Street Photography Tips pt. 10
Shoot street portraits
Street portraits are exactly what they sound like… portraits of everyday people in the streets. Street portraits are an integral part of street photography. Is it intimidating to walk up to a complete stranger and ask them for their portrait? Hell yeah, it is. Will you get turned down? Of course! But as long as you’re being kind and respectful, most people will actually be flattered by the gesture and say yes. If someone says no, just say “thank you, enjoy your day” and keep your day moving. It can really help build your confidence as a street photographer, and help you develop people skills.
Buy photo books
One of the most underrated pieces of advice (in my opinion) to improve your street photography is to buy street photo books. Do you have a favorite street photographer? Do they have a book? Buy a copy. You’re helping out a fellow artist, and you’re also giving yourself access to a huge source of inspiration. Instagram is fine, but having a hard copy of a photo in front of you from your favorite photographers is such a game-changer. You’ll have full access to it at any time you want, and you can study those images in much more intimate detail when it’s printed in front of you. A few of my favorites are Memento, Find Your Frame, and TO:KY:OO.
Revisit the same areas
Why would it be important to revisit the same areas when doing street photography? You’ve been there, you know what to expect, right? No, not quite. When you revisit areas you’ve photographed before, you begin to look for new things. You begin to see the same things in different ways. New faces, new compositions, new perspectives. Keep an open mind when you go out to places you’re already familiar with. Perspective is everything when it comes to street photography, you’d be amazed with how much you can miss, even in areas you know well.
Have fun
This is probably the single most important piece of advice I can give on street photography. Have fun. If you’re not having fun, you’re not going to produce images that you’ll be happy with. Street photography can be daunting, stressful, and sometimes not rewarding. But if you’re having fun, that’s what matters above all else. Street photography should be something you genuinely enjoy doing and enjoy learning from. It has a lot of valuable lessons to teach that you can carry into your everyday life, outside of photography. So if you’re gonna go out and do it, please make sure you’re at least having a good time.
