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Guide Street Photography

20 Street Photography Ideas in 2021

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Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Intro:

Street Photography is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting areas of photography. To go out into the street is to go there with your guts, to confront the unknown. It is accepting to control almost nothing, to allow yourself to be surprised. Street photography can reward us simultaneously: it allows us to make beautiful encounters and discover the surroundings.

It can also quickly become frustrating: the search for the perfect photograph often ends in great disappointments which can inhibit the desire to return to the streets: the rejection of the other (often linked to our own attitude), difficulty to find interesting subjects, sometimes the inspiration simply does not come…

Therefore, and so that no photographic outing can end in disappointment, I invite you to take knowledge of 20 ideas to make street photography. These are to be understood in various ways: already as a form of exercise that will allow you to train your gaze and make it more sensitive to certain elements you were not used to seeing.

These ideas are also aimed at an approach to have when you go down to the streets: keep an open mind, aim for an objective to keep a framework… etc. These ideas can be taken on their own, they are sufficient individually. These ideas are for the most part very limiting, and this is intended. Because the more you limit yourself, the more you will have to use your creativity to master these techniques.

Limits can often prove to be liberating in the field of art. Some of these ideas should therefore be considered as “challenges”. They can also complement each other to ultimately improve your photographs, support your inspiration, and keep the playful side of street photography. Stay fun, stay free and it will show in your photographs …

Shoot Black and White

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Many current cameras allow you to shoot directly in black and white jpeg. Some find black and white sad, but it adds a timeless feel to your photos. Sometimes it is even difficult to determine when a photo was taken when it is in black and white. Beyond this aesthetic side, black and white allow you to free yourself from color and focus on other aspects of the photo: tones, contrasts, textures, composition. In painting, some advise starting learning in black and white because it is the variations in tones that shape the perspective of our environment.

This allows you to train your eye to see volumes. Black and white also help bring out textures: walls, fabrics, organic or man-made materials. Experiment with black and white abstractions by photographing shapes and textures, focusing on negative spaces for example.

Try Double Exposure

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Double exposure is an ancestral technique. It could already be used with old cameras and consisted of multiple shots on a piece of film. Before, you had to advance the film manually in order to switch to a new exposure. Sometimes this process was forgotten and gave rise to “beautiful mistakes”. Today it is possible to reproduce this effect directly in your camera.

On Fujifilm for example, a mode allows you to take multiple shots by superimposing them. This allows you to see in real-time the previous photo which is added to the current shot. The double exposure allows to give an abstract touch to street photography, but also to say more with a single photo.

For example, you can photograph a street and superimpose it on a face. It gives an almost dreamlike impression, a more psychological dimension to photography. The possibilities are limitless, even in architectural terms to let your creativity express itself.

Explore Reflections

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Photography allows you to write with light. Those who have done a little physics will know that apart from a few rare objects that produce their own light, our perception of light is the reflection that the objects send back to us from a light coming from a other source. So in itself, most of the photographs are in fact already reflective photographs. Here I am talking above all about the specularity of certain objects such as windows, mirrors, water…etc.

They come to reproduce, with distortions, scenes which take place in another spot which cannot be seen in our framing. This technique also allows to give a new dimension to our photo, to give depth by associating for example very contrasting scenes in terms of content. The reflections also have excellent qualities of abstraction which make it possible to give a striking aesthetic to the images.

Play with High Contrasts

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

As said above, the contrasts allow us to gauge the shape that things have. Without contrasts, tonal variations, or light, it would simply be impossible for us to judge the shape of an object through our sight. Looking for contrasts allows us to give more weight to the shape of our environment, to bring out the perspectives. It also gives a dramatic effect to the photographs.

To do this, you have to expose your photo according to the highlights, depending on the scene. Generally, I use the exposure compensation wheel with my mirrorless camera to see in real time the impact of the underexposure on the scene. Blacks are deeper and light can create aesthetic patterns or bring out details that we want to highlight. Usually I underexpose between 2/3 stop and 1 stop.

The scenes are generally more contrasted when the sun is at the zenith, but the contrasts can be sought at the beginning or end of the day when the shadows lengthen.

