Street Photography: Guide for beginners

Street photography, also known as candid photography, is one of the photography genres, where the daily street life is photographed. Street photography at its essence means candid photography of people and their activities. A street photograph must be realistic and lively, and an un-posed moment should be captured.

We can also say that street photography is documenting human life. In this genre of photography, expressions, emotions, body languages of the subjects or persons are the important factors. Photojournalists, photo bloggers, documentary makers usually capture street photographs.

Candid Photography

Candid photography is one of the types of photography, where a photograph is captured, without creating any pose or posture. This is not related to the knowledge of the person to be photographed, and permission is not taken as well. There is no need for planned posing, no choreography, no costumes.

Just the pure spontaneous moment is captured. An image can be captured with someone in action. That makes the photo much more lively and realistic. Candid photography frequently utilizes sufficient natural light without using flash light. This is intentionally done to take pictures of persons or subjects, without letting them notice that.

Necessary equipment for street photography

1. Lenses – Selecting appropriate lenses is the most important factor to capture street photographs. Using telephoto zoom lens is not a good practice. Wide angle lenses are the best for street photoshoot.
2. Cameras – Street photography requires a good amount of walking. That’s why a light weight camera is much more appropriate than a heavier one. A high shutter speed DSLR or mirrorless camera is a better option.
3. Backpacks – A photographer should always look after the safety and security of equipment. A good backpack is required to securely carry camera, lenses, batteries, lens cleaning equipment, and other equipment.
4. Other accessories – Capturing good street photos may take long time. That’s why extra charge batteries, memory cards should be carried.

Camera settings for street photography

1. Shutter speed: When we are shooting on the street, we want to freeze any moment. 1/125 shutter speed is best to perfectly freeze moments. The shutter speed can be faster as per light condition.
2. Aperture: When we capture portrait photographs, most of the times we want blurred background to make the subject more lively. For that, we need a shallow depth of field to enhance the subject. f/2.8 is perfect for that. But for street photoshoot sometimes we need some background with people to create a story. f/5.6 aperture appropriate for that.
3. ISO: More ISO means more noise or grains in the picture. ISO 200 is best sensitivity for street photoshoot in a brighter day. As per light condition we can use ISO 400.
4. White Balance: As ISO settings, white balance is another important feature for street photoshoot. “Daylight” white balance mode is mostly preferable for photoshoot in daylight. For street photoshoot at night Auto white balance mode is appropriate.
5. Focal Length: Choosing the best focal length for street photoshoot is the most important factor. 50mm prime lens is perfect to cover all street activities. A 50mm prime lens is typically fast, allow to shoot in low ambient light. And it’s focal length is versatile for portraits and environmental shots. 18mm-200mm lens can also be used to cover a vast range.
6. Exposure mode: Most of the photographers use manual exposure mode for street photoshoot. The exposure should be set as per the light condition. Auto exposure mode can also be used for inconsistent light.
7. AF: Continuous AF is best for street photoshoot. When the AF is set to continuous autofocus mode, the camera will reset the autofocus every time the shutter is half pressed.

Find an appropriate spot and wait

Find an appropriate spot and wait for subjects. Patience is extremely important factor for photography. To capture great pictures you must wait to get the exact moment. While you walk for shooting, you may get great pictures. But you can miss some interesting and strong subjects as well. Also you will get very brief time to capture a perfect moment. Instead of that you can choose a good place and wait for a perfect and beautiful moment and shoot.

Get closer to the subject

Getting closer to the subject while capturing street photos, will make the photos more vibrant and meaningful. Many successful candid or street photos were captured only from few meters from the subject. Walking through a busy street, market or park can result in some rewarding pictures if you are observant and keep your eyes open for interesting subjects.

Look for the facial expressions and moods

Pictures with people walking, standing or doing some activities are not enough. To take your image to the higher level, you must take pictures with powerful expressions and gestures. A human being always recognizes other’s feelings and moods with facial expression. That’s why, as a street photographer you must pay attention to the facial expressions and moods of the people. That will make your image much meaningful and vibrant.

Lighting in street photography

Lighting is everything in photography. During street photoshoot, you must be aware of the main light source and how the light is hitting your subject. Light is so inconsistent during street photoshoot. Midday light in clear sky is strong and dawn or dusk light remains warm. A day can also be cloudy. In all light conditions you can capture great street photos with necessary camera settings. Sometimes street photographers uses external flash light to sperate there subjects from the backgrounds. You can also use flash light in low light conditions.

Composition in Street Photography

Composition is an important factor for photography. In street photography, it is difficult to capture images with proper composition. But you must look after the composition in order to capture great street photographs. Most of the times street photographers want to capture their subjects with blurred background. But sometimes backgrounds and surroundings are also important. A good street photographer always has a way of bringing everything together in the proper way.

Photo editing in Street Photography

Photo editing is one of the most important skills you need to develop to become a good street photographer. A photograph tells a story. By using editing tools we can combine similar photographs to create a greater story. Editing is also necessary for adjusting exposure and colors, removing unwanted spots, straightening and cropping images and so on. There are many photo editing tools available. But Adobe photoshop and lightroom are the best and worldwide accepted tools.

Learn from world-class street photographers

If you want to be a street photographer, first thing you need a vivid research and go through the works of world class photographers. It will give you inspiration, and help you understand what you are capable of achieving in this category. View works of different photographers who shoot in a variety of places. including cities and villages. Read street photography books and blogs on a regular basis. Read about the history and location of the photographer. look through as much of their portfolios as you can. That will offer you great ideas to capture good street photos. Some great street photographers are

1. Eugène Atget (1857–1927) France,
2. Lisette Model (1901–1983) Austria,
3. Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) France,
4. Garry Winogrand (1928–1984) USA,
5. Shomei Tomatsu (1930–2012) Japan

Ethics of Street Photography

During street photoshoot, when you are clicking candid photographs of people, you don’t have their permission. That’s why, every time, when you are pressing shutter, there is a chance that your subject gets disturbed. Some won’t mind but some will. That is the moral and ethical issue of street photography.

Conclusion

We capture street photographs because we love people, their cultures, activities, expressions, emotions, gestures and so on. Photography is just a way to bring back moments that we see and enjoy. Mostly street photography include people and their culture. That’s why, It is necessary to go through the basic concept of street photography. A photographer must understand, how, when and what to capture. Once you totally understand the concept, you will be able to create great frames.