is tense. What do you want to convey? If only emotional tension, then a black and white version is better. The viewer's eye will not be distracted by the complexion or hands of the athlete. And if you want to convey physical tension, then a color picture would be more appropriate - the color perfectly conveys our physical state.
Street basketball - tension is conveyed not only in movement and emotions, but also in color I noticed that strong open emotions are better conveyed by color photography. A black and white photo, on the other hand, reveals what people sometimes want to hide. It is possible that this is an erroneous impression, but there is something in it, in my opinion.
Tip #4: Shoot in color. Then, when processing a photo, you will figure out which is better. When you take pictures on the street, you can’t immediately understand what you shot. But when processing a photo, there is already time to consider and think.
About composition in street photography
When we shoot in a studio or take a family photo, we create, build reality and cram people into it. That is, we create reality according to our ideas about how it should look. Street photography is different. We do not create the world around us, but we only observe it and record events in the real environment, which does not depend on our idea of it. A street photographer is not a builder, he is an observer. Attentive, endowed with imagination, but an observer. I note that when thinking about the plot, we can choose a place, a shooting point, adjust the focus - sit in an ambush.
There are two categories of photographers. Some can be compared to an ordinary hunter who wanders through the forest and looks out for game on the branches. It is possible that he will come across only a couple of crows, or a valuable fur-bearing animal may also come across. The main thing is not to fox. Others are snipers, carefully choosing the place from which the shot will be fired. In the first case, a successful composition is a matter of chance, in the second, sooner or later someone will fall into the chosen framework.
And what is better - wandering around the city in search of a plot or choosing a place and time, and waiting? It is hard to say. It all depends on what is happening around. Let me explain. You have decided to replenish your portfolio with photographs of the newlyweds, and everyone does not invite you to the wedding. Fine. We think, where are these newlyweds found? There are several places in Moscow where you will definitely catch a couple of weddings at the weekend - the Patriarchal Bridge and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior itself, Tsaritsino, Kolomenskoye, GUM. Now we decide what kind of environment we need. Then it's a matter of technique - we arrive at the place and choose a shooting point - sooner or later, but the young will fall into our frame. The photographer will only have to press a button when a couple of newlyweds or a whole fun wedding approaches the point that we have chosen for shooting.
Patriarchal bridge - Moscow - 2011 
The work of a wedding photographer - 2011, Moscow What is better for shooting - open space, highway or brick walls around. It doesn't matter at all.
Some people think that street photography is zero processing and no cropping. In my opinion, this is wrong. You can crop a photo, and sometimes you need to. Good street photography has a story. Let not invented and not directed, but the plot is present all the same. Life itself gives subjects for our pictures. And there is nothing wrong with the fact that we cut off the excess that does not fit into our plot. The main thing is not to cut off something important that will emasculate our photo and make it faceless.
Street photography - good luck with your shots That's all for today. Thoughts are over. But this is not the end, but only the beginning and to be continued.
Wikipedia says: “Street photography, street photography (English street photography) is a genre of photography taken in a public place: on the street, in a park, on the beach, etc.”
In general, everything is clear. I took the camera, went outside the house, clicked the shutter and ... the street photo is ready. It can be called the most democratic of all types of photography. Here, studios are not required, and highly paid models, and fancy lighting additions.
Only the photographer, the camera and the world around him.
The famous photographer Robert Doisneau once said: "The wonders of everyday life are breathtaking. There is no director who can organize the surprise that awaits you on the street." It's almost magic, a fairy tale.
Yes, and the very principle of street photography is best expressed just by a line from Russian folk tale“Go there, I don’t know where, bring something, I don’t know what.”
Because a street photographer never knows what “catch” the day is preparing. Hence the main advice to a street photographer - take your camera with you wherever you go. ALWAYS. And shoot. As much as possible. In order not to reproach yourself later: “I could have taken that photo, but I didn’t.” After all, every moment is beautiful, and it is unique. And if you choose one or two out of dozens of shots, then you can say that the day was not in vain, that you were lucky.
