The Street Photographer’s Manual: Everything You Need to Know About Street Photography
Street photography is a popular genre among photographers, and many street photographers have opportunities to capture interesting and compelling images of the world around them. It is also an excellent way to develop and practice your photography skills. However, many beginners in photography struggle with street photography and are unsure how to learn it, including what subjects to capture and how to capture them effectively.
Dylan Siragusano is skilled at capturing excellent street photos, and you can also learn from his experiences by reading his posts on street photography.
In this article, I would like to share ‘The Street Photographer’s Manual’ as a source of inspiration, and I hope you can use these skills and knowledge to enhance your photography skills. This introduces seven key themes or concepts you need to know when taking street photography.
The Street Photographer’s Manual
Table of Contents
Events
Events, protests, parades and other gatherings are attractive for street photographers—examples include io Carnival, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and many others. For many street photographers, it is a great experience to find and take some pictures of small local events (such as local fetes, agricultural shows, etc). These events may offer street photographers great chances to take some great moments that may get noticed.
Order
“Making order out of chaos in the world” is one of the fundamental principles for all street photographers, especially when capturing busy and disordered scenes. But some beginner street photographers may find it hard to bring order to chaos when taking some street photographs. Therefore, taking pictures of still objects is a great learning experience. Still things include buildings, landscapes and many others. Developing your observation skills helps you find some order amid chaos and capture powerful street pictures. If you have no idea how to improve your keen eye and observation skills, please read 7 Tips for Capturing Unique Images Through Observation.
Objects
Many objects and scenes can be captured, but seeking out exciting and unconventional subjects is essential to create a truly unique and compelling image. The author says about objects:
And objects, unlikely probably the things that we surround ourselves with in our living space, can be quite different in the street. Chairs can be beautiful, as can doors or windows, but any of these objects in decay can be equally stimulating to the eye.
Empty
Empty is an exciting theme for street photography because an empty street means something lacking and awaits people to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. The “theme of empty” could be an empty street, landscape, or room. In Japan, there is a photographer – Masataka Nakano. He has a book -Tokyo Nobody- about the beauty of an empty and quiet Tokyo. In this project, Masataka Nakano captured photographs depicting the deserted streets and buildings of some of Tokyo’s busiest areas in the early morning or late night. You can get some inspiration from his book.
Behind
Indeed, in some countries, taking street photos of people without their consent may be considered an infringement of their portrait rights and may be prohibited. Therefore, taking pictures of people’s back view can be a safe and respectful solution for street photography. Some photographers may think that taking some pictures of people from behind cannot offer as much visual information or emotional impact as taking photos of their faces. Sometimes, showing less information in images and leaving some details to the viewer’s imagination can add intrigue and depth to a photograph.
Graphics
Graphics, in street photography, refers to lines and shapes. You can think of what kind of graphics in street photography – examples include train trails, roads, zebra crossings, railway tracks, electric poles, building windows, store windows, etc.
Note: It is a fundamental skill for street photographers to transform objects into abstract or graphic elements. Please read the photographic composition book review to take your photography to the next level.
Children
Photographing children is the most joyful experience because photographers can take some innocence, playfulness, and of children. Among the photography community, many famous photographers have experience in children’s photography, such as The Weeping Boy and Rue Mouffetard, Paris from Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Note: please learn the laws and regulations regarding child privacy and protection when taking pictures of children.
Tips & Techniques
Overlapping
The technique of overlapping in a composition is how all of the elements in a drawing, painting, or photograph overlap each other to help create the illusion of the third dimension. –the art of composition. Now let’s view above images to help you understand this skill.
Waiting
Waiting for a great photo opportunity can be important and useful technique in street photography. The only thing you can do is to find a great location and wait for people passing by can allow photographers to take some unique images. However, this techique requires strong understanding of eviroment, identify potential subjects you may interested in and some patience and luck.
Pro tip: Before taking some street photos, you can test your camera settings (include aperture, ISO, and shutter speed) and take some test shots. Additionally, some people may be sensitive or uncomfortable around cameras, especially in public spaces. It can be helpful to use a smaller camera lens and camera.
Following
Following a interesting person is also a joyful experience as you can take some powerful and compelling images. However, following a subject is hard for many beginners because it requires a combination of technical skill and anticipation. Importantly, you need to postion yourself in the best location, choose good background and then capture the best moment.
Looking Down
There are strong relationship between Photography and Observation Angle. This concept is also mentioned in book – The Photographer’s Eye from John Szarkowski. When we stand at a higher position and look down, we may notice details of the environment that we might not see from ground level. Looking upward is also a amazing observation angle.
Blurred
Sometimes, adding blur to an image can express motion and movements and create a distintive style and mood. But how do we create some blurred images? You can use slow shutter speed or move the camera while taking the photo. There are two famous photographer who love producing blurred images: Ernst Haas and Rinko Kawauchi. You can view their images to get some inpsiration.
Layers
Using layers can create artistic effect for your images. You can seek out some” street filters” for producing surprising images. Glass, windows and wire mesh fencing are best choice.
Note: Choose subjects with vibrant colors and interesting textures to create contrast and separation between the different layers of the scene, making each layer stand out more clearly.
Shadow
The shadow in this book refers to light and shadow. All shadows are worth taking pictures of, such as people’s shadows, animal’s shadows, and building’s shadows.
Reflection
Reflection is a simple and effective technique for all photographer. You just spend several mintues learning this photo compostion and then you can produce some great images. If you have no idea what to photograph, it is suggested that you can find water and use the reflection to take some pictures. It is far more interesting. Additionally, the joy of reflections can offer photographers a glimpse into an alternate world.
Doubling Up
Another type of reflection is the mirror or kaleidoscope effect, what might be called simply “doubling up”. Let’s look below images to help you understand this concept.
Conclusion
In this book, the author- David Gibson share some many useful information. If you don’t know what to photograh, check:
Theme:
- Events
- Order
- Objects
- Empty
- Behind
- Graphics
- Children
If you have no idea how to photograph some amazing images, please learn and practice:
- Overlapping
- Waiting
- Following
- Looking Down
- Blurred
- Layers
- Shadow
- Reflection
- Doubling Up
The Street Photographer’s Manual
Now, we may have many useful information about photography skills and how to apply to certain situation. However, if you want to become an excellent street photographer, it is important to practice and develop these skills instinctively. Overall, the right book can be a great tool for beginners in photography, helping them to build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills that can serve as a springboard for future learning and growth.