Try A Different Aspect Ratio

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

The composition rules are different depending on the image ratio you are using. Being a Rolleiflex lover, I used to take photos in square format as on a medium format. I am sometimes nostalgic for this ratio because it gave more dynamic to the subjects photographed in my opinion. I sometimes like to set my camera so that I can shoot directly in that format.

Some people like to use the 16: 9 ratio which gives a more cinematic aspect to the photographs. More panoramic compositions change the way we see the world through our lens, and it can be really fun! I’m not talking about post-processing cropping here but rather set your camera so that the shooting is already done with another ratio. You can be very surprised by the results obtained and pay attention!

A panoramic ratio does not only allow you to make a landscape, conversely, but square ratios do also not only allow you to do a portrait! So get out of your comfort zone and try the craziest things!

Ask A Stranger: Street Portrait

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

This will certainly be one of the most difficult for many of you. However, in my opinion, it is one of the most important in the field of street photography. No need to be extrovert, you must overcome your social anxiety which is often based on unfounded fears (that of being rejected, that others judge you badly…etc.). I have already written an article around this question and on tips for approaching others without fear, I invite you to read it.

The easiest way to overcome your fears is to jump in and practice. A tip: on your next photographic outing, make sure to ask at least one person for permission to photograph him. The next time ask two people, the next time three people and so on. You will see that asking is just a formality and you will feel much more comfortable in your practice. You will never come home regretting that you did not dare to take a photo.

In fact, many people are flattered to be photographed. Refusals are very rare and above all without consequences. If you were told “no” you would smile and go your way…at least you would have tried!

Use A Single Focal Lenght

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

On your next outing, take only one camera and one lens. The first that comes your way. This has several advantages: your material will be minimalist, you will have less things to wear, you will feel lighter. Second thing: you will be free from having to change the focal length every 5 minutes.

Many people waste too much time wondering about choosing the right focal length, changing lenses depending on the scene. This breaks the contact they have with their environment, and this often results in opportunities for failed photographs. Taking a single focal length also means going beyond your comfort zone. Take a 24mm equivalent and use your legs if you need to get close to your subject.

There is nothing better for learning to ask permission from the people you want to photograph … Taking a 24mm portrait is different from taking a 100mm portrait. There is not one better than the other but the results can be surprising, more or less dynamic and you will never be able to have this experience if you spend your time changing or taking the “simpler” focal length.

As said above, limiting yourself is pushing your own limits and showing creativity. Using a single focal length also gives more consistency to your work …

Experiment with Slow Shutter Speed

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Generally, we recommend taking street photos around 1 / 500sec in order to freeze movements and avoid blurring. But this is not a rule, allow yourself to use much longer exposure times. This will allow you to achieve very interesting artistic effects. Blur can be a subject in itself and can be very aesthetic. Panning, for example, consists of following a moving object with a long exposure time. This gives an impression of movement which detaches the subject from his environment.

Shoot at Night

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

At night, the street shows a totally different face. They say people are really themselves when the sun goes down. Summer evenings are particularly appreciated for this … Artificial lights can be particularly interesting and enrich a photographic scene: colors and contrasts are unusual, people are more relaxed, smiling. Step out of your comfort zone and venture like a nocturnal animal into your city. You will be amazed at how much new it has to offer! This is really inspiring!

Make a Limited Photo Session

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Some say that lack of time prevents them from practicing photography. In reality, you don’t need to have a day in front of you to take pictures. I usually, right after my work, set a session of 30 minutes maximum. Consistency is the key. The more regularly you are in the street, the more comfortable you will feel. To limit oneself in terms of time is also to go to the essentials and focusing entirely on the photo. You don’t procrastinate, looking at your phone. You are fully connected to your environment and you never miss a moment.

Look for Color Patterns

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

In terms of composition, this idea is certainly the easiest to apply. Educate your eye to see the assemblages of colors in order to associate them in your image. This can apply to the same color or to adjacent colors of the color wheel (example: blue-green-turquoise). This technique allows you to strike the eye and gives direction to your photo outings.

