5 Bad Street Photography Habits
Whenever we pick up a new hobby, it is easy to fall into some habits which might not be all that good for us. In this blog I want to share 5 not so good street photography habits that I had at one point or another in hopes of you learning from my mistakes. To be honest sometimes even today I can find myself falling back into them so this blog doubles up as a reminder for myself!
Rushing
This is by far the top and I catch myself doing this to this day. Whether it is due to the fear of missing out or even being overwhelmed when presented with amazing light, loads of subjects or just a totally new photogenic location. I tend to just run around like a headless chicken trying to photograph everything and if I just slowed down a little bit then maybe I would have walked away with a few good shots rather than many average ones. From a more day to day perspective I often find myself missing focus, messing up the composition or exposure because I am rushing to take a photo. I sometimes also find myself rushing to take a photo of a subject before they turn around and see me.
Ultimately this behaviour just leads to a lot of spraying and praying and I just don’t think it is the smartest way to approach anything really. So my advice to you and to me is just slow down, think before taking a photo, think about your composition, your lighting and and just relax. I have lost count of how many photos I messed up because I was rushing….
Not Having A Theme / Goal / Direction
This one can be as specific or as broad as you like. You should have a rough idea what it is that you want to photograph, otherwise you might end up going round in circles aimlessly. As an example when I go out to shoot I have the following list of criteria:
It has to be sunny / good light / atmospheric
The photos need to have a soft clean feel to them
The photos need to promote and encourage the viewer to want to head out and shoot themselves
The photos should try to evoke a feeling
The photos should not show peoples faces
The photos should fall within my ethical boundaries
Obviously I will not achieve these things all the time, however collectively they create a rough direction for where I go with my work. Also I can’t plan for everything because the nature of what we do is that so much is just down to chance and it would almost be counter productive for me to have my ideal photos in my head…… as that is a bit like hoping to win the lottery. However having an overall understanding means that I am not going round in circles and taking photos of random stuff without any clear direction. If you find yourself struggling with this, my advice is to make a mini project. Let’s say between now and summer your project is to document how your city comes out of lock down. Or it could be to create a photo series of the best villages in your part of the world. It could be anything, so if you feel lost, then start a mini project.
Not Planning Ahead
I still am still stuck with this habit and very much rely on the winging it approach. Planning ahead can really elevate you because as we know, a huge chunk of street photography is simply being in the right place at the right time.
So what do I mean by saying planning ahead? Well first and foremost having an idea of what type of photos you want…
If you want gritty black and white images, go to that part of town
If you want clean elegant photos, maybe a more modern part of town is better
After this think about your focal length.
Are you going to be in a very tight space like a market? Well maybe a wider lens is better.
Are you going to be walking along a river or in a very large open city, well maybe something longer will do the job.
Where will you get good light? There are plenty of apps that can tell you exact sunrise and sunset times and even apps like photo pills that will tell you where then sun will be at any given time or location. With a bit of planning you can have a look and figure out which street to go down in order to have that nice back lighting. My advice here is to try to plan for what is within your control so that you have the best luck possible when you are out.
Focusing On The End Goal
I know this might sound a little contradicting to what I just said, but hear me out. I would hazard a guess that 99% of us are doing this as a hobby and a way to pass the time when we are not working. So why do we sometimes get so stressed over getting that perfect shot and in the process perhaps not even enjoying ourselves? I say it because I’ve been there many times. I have been that person who was so frustrated with not getting the shot that I completely lost touch with the fact that I am doing a hobby, something that is meant to bring me joy. Sometimes it is good to just take a step back from the constant race to get better and make better work and just enjoy walking round with a camera and enjoy the process and not so much the end result.
My bit of advice, is grab your camera, grab the smallest and lightest prime in your kit, go for a nice walk and just take photos of random stuff. Anything goes, lampposts, bins, trees, it honestly doesn’t matter. The act of not caring about what you are photographing will just make the process all that more enjoyable and maybe it will rub off on you when you do shoot things you care about.
Being Too Anti Social
Don’t get me wrong, shooting on your own is powerful and something I suggest you do most of the time. However there is so much to be gained by occasionally meeting people who are also into the same thing as you and are also on the same path as you. First and foremost it can make heading out more fun and when you do walk into the side street with the best light you’ve ever seen and everyone walks away with a cool photo, it is very rewarding to be able to look back at that moment.
Secondly it is fascinating to see how other photographers work and how they take photos. There is no right or wrong way and the more you see how other people work, the more you will learn and in return you will share your knowledge with them. It’s a win win. Basically from time to time, reach out to people within your niche and in a non creepy way ask if they want to meet up. Not everyone will say yes and it’s not personal, but the more you ask, the more you attend meet ups and photo walks, the more people you will meet and over the years build up a good network of like minded mates.