Intro
Street photography has the advantage of not requiring a lot of material. Some also advise going to the streets with as little material as possible. I myself am a follower of the “minimalist” movement and for a very simple reason: to free myself from material constraints in order to be able to concentrate as much as possible on my environment. As I could say in previous articles, a common mistake of the street photographer is to want to leave with a maximum of material, in order to answer in particular to the anguish of “missing” once on the field.
But the lack is an asset for the street photographer because it allows him to glimpse the limits of what he has in order to maximize his skills, to push him into his last entrenchment, and thus to show greater creativity. I see too many photographers who, once in the field, waste too much time wondering which lens for which situation. They constantly change their setup and their settings, and thus lose the precious opportunities to capture the famous and much sought after “moment”, so dear to the street photographer. I can’t say it enough, the best zoom is your legs.
This minimalist checklist aims above all for lightness and compactness, criteria that should be favored by all street photographers, in order to be able to explore the surrounding streets more easily. This is the basic material that you should think about when dealing with the most common situations. It’s up to you to adjust this list, to make additions, according to your individual needs.
Table of Contents
Camera Bag
You will need a container to transport your equipment. Some prefer to be ultra-minimalist and have only one camera around, especially during the hot weather when no one wants to carry something heavy on their back. However, you don’t have to carry a hiking backpack and your entire studio on your back. A simple bag of a few liters will do the trick in terms of street photography. Some models are particularly light, discreet. Some like the vintage style which will give them a nicer look. Others will prefer more contemporary bags with modern materials that give greater resistance to scratches but also to bad weather. I personally advise you to favor the acquisition of a waterproof bag, so as not to have to take shelter in the worst meteorological situations.
Camera Gear
Of course, you need a camera in order to be able to take pictures. However, it seems important to me to specify that, for street photography, you need only one camera. The GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) will push you to acquire several cameras, but this acquisition syndrome will lead you astray in your creative process more than anything else. Some like to collect cameras, and that’s okay with that (I’m personally a lover of old cameras).
However, you do NOT need to bring them all with you! A camera is more than enough! Imagine the reaction of people who will see you arrive in the street with two cameras around your neck … they will flee! And that’s exactly what you want to avoid! You want to appear inconspicuous, you want to blend in, not appear like a war photo reporter in the middle of the street. Another thing, you don’t have to have the most expensive camera to take great photos. This will surely be the subject of a future article …
Lens(es)
I deliberately put the plural between brackets because having several lenses for a photographic outing seems almost superfluous to me. Having several lenses in your possession, such as several cameras, may make sense, but bringing them all with you doesn’t make any sense, apart from carrying extra weight which will shorten your photographic trip because your bag will be painful to carry. 1 camera, 1 lens, that’s all you’ll need for your next photo outing.
Take a focal length with which you are comfortable, for several consecutive outings, in order to master it. Challenge yourself a little by taking a lens from time to time that you don’t feel comfortable with, and only this one. The only situation for which I take 2 lenses is if I have a specific purpose in mind (shooting outdoors and indoors for example, or including architectural elements, shooting before and after sunset … etc.).
Spare of Batteries
It is definitely the most important thing to take with you. Modern mirrorless cameras have many advantages, and while many improvements have been made over the past few years, they have a major disadvantage over DSLRs: battery life. Often limited to a few hundred photos, you will quickly feel the limit if you plan a photographic outing of several hours … So take at least an additional battery, and above all, make sure before your departure that they are both charged. Believe me, there is nothing more frustrating than having to go home when you’re in a good mood, only because your batteries are dead. 3 batteries is a real comfort.
Memory Card
This goes along with the previous paragraph. A 32GB or 64GB memory card is more than sufficient for photo outings if you shoot raw + jpeg. The problem and many photographers will be able to tell you from their experiences with this, is that these cards are fragile, and one day or another, when you least expect it, your memory card will suddenly stop working! In order to avoid staying on the sidelines, missing the best moment, because of this disappointment, I advise you to have a second memory card in back up “just in case”, even of a few gigabytes, in anticipation of this moment. This will certainly sound overzealous to you, I am not by nature anxious. But the memory cards are inexpensive and they won’t take up space in your bag, so don’t hesitate.