Give Depth to Your Picture: Layering

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Layering is a more difficult composition technique. It consists of juxtaposing several “scenes” in order to give depth to your image. It is as if there were several levels of reading. To begin with, try adding a foreground to the photographs you want to take. You will quickly see that your photograph will appear much richer aesthetically speaking. When you can additionally add a background to your subject, your photographs will be very balanced and pleasing to the eye.

Tell A Story: Triptych

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Storytelling is one of the most important parts of a photograph. Learning to sequence photos in order to tell a story is an art in its own right to which I invite you to make yourself aware. The easiest way to practice this is to sequence 3 images in a triptych: A wide and general shot of the scene.

A shot that focuses on a subject or an action, and a final close-up on a detail. In the example above, I wanted to document a gathering that took place on the beach: people were throwing flowers into the sea to commemorate the dead at sea who wanted to reach our shores. So I photographed the beach, then a person throwing a flower into the sea, then a flower washed up on the beach.

Choose A Theme

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Choosing a subject before going out means giving yourself a path to follow, a guideline that will direct your photographic research. This theme can cover several photographic outings or even a long-term project. Some have for example chosen to photograph dogs in the street, or bikes, couples, hats or a particular color … etc. This allows you to give consistency to your photos and to be able to sequence them more easily.

Shoot in A Single Place

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Coming back to the same place over and over has several advantages: you will get to know the environment and feel very comfortable there. You will know exactly which place looks best in the photo depending on the incidence of light, which events occur at which place. Another advantage: you will start to know more and more people who will spot you and feel comfortable around you.

I usually photograph the same neighborhood after leaving work. I photographed a man in front of the casino. A few days later I came across him a little further and he recognized me, we exchanged a cordial discussion which could result in a more “intimate” photograph next time.

Shoot Everything, Without pression

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

On your next outing, don’t get the idea that you have to shoot the “photo of the year”, but shoot as if you are seeing the world for the first time, as if you were a child. Allow yourself to photograph even the ugliest things, but whatever you’re drawn to.

This technique is similar to the technique of sketching and studying in drawing. These photos are not intended to be shown, just to make you aware of your environment and to free you. You can have pleasant surprises by photographing things that you would never have thought of before …

Keep Attention to Architecture

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Architecture can be an asset in street photography. Old forms that blend with contemporaries can give interesting compositions. To be interested in architecture is also to be interested in history and its time. It is including the subjects in its environment and developing its understanding of the world.

Shoot Under the Rain/Snow

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

Getting out of your comfort zone can pay off in street photography. I like the idea that photography can show others what is difficult to see. Going out to face difficult weather conditions is already one step closer to the unusual. Scenes in the rain or snow are unusual, out of the ordinary and can be very photogenic.

Look For Silhouettes

Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

The silhouettes can be interesting subjects because they allow suggesting the presence of people while keeping a form of anonymity, a presence-absence that can be either reassuring or disturbing. It is a good process of abstraction of a scene. You can either focus on the direct silhouettes of people or on the shadows cast by the silhouettes of people.

Try A Street Self Portrait

My philosophy, when I go to the street, is not to reduce myself to one eye. Some photographers like to disappear and this can be of great benefit. In my opinion, we are full-fledged actors in photography. Street photography is the meeting of several people including the photographer. The scene therefore takes place at the front but also at the back of the camera. Trying to include yourself in the scenes you photograph can be a lot of fun from time to time!

Bonus Tip: Print Your Pictures!

 Street Photography Ideas
Street Photography Ideas

This idea could serve as a conclusion. When you have used all of these ideas, your photographic technique will have greatly evolved. The question arises of what you should do with your photographs? Beyond being an image, photography is also an object that must be manipulated. Printing your photographs is also leaving a tactile trace that will cross the ages, it gives importance to the subject photographed. So don’t hesitate, print your photos in small or large format. It can be very educational and rewarding!

 

 


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My name is Dylan Siragusano (@scopic.drive) and I am a French street and documentary photographer based in Nice, in the south of France. I started street photography in 2006, then I became a wedding photographer in 2009. I was exhibited at the rectorate of Rome as part of the commemoration of 150 years of the unification of Italy in 2011. I am also graduated in psychology. These two areas are intimately linked and nourish each other. To me, photography is a way to question our relationship to our environment but also to ourselves.