How to avoid ‘pedestrian’ street photography
Wong Lok Street, Hong Kong; Canon 7D, 15-85mm at 22mm, 1/13 f/4.0, raw, IS0 100 (Kylie McLaughlin).
Tunnel neighbourhood small restaurants, Istiklal Street, Istanbul (Izzet Keribar).
Words: By Richard I’Anson
In many countries life is lived on the street. Meals are cooked and eaten; clothes, bodies and teeth are washed; games are played and business is transacted; all in full view of the passing public.
As with all people photography you’ll have to develop your own approach to taking pictures of people on the street, but you will require a quick eye and shutter finger, as the aim is to capture fleeting moments that you often can’t anticipate.
Street photography is one of the cornerstones of traditional photographic genres, where the everyday and happenstance take centre stage as subject matter over the more sensational public events like annual festivals and familiar iconic structures. Walking the streets looking to capture unique moments is a fun, interesting and challenging goal to set yourself, and the shots make a nice counterpoint to the more exotic imagery typical of travel photography.
Although the magic of the moment should take precedent over technical perfection, you can influence the outcome by finding an interesting location where there is a fair bit of activity and good light and then wait for things to happen around you. Good places to get started are the obvious centres of human activity, such as city squares, marketplaces, restaurant precincts, shopping centres, places of worship and transport hubs. However, for a general introduction to daily life no matter where you are, set off in any direction and you’ll witness people from all walks of life going about their daily activities. Look to photograph them up close, at work, individually and in groups, posed and unposed. Each picture will add more depth to the impression of the destination you’re able to communicate through your photographs.
Village street, Sohael, Egypt DSLR, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, 1/100 f5, raw, ISO 100 (Richard I'Anson).
Men playing dominoes at Gomez Park, Miami, USA 35mm SLR, 24-70mm lens, 1/60 f8, Ektachrome E100VS (Richard I'Anson).
Barber Shop, Dubrovnik, Croatia 35mm SLR, 24-70mm lens, 1/40 f2.8, Ektachrome E100VS (Richard I'Anson).
Tips: Set you camera so you’re ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. Keep the aperture on middle ground, such as 4.0-6.3. Don’t be afraid to push the ISO up a little higher to keep your images sharp (400+).
Light: To get high-contrast shots such as those from Merten Snijders, search for the light in places that are otherwise dark and wait for someone to walk into your frame.
Good street photography camera: Fuji X100. For street cred and subtlety, and for its ability to shoot high-res images in low-light at high ISOs.
Check out: Australian photographer Trent Parke, classic street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and awesome old-school street photography from Hong Kong by Fan Ho.
Read: Magnum Stories, by Chris Boot.
Good places to start: Anywhere urban, but New York City and Hong Kong provide plenty of great street photography opportunities.
Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong; Canon 7D, 15-85mm at 15mm, 1/15 f4.5, raw ISO 400 (Kylie McLaughlin).
Men pulling carts in Hunan, China (Johnny Haglund).
Post Office building in New York (Merten Snijders).
Street food in Central, Hong Kong; Canon 7D 15-85mm at 15mm, 1/15 f/5.0, raw ISO 640 (Kylie McLaughlin).
Bikes for sale and rent in Amsterdam (Merten Snijders).
An intersection in La Paz, Bolivia (Sean Caffrey).
Pedestrian overpass in Central, Hong Kong; Canon 7D 15-85mm at 15mm, 1/13 f/3.5, raw ISO 640 (Kylie McLaughlin)
Potala Palace Square, Tibet (Merten Snijders).
Kowloon, Hong Kong; Canon 7D 15-85mm at 15mm, 1/20 f/4.5, raw ISO 800 (Kylie McLaughlin)
Cat yawning on a street in Chefchaouen, Morocco (Tony Burns).
Get the definitive guide to travel photography, by Richard I’Anson.
Learn how to compose your shots
The importance of capturing your subjects in the correct light
How to make the most of your festival photos
- additional words by Kylie McLaughlin (@KayMc_Laffers)
Love Street Photography
Gorgeous photos, I love taking pictures of people, although I’m not very good at it, I always feel I’m invading their privacy…
if we all follow the same rules we will all produce the same pictures. know the rules and know how to bend, break them to your advantage and to create a image your own. i learned the rules “rule of thirds” “means” and “shutter, aperture, iso” to me they are guide lines not rules i take pictures which look good to my eye. you are the photographer not the “rules”
The Fuji X100 a perfect camera to take notes with, to snap something that inspires you, and simply to capture the moments.