Street photography is good because it does not require sophisticated photographic equipment. On the contrary, the simpler the better. After all, the photographer should not stand out in the crowd, should not attract attention. He must become part of the street, part of the crowd. Leave long-focus lenses at home, but if you have a wide-angle lens, then you are in luck. It is ideal for shooting in confined spaces.
But, however, the essence is not in it. And the simplest camera, and even a phone, you can take a great picture.
"It's more important for a photographer to have very good shoes than a very good camera," said photographer Sebastiano Salgado.
The best tool for street photography is a small lightweight silent camera in auto mode. But if you are an ardent opponent of shooting in automatic mode, then experienced photographers advise setting the following parameters for shooting in the daytime: aperture f / 16, ISO 400, 1/320 shutter speed. And don't be afraid to use a high ISO. A little graininess is better than muddy shots.
What is good street photography? Briefly, you can answer: "The one that tells the story." When shooting on the street, it is important not only to capture some event, it is important to beat it correctly. Remember that no rules of photography are canceled even in street photography. Believe me, it is unlikely that anyone will be interested in, for example, severed heads.
The biggest problem for aspiring street photographers is fear. What will they think of me? How can I photograph strangers? What if they kick me out of this place? Yes, fear is hard to get rid of. But the more you shoot, the less you will be afraid.
In general, shooting people on the street is a special conversation, one of the stumbling blocks of street photography. You can talk about this topic for a long time, but I will not. For those who are concerned about this issue, I suggest that you read this article: http://www.evbar.ru/forum/legal-aspects/topic1557.html. All legal aspects are described in detail.
But for me (and for most photographers, probably) in street photography of strangers, the well-known principle is the main thing: "Do not do to your neighbor anything that you do not want for yourself."
But if you do run into people who are unhappy about being photographed, just smile, apologize, and, if requested, delete the photo.
The next question that arises for beginner street photographers is: “Do I need to ask permission from people to shoot them?”. This is a personal matter for every photographer. If you enjoy talking to strangers, why not talk, promise to send him a picture. But it must be remembered that if a person knows that he will be photographed, then the immediacy and spontaneity of photography will disappear. And, as a result, you will get a street portrait, and not a street photo, which we are talking about now.
Every street photographer has their own way of working on the street. Over time, you will develop them for yourself and you will choose those that are more acceptable. And now I will talk about some.
1. Get lost in the crowd
To get rid of fear, you can start taking pictures in the most crowded places in your city, at various festivities, events where people are busy watching the spectacle, and not looking for someone who photographs them.
2. Come closer
The closer you get to your subject, the more interesting photos you will get as a result.
But if for some reason you cannot do this, call ZOOM for help.
3. Know how to wait
Choose an interesting object, sit (or stand) in front of it and wait for a colorful character to appear. Well, then - do not get lost.
Dmitry Stepanenko
4. Look into the windows
Shooting reflections in windows, shop windows is one of the favorite tricks of street photographers. After all, you must admit, they have their own world, their own life.
5. Get on your knee
Interesting results can be obtained using the lower angle. The results can be amazing. And you just look at the world from a different point of view.
6. Ride public transport
Public transport is a gold mine for street photography. What kind of types and funny cases you will not see there.
7. See what others don't
To see the extraordinary in the ordinary is not a gift, it is a constant training of observation. Seek and you will surely find.
Antonangelo Loddo
8. catch shadows
Light and shadows are fundamental not only in street photography. But how interesting and unusual they can be.
9. Forget Paris
You don't have to be in Paris to take great street photos. Your backyard is nice and interesting too.
10. Look for obstacles
If you haven't overcome your fear of shooting outdoors, try shooting around a corner, behind a column, pole, etc.
11. Don't forget about our little brothers
The street is not only people. Photographing animals is no less interesting and entertaining.
12. Make up a story
Strive to ensure that your photographs tell a story. Pictures without history are of no interest to anyone. And everything on the street has its own history. The main thing is to present it correctly.
Massimo Pietralunga
13. play theater
Pretend you're filming a landmark, a friend, a leaf on a tree. In the meantime, turn your lens on people. And no one will understand that you are a real street photographer, and not an idle tourist with a camera.
