Photographs are as much about what is not included as the subjects in frame. Being aware of the things I avoid is as helpful to me as the things I gravitate towards when it comes to composing an image. Adding or removing elements through composition is one of the most significant parts of adding/removing/changing the context of an image. Including or choosing not to include certain things can alter a story in very serious ways, so it is always important to have ownership over those choices.
Instantly improve your street photography by relying on these three techniques
There are plenty of ways to grow as a photographer and improve your skills. In this video, Martin Kaninsky shares three techniques for street photographers that will help you up your game. But, I think it’s useful to have these techniques in mind no matter your preferred photography genre, so make sure to take a look.
I’m not good at street photography – I’m just not scared
Today I used Lightroom Mobile to capture images on the street for the first time. I recently remembered that you can sync images from Lightroom Mobile right to the Lightroom desktop application. This was huge for me as I’m tired of syncing via Airdrop… It legit takes forever to select which images you want to import.
Anyway, when syncing the images I noticed each one took about 10-20 seconds, quite long, but worth it considering the images were RAW. This also gave me a little bit of time to inspect each image. I had nothing else to do so I looked over them one by one as they dropped in. I didn’t make any changes, simply evaluated them based on quality.
3 tips for the optimal subject distance in street photography
Do you have to get closer to your subject? Or should you get further away? If you go by Robert Capa’s famous quote, you already have the answer:
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.”
I do agree that getting closer often improves your street photos. If you don’t care about the scenery at all, it’s a pretty great rule of thumb. However, if you love a bit more context, then a bit more distance truly improves the shot.
Let me show you 3 great ways to find the right distance for your street photos.
The Power of Repetition In Street Photography
In order to significantly improve your street photography, repetition helps tremendously! Focus on a certain aspect and shoot it over and over again. That way, each shot gets you closer to the vision you have in mind.
Back in 2013, I set myself the challenge to do something creative with just the lower part of the body. I dedicated a few photo walks to it. Even though it was a bit challenging at first, this philosophy eventually brought my vision to life.
Five great ways to improve your street photography at night
Whether you’ve already taken street photos at night or not, make sure to give it a try! Although it may seem challenging at first, it’s just a matter of how much you embrace the darkness. Here are 5 tips to help you get started or improve your night street photography even more.
How To Compose Your Street Photography Like A Painter
You may have heard that photography is also referred to as “painting with light”. However, would you consider yourself a light painter so far? If not, let’s change that real quick to massively improve your street photography composition!
The difference between photographers and painters is that painters add elementsand photographers reduce them. When you hit the streets, your “canvas” is already filled with all sorts of elements on the street: subjects, sceneries, cars, trash bins, billboards, street lights, people in the background and so on. Your challenge is to kick as many unimportant elements out of your frame as possible.
How to interact with strangers to get the most out of your street photography
Street photography doesn’t only require photographic skills and capturing the right moment. It also involves interaction with the strangers, which can be difficult for many of us to deal with. Photographer Eduardo Pavez Goye has created a helpful video, in which he’ll give you some tips for taking the right attitude. If you feel awkward taking photos of strangers, but really want to pursue street photography, these tips could really boost your self-confidence and help you overcome inhibitions.
Eduardo uses film cameras, which makes it more difficult to get the right shot at the right time. Some of his tips are especially helpful if you also shoot film, such as prefocusing, taking your time and talking to people. However, all these tips are also applicable on those who use digital cameras, and they’ll certainly help you loosen up and get your street photography and interaction skills on a higher level.
The best autofocus most photographers never use
Photography is so complex that there are a million approaches behind it. However, there is one thing that almost every photographer can agree on: you have to focus right! Otherwise it ends up blurry and the photo doesn’t clearly portray what you wanted to present. Blur isn’t necessarily bad though. If you want to convey a sense of abstraction, it works very well. Even if you didn’t nail the focus, an otherwise incredible photo remains great despite that flaw. Sometimes it even makes it seem more real and vivid.
These are 28 common mistakes in Street Photography you should avoid
1.Always using the Manual Mode
One common misconception and Street Photography mistake is the believe that professional photographers always use the manual mode and therefore it is also useful for Street Photography, right?
Firstly, professional photographers don’t use the manual mode every time. They use it when it benefits them, but they also choose an automatic mode when conditions are changing rapidly and would mean to adjust the camera settings too often. The automatic modes that come with the camera are already well developed and tested in the field. A lot of professional wedding photographers use them, as well as photojournalists.
The street isn’t a place where you can define your settings once and can go with them all day. Choosing the automatic modes allows you to focus more on taking the picture and wasting less time to fiddle with your camera.
