The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide for Street Photography

Photographer: @otsouvalas

All of the information in this guide are my opinion made from almost 10 years experience to the streets. Of course it isn't the only “right” way to shoot street photography. But I hope it is a good starting point. Hope it will be a good start for new photographers. Feel free to comment.

What is street photography?

First of all we all should ask : What is street photography?

Simply put, street photography is about documenting everyday life and society without change the trouth. I personally don’t think street photography needs to be shot in the street. You can shoot at the airport, at the mall, at the beach, at the park, in the bus or subway, in the doctor’s office, in the grocery store, or in any other public places.

Furthermore, street photography is generally done without permission and without knowledge of your subjects.

What to look for when shooting in the #streets

Okay so now you have your camera, lenses, and technical settings sorted out in street photography. Now what do you look for when you’re out on the streets? Here are some things you can look for:

1. “The decisive moment”

Tsouvalas Odysseas, 2017. "The moment"

But realize “the decisive moment” is a bit misleading. There can be many “decisive moments” when you’re out shooting in the streets. This means if you see a good street photography scene, don’t just take one photograph. Take a ton of shots (I recommend 10-30 photos if possible). Even Henri Cartier-Bresson took 20+ photos of a single scene (if he thought it was interesting enough). Then afterwards in the editing process he would choose which image he felt was the best.

You can catch “the decisive moment” by the position of a person in the frame, in their facial expression, in their hand gesture, or their action or movement.

Henri Cartier Bresson, 1932. The “Decisive Moment” of the man about to land in the puddle.

2. Emotion

To me, the most memorable street photographs are the ones that have strong emotion and show some sort of reflection on the human condition. This can include happiness, pain, sadness, loneliness, humor, anxiety, youth, and love.

To find emotion in street photographs is difficult. First of all, you have to find the emotion in the streets through peoples’ body language or facial expressions. Then you have to be quick enough to take the photograph before people notice you. However if you do it well, you will create a compelling and emotional image that people can connect with on a deeper level.

3. Graphical/visual elements

4. Focusing on details

Some of the best street photographs focus on the details, not the whole picture. When you are shooting on the streets, you can focus on small details. This means rather than taking a full-body shot of someone on the streets, focus on their hands, their feet, their face, their earrings, or anything else they are holding.

By showing less of what is going on in the photograph, you create more mystery in your image. Less is more.

5. Urban landscapes

I don’t think street photography has to include people in it. Sometimes you can create compelling urban landscapes that show some sort of human condition and reflection on society.

The hardest thing to do in urban landscapes is to find a scene that somehow elicits a sense of nostalgia, emotion, or societal critique. For example, photographing a run-down building can make a strong societal statement.
When photographing urban landscapes, it is also extremely important to have a nice composition, sense of symmetry, and balance.

Tsouvalas Odysseas, 2014. "Those who command our lives". The parliament, Athens - Greece

It is hard to make interesting urban landscapes but when you make it, the finish will worth the hard work.

6. Commonly found objects

Sometimes the most interesting street photographs are of stuff on the ground. So take photos of common objects you find in public places. Get close up to them, juxtapose them against other objects, and experiment using a flash. Try to be creative and find ways to make them interesting.

Hope you found my guide interesting.

Your upvotes and resteems will help me improve my work and I will be able to make more guides for photography.

I want to thank #Greek-trail and all the members of it for their support.