Konstantin Bik
14. Seize the moment
Remember that nothing in the world is repeated twice. What you do not have time to shoot now will never happen again. Don't miss your chance.
15. Learn from the greats
Remember, you are not the first person to take a camera outside. Look, study the works of generally recognized masters of street photography. Take inspiration from other photos, but don't steal them. It won't work anyway.
Henri Cartier Bresson
16. Take off, take off, take off
And this is the main point. Street photography is a lot like swimming. You must first enter the water (go outside) to learn.
Bruce Gilden once said, "If you can smell the street when you look at a photo, it's street photography."
Good luck in this unusually interesting and exciting business!
Nils Jorgenson tries to capture a street moment filled with meaning in his peculiar style. Both color and black-and-white photographs of this photographer evoke in the viewer a feeling of calmness, then surprise.
Charlie Kirk
Information about Charlie Kirk (Charlie Kirk), presented on his website, looks pretty ordinary, which can not be said about his pictures. This is a photographer from Japan. He likes to shoot in public places, while Kirk is especially interested in beautiful girls, umbrellas, drunk people and mirrors. Charlie's photographs were exhibited at the Format Festival Derby and FOAM Netherlands.
Stefano Corso
Stefano Corso's photographs are full of light and wonderful compositions. His work is shown in numerous exhibitions and galleries.
Felix Lupa
The Ukraine-born phenomenal author has been working as a freelance photographer since 1995. Felix Lupa's photographs are strong and eloquent. It is felt that he fell in love with street photography even before he realized that he was shooting in this genre.
Siegfried Hansen
Siegfried Hansen is a professional photographer. In street photography, he is attentive to people or their faces. His work is also characterized by graphic elements.
Marcos Semola
Marcos Semola is a self-taught photographer from Brazil. He has already published several books on street photography and exhibits his work in different countries.
Alex Kog
Alex Coghe is an Italian photojournalist currently based in Mexico. Street photography is his calling. Alex says the street has become both a gym and therapy for him.
Brian Formhals
Bryan Formhals is the founder of LPV magazine and an avid street photographer. At first, carried away by screenplays, he saw himself as a director. But street photography lured him to her.
David Solomons
For David Solomons, it all started with the Magnum exhibition "In Our Time", which made a lasting impression on him. He was a teacher in English but enrolled in a photography course. David is inspired by color photographs of famous authors such as Joel Meyerowitz, Alex Webb and Martin Parr.
Margie Lang
French photographer Marji Lang loves to travel and photograph outdoors. Her images are characterized by rich, vibrant colors and geometric lines. Margie has a great portfolio with great, highly artistic shots. India is her favorite holiday destination and main source of inspiration. Most of all, the photographer focuses on topics: everyday life, pilgrimage, religion, social and cultural issues.
Yanidel
This famous photographer undertook an 80 week trip around the world. Upon his return, Yanidel updated his website with new experiences he had while traveling around the world, as well as showing his best photos. His style is largely influenced by humanistic traditions. And the main motto of the author when shooting on the street is respect for human dignity.
Cramer O'Neil
Kramer O'Neill is an excellent photographer who emphasizes the details in the frame. Photographing both objects and people, he fills the frames with meaning using lighting.
Sergey Maksimishin
Along with numerous recognitions and awards, Sergey Maksimishin became the winner of the World Press Photo Award. His photographs are phenomenal.
Sagi Kortler
Sagi Kortler stands out for his street photography style. For this author, street photography is more than just a genre. He follows intuition to press the shutter button at a particular moment.
The author does not plan his shots, he allows life to unfold before his eyes, and then photographs it as it appears to him, conveying his feelings. Sagi Kortler contemplates life and observes society, documenting the world in which he lives.
Devin Yalkin
Devin Yalkin creates stunning black and white photographs that capture the mood of the characters in the frame and provide food for thought.
Keith Kirkwood
In her works, Kate Kirkwood idealizes the unfamiliar magic of cities, immersing herself in which she takes special pleasure.
