Table of Contents
Intro
In the practice of street photography, what is sought above all is the capture of an instant, of a singular moment that it would not be possible – or very difficult – to see again if the photographer had not pressed the shutter button at that precise moment. Going into the street in search of this decisive moment is above all to show patience and be prepared in terms of your equipment, so as not to miss this short instant. The street photographer plays above all with chance, with parameters that cannot be mastered. Unlike the practice of photography in the studio for example, where the photographer is a conductor, it is the reality that unfolds in front of us that is the master, and we witness it with our camera. However, behind “lucky” photos there is also the possibility of maximizing the probabilities of encountering this much sought-after moment. For this, you will need to plan your photographic outings to a minimum, in order to be there, in the right place, at the right time. This article aims to give you some tips so that you can better plan your outings. Finding the best place also means finding the best time of day to be there.
The Photograph Ephemeris
In fact, we photographers work with light. However, depending on the time of day when you visit a place, it will appear totally different to you. The incidence of light changes every minute, the shadows become longer or shorter, the contrasts are more significant, the color of the light is more or less cold, the angles of the sun’s radiation bring the different play of light on the different reflective surfaces of the city … etc. There are two moments that are particularly appreciated by photographers for the quality of the light: the blue hour and the golden hour.
A blue hour can be seen at two times during the day: 30 minutes before sunrise, or 15 minutes after sunset. If you like dark landscapes, there is no better time of day to take photos, as the cool blue tones create a mysterious, romantic, and tranquil atmosphere. Cities are more beautiful in the blue hour, and the cool hues add an extra dimension to the coastal scenes. One of the best things is that the weather doesn’t really matter. Blue tones will be there whether the sky is clear, overcast, or even raining. In fact, rain can even improve the look of city photos, as wet sidewalks can reflect street lights and signs, adding to the natural glow of the scene.
Golden hour occurs one hour after sunrise, and two hours before sunset. At this time of day, the light is much more diffuse than in the middle of the day and the shadows are much less harsh. Soft shadows make it possible to bring out the volumes, which makes it possible to bring out the relief of a face for example. Plus it avoids unsightly shadows that will literally cut out the image. For portrait photos, golden hours are ideal because the model is not bothered by the light. In the middle of the afternoon, the light is too strong which means that your model may have squinted eyes (or even closed) when they will be wide open with a lower intensity. Another advantage: since the sun is low on the horizon, the light does not come from above the sides. For a portrait, the nose forms an unsightly shadow when the light comes from above, which is not the case during golden hours. On the other hand, a grazing light can quickly generate a backlight so pay attention to your framing. Finally, the last important point is the tint of the light. At this time, the colors tend towards red/orange which adds a colored component to the scene and reinforces the aesthetic of the photo. If luckily you have a cloudy sky, the clouds will take on a whole bunch of colors and that can add a real plus to the image.
To determine the time of sunrise and sunset, there are applications and software that will give you this information precisely depending on the date and where you are on the earth. So plan your outings well the day before, and get up early or go to bed late!
Explore Google Maps and social networks
It might seem trivial to you, but it is nevertheless one of the best solutions to familiarize yourself with a place. This practice was very successful during periods of covid lockdowns when it was impossible to travel or go out on the streets. To overcome the frustration, many people, including photographers, began to explore countries and cities virtually through google maps. Some street photographers have even taken street photos on google maps and the results are very creative and interesting! So before going to visit a new city, I invite you to survey it on google maps. You won’t be able to choose the time you want to visit it, but even that can already give you a glimpse of the atmosphere that emanates from the streets: is it more residential? Popular? Straight? Longilinear? Is the architecture complex? Are there any wooded places? Etc … Walking the streets virtually is already familiarizing yourself with your environment. Once you get there “for real”, you will know the places again, know which direction to take. Feeling at ease in your environment is super important in the practice of street photography because it allows you to be less anxious, to blend in with the surroundings, and therefore to be more comfortable and more discreet. Today the Internet has many tools that allow us to identify the places most likely to interest us. Before, we had to buy specific books about the areas we wanted to visit. Now a little research in your favorite search engine and you will come across a wealth of valuable information! Many photographers tag the geolocation of the photos they have taken. Some places are particularly photogenic. Sometimes, it is the most obvious places that are the most beautiful … For that my advice is simple: type the name of the city in which you plan to go, in your favorite social network (and preferably a website that is addressed to photographers or visual content creators), and sort it out in the places that deserve to be visited. Then plan your photographic outings.
Look for crowded places
In order to increase the likelihood of witnessing a unique scene, the moment that any photographer is looking to capture, I advise you to look for places where there are a lot of people. It’s mathematical: the more people there are, the more interactions there are, the more chances there are of meeting an interesting character or a scene worthy of interest! This will be less obvious if you take a photo trip to a village … Which I invite you to do anyway because there are many subjects to photograph also in more deserted places! City centers are generally more populated than the outskirts. By dint of going out, you will spot the places where there are the most crowds in order to be able to target your photographic outing more effectively. For that, I advise you to return again and again to the same place. As I have said in previous articles, this will allow you to familiarize yourself more effectively with your environment. People will also be used to seeing you, to recognizing you, will feel confident when they see you, thus making room for candid interesting moments to photograph. To return again and again to the same place is to work around the incidence of light on your environment in order to be able to photograph it at best. It is also knowing the atmosphere of the place according to the time of day. For example, people go to work in the morning, they take a lunch break, they go to pick up their children in the evening, they unwind at the bar in the evening, the party at night … etc. Be amazed at what the neighborhood has to offer depending on the time of day and year. A tip for knowing the peak periods in an area that you are particularly fond of: check the city’s webcams online. There are more and more websites offering free live webcams in many well-known places. I know a photographer, connected to a webcam all the time, and who waits until a part of the city is full of people to go off at full speed to take photographs. So grab it too!
Finally, there is a very simple solution to find the best place to take photographs depending on the events and the number of people there: read the press or local news in your city on social networks. Look for all the forms of demonstrations likely to attract people: musical events, sports, carnivals, markets, protests, communal festivals…etc. All these events are as many occasions to photograph crowded areas, in singular and rare contexts, sometimes folkloric, which are very photogenic. As a bonus: people are used, in this kind of event, to be photographed, and will even be proud to show themselves in front of your lens! So enjoy it!
Final Words
As you will have understood, street photography also allows you to become more familiar with your environment, but also the impact of natural elements on the perception of what surrounds us. Finding the best place for street photography is acquired after many photographic outings during which you will familiarize yourself with the atmosphere of a neighborhood, both in terms of light and the predispositions of the people who will take places there, such as actors in a play. If you are not the director, you are the cameraman. And a good cameraman is someone who knows how to recognize and plan these elements so that the results are the best possible. You know what you have to do now…