WR Solution and moisture protection
I attach great importance to weather protection for my equipment. First of all, because photographic equipment is expensive, I don’t want to see my savings go up in the first storm. Likewise, I think a photographer should not shy away from meteorological hazards and other messy situations. I even believe that the photographer must be looking for shots in these situations and environments because they are very photogenic and much rarer in the world of the image (there are many more photos that are taken under a bright sun than in a snowstorm for example).
For that, and even if you choose a tropicalized material, I advise you to consider the acquisition of a waterproof solution. Provide at least one terry towel to dry your wet gear as soon as possible. If your equipment is not tropicalized, a freezer bag with a hole for the lens will do the trick. In addition, I always place anti-humidity silica bags in order to prevent the risk of corrosion, especially when I go to humid places (tropical countries for example).
Something to introduce yourself
This is less common but can be the most useful when it comes to street photography. You will very quickly find yourself in situations where you are going to have to explain to the people you are photographing the reason you are photographing them, as well as the work you want to accomplish through that work. This will give you credibility but also reassure your interlocutor. It is very common to show your work through your Instagram account.
This is not, in my opinion, the best way to present yourself because everyone, or almost everyone, now has an Instagram account, and it is therefore unprofessional. If you want to stand out, have a little zine printed, a few pages long, in a tiny size, with samples of the photos you take. You can also distribute business cards with your email address, this can open up future professional opportunities …
Something to write/to record
I always have a notebook and a pen in my camera bag. This allows me to register, in addition to the photo, a certain number of information or feelings which are very complementary to the photographic practice. Take notes on the conditions in which you took certain photos, on your mood at the time in order to make the post-retouching in accordance with your feelings at the time. You will be able to keep a written record of the route you take, of the times of the day when it is most interesting to stop at a specific place for example …etc.
It is also a way to take information about the people you are photographing: email address, telephone number, etc. This is for personal purposes (creation of a book for example) or in order to send them the photographs later. Some prefer to record voice notes, some cameras today allow you to attach a voice memo to a photo.
UV Filter
A very basic accessory but that I always have on all my photo lenses. The UV filter has no (or very little) interest in the optical quality of your image. Some even say that if they are not of good quality they can degrade the quality of your image (which will delight pixel peepers). I have never seen such degradation in my images… however I see two main advantages of using a UV filter: first it will protect the front lens of your precious equipment!
No more worrying about having a piece of mud scratching your lens. It is an additional barrier against water drops. However, the main advantage lies rather in the fact of no longer having to position a protective cap. So you’re ready to shoot straight away and never miss a beat. You gain speed and have one less operation to do before triggering. No more excuses!
Auto ISO and Auto max shutter speed
In terms of adjustment, you have to go to the basics. It is possible to shoot in manual mode, but you might miss a precious moment. I advise you to set your camera once and for all and focus only on the aperture of the diaphragm and on the composition. For this, I advise you to use the aperture priority mode. With this mode, your camera will calculate the ISO sensitivity and the shutter speed according to your focal aperture. You will be able, on many devices, to give an iso range that you wish not to exceed (for example, you can request that your camera not go beyond 3200 iso).
In the same way, you can choose a minimum shutter speed beyond which you want your camera not to go automatically. In street photography, you will want to favor a fairly fast shutter speed in order to freeze the movements, do not go below 1/250 sec.
Zone focusing
In street photography, a common technique is to use zone focusing: you first set the area you want to be in focus on. No need to care about it anymore then, you just have to pay attention to the framing. For a 24mm equivalent on an APS-C (16mm), I usually manually set the focus to 4 meters at f/4.
This allows me to have a sharpness area from 1.80m to infinity. There are tools on the internet or smartphone applications that allow you to calculate areas of sharpness based on your settings. Some manual lenses allow you to see this area directly thanks to a ring that has indications of the focusing zone.
Raw
Finally, I advise you to shoot in RAW + Jpeg in order to have the greatest possible exposure latitude in post-processing. You will be able to be satisfied with Jpeg files but know that you will be able to benefit from the RAW function if you have a jewel that deserves some retouching: in particular to unblock shadows or recover “burnt” highlights, but also to correct more effectively the white balance and so you don’t have to worry about it in the field. Raw files are unedited and allow you to be able to express yourself with more freedom in post-production, without degrading the quality of the image. It is a format to be favored for any serious project (photo printing, creation of a book… etc.).