Ricky Seegers
Ricky Siegers is a photographer from the Netherlands who loves to photograph people and their life on the street. Most of his works are black and white and ironic.
Leonardo Amaro Rodriguez
Leonardo Amaro Rodrigues strives to push the boundaries of his abilities by overcoming internal barriers. His photographs express the inner world of the photographer without words. Using light, he shows everything that he feels and thinks about.
Gaby Ben Abraham
For Israeli photographer Gabi Ben-Avraham, street photography is a favorite way to see the world. Although sometimes he has to stand and wait for a long time until an interesting object appears for shooting. It can be a cyclist, a dancer or a child.
The camera has become an integral part of Gabi. He takes it with him everywhere, waiting for the opportunity to take the best photo of his life. And luck smiled at him more than once, judging by the wonderful works that we see.
Chris Marquardt
In 2011, Chris Marquardt released the first two series of his shots taken on the iPhone, an app that aims to give photographers a wide range of shooting options. The images turned out to be very high quality, despite the pocket format of the device. These photos speak for themselves.
Lukas Vasilikos
Lukas Vasilikos became interested in photography in 2006 when he attended a seminar by Manos Lykakis. Since then, he has been enthusiastically filming and multiplying his numerous publications, including on websites.
Eleni Rome
Eleni Rim's color and black-and-white photographs are distinguished by the emphasized framing of frame elements or characters. Her pictures need to be felt.
Konstantin Karaiskos
Bold and dynamic compositions, the contrast between the object in the foreground and the background are typical for the pictures of Kostantine Karaiskos. His work definitely deserves our attention.
“The essence of street photography is to capture everyday life and society on the streets. Opportunities to practice this kind of photography are everywhere, and you don't have to travel to distant lands to get a great shot. Pictures in this genre are usually taken in secret, without permission, and the person you are shooting does not even know about it. Still, street photography does not exclude staged shots. You may meet interesting characters that you want to capture - you can go up and ask permission to photograph them: this is a great way to get more personal portraits in a person's familiar environment.
The most important thing in street photography is to have fun with the camera. Remember, your goal is to capture emotions, the inner content of a person, his character. This will take time to learn, but practice and patience will pay off.
Choose the best lens
Lens choice is one of critical factors street photography. You may want to use a telephoto lens, but it will likely do more harm than good. It is unlikely that people will like a suspicious type who shoots them from afar with a huge camera. If you want to become invisible, you need to come closer, to participate in what is happening yourself. Take a wide-angle lens and get lost in the crowd. Many street photographers prefer to use a compact camera rather than a large DSLR - compacts are smaller, lighter and more discreet.
Camera settings
The quickest and easiest way to fine-tune your street photography is to switch to Av (Aperture Priority) mode and manually select the aperture value and ISO. The camera will automatically choose the shutter speed. On a clear sunny day, you can set f / 16 and ISO from 200 to 400. If the camera shows a shutter speed of more than 1/200 second, you can shoot. If the shutter speed is less than 1/80, there is a risk that the picture will turn out blurry - however, this can give an interesting effect. If you do not need it, then simply increase the ISO or choose a large aperture.
If you're a beginner, you can always put your camera in P (Program) mode and let the camera choose the right settings for you. In this mode, you can adjust the EV if you want to get an overexposed or underexposed frame. This is handy when you're shooting on the go without thinking about how the shots will turn out, but you don't have full control over what the camera does. Therefore it is not always the best way. The program mode is not bad, but in low light conditions it is likely that the shutter speed will not be long enough to get a clear image.
Get closer to your characters
Using a wide-angle lens allows you to get closer to the people you are shooting. A wide angle gives the viewer the feeling that he himself is present in the moment captured in the photograph. In addition, such a lens will allow you to blend in with the crowd, become part of the world around you, and not stand aside with long optics.
Many successful street photographs were taken just a few meters from the scene, sometimes a few centimeters. Walking down a crowded street, market, or park can get you some great shots if you're observant enough to look for interesting characters. And if the pictures taken don't look the way you visualized them for yourself, it might be worth getting closer. Let your feet be your zoom and guide you to the right place at the right time.
