Street Photography Tips pt. 2

1. Don’t Pay Much Attention to What “Isn’t” Street Photography

   This one might be a little controversial, but this is just my opinion on the matter.  You’ll hear a lot of street photography “purists” preaching what street photography is and isn’t.  There’s no clear cut definition, or hard rules that define what street photography is.  As long as you’re out photographing the authenticity of the streets, while out in public, you’re practicing street photography.  Don’t get hung up on what the purists say.

2.  Simplify Your Scene

   This goes hand-in-hand with composition.  The simpler you can make your scene to understand, the easier the photograph will be to read and digest.  Too many elements within the frame can quickly become distracting from the focus of the photo, and make the image a bit of a mess. Less is more in most cases, otherwise the viewer won’t know where to look in your image.  Keep it simple, clean, and interesting.

3. Know the Laws of Where You Are

   Before getting into this, I do have to disclose that I’m not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, and if you do have further questions, you should consult a lawyer on this matter.  With that being said, generally speaking, in the US (and some other countries like the UK), it is 100% legal to take, publish, and even sell photographs of people that are taken in public places, even without their consent.  People sitting at a cafe, walking down the street, in a public park, police officers, and yes, even children, are all completely legal to photograph.  Even someone sitting outside their house on their porch is completely legal.  Of course, zooming into someone’s window or being on someone’s property without their permission is where you begin to cross boundaries and potentially break laws, so steer clear of doing that.  Be respectful.  As long as you’re in a public place where you’re legally present (like a sidewalk), you aren’t breaking any laws.  Different countries do have different laws, so please make sure you do your research on wherever you may be traveling.