Always keep your camera handy
Street photography is spontaneous, it won't wait. You must memorize this. The camera is an extension of yourself, a tool with which you show the world your vision; and you don't want to miss a great shot just because you didn't have a camera handy. If you are serious about street photography, you should always have your camera with you.
This is called the "decisive moment" - when you have only a fraction of a second to photograph something that in the next moment will be gone forever. There may not be a second chance, so be prepared.
Some people get very nervous about street photography - they worry that people will get angry because they are being photographed; worried that they might use force or call the police. These are common fears that are overcome with practice and more practice. Here are some tips on how to deal with anxiety.
Find an interesting place and set yourself up there with your camera. When I travel, I spend a lot of time in cafes and restaurants with my camera at the ready. Viewing your surroundings in a comfortable environment, you can relax and wait for the frame to find you. People will pay far less attention to you if you sit with a camera at a street cafe table than if you stand with a camera in the middle of the street.
Turn on the player and go for a walk. Music helps to distract, relax, and at the same time stimulates creativity. It may sound counterintuitive, but it works, so if you're sure the places you'll be walking around are safe, put on your headphones and go. Of course, this does not apply to walks at night, in unfamiliar areas. Never let your guard down.
Shoot from the hip
As a general rule of street photography, if you can shoot with your camera at eye level, you'll get a better shot. But sometimes there are cases when it is impossible to raise it. Therefore, shooting from the hip, so to speak, is a useful method to help capture the decisive moment. When I first started street photography, it was very difficult for me to raise the camera to eye level and point it at strangers. So I started shooting from the hip to get more natural, non-staged images when the characters don't know they're being filmed. The shots weren't great at first, but as I got used to shooting this way and learning how to choose the right focal length, I was able to capture some great moments.
Shoot at night
Shooting a city at night is a great chance to get unique shots. Yes, shooting in the dark is more difficult than in daylight; you need to remember about shutter speed so that the image does not turn out blurry, set the correct ISO and aperture settings to compensate for the lack of lighting.
If you plan to shoot at slow shutter speeds, bring a tripod with you. Or use a fast lens. When shooting at night, try to find interesting lines, shadows, compositions that give the shot a bold visual imagery. Silhouette shooting gives an interesting effect - shadows in the foreground can look very good.
Think big
Strong ideas and emotions can be conveyed through the simplest of scenes. Most people mistakenly associate street photography only with people, their portraits on the street. But it doesn't have to be a person in the frame. On crowded streets, it's hard to keep people out of your camera, so turn into a quiet alley or alley and look for new interesting subjects and subjects for your photos. In Vietnam, I spent a lot of time outdoors photographing bicycles, and then these shots became a small series called “Transport”, which was quite successful in the photographic community. I didn't think of all this initially, but it turned out that I had to do something unusual in order to get an interesting series.
Image quality isn't everything
Some photographers may disagree with me, but I personally don't put as much great attention image quality, such as when shooting landscapes or commercial applications. No, of course, quality should be strived for whenever possible, but for street photography it is not so important. Much more important is the composition, lighting, idea, story. And if your frames combine these four points, then you are on the right track.
Sharpness, lack of noise, perfect image quality - all this is useless if there is no composition and atmosphere in the picture, poor lighting. Focus on what really matters first and you'll get great street shots.
The main thing is pleasure
As in any other genre of photography, it is important to do what brings joy and enjoy what you do. If street photography says nothing to your heart, it's highly likely that your shots will be mediocre. Creativity is where the passion is, so only do what makes you happy, not what others expect you to do. I love street photography because it allows me to freely roam the streets, meet interesting people and see everyday life from a new perspective. It inspires me.
Conclusion
Street photography takes practice. The more you do it, the more trained your look becomes, the more confident you feel. This genre is simpler than others, post-processing is not required here, and if it is required, then it is minimal. Perception and intuition are much more important. Perception requires a creative eye for details and close attention to them. Intuition is something sudden, not subject to any arguments. Both of these factors together create that decisive moment. It's an amazing process that takes images to the next level. Thanks to him, street photography appears.
