Street Photography - How I Would Start Again
In this post I will share with you what I would do if I had to start street photography from scratch today. We will talk about gear, settings, editing, workflow, how to find your style, how to best share your work and what mistakes to avoid. Put simply, this post is designed to save you time and give you a strong foundation from which to progress.
Gear
Keep it simple! Get yourself a camera you think you will like using, not one that is popular especially with YouTubers. After that pick up a zoom and a fast prime. The prime can be either a 35mm full frame if you prefer to shoot scenes or a 50mm full frame if you prefer to shoot subjects. If it was me, id get myself a Fuji XT3, a 16-80 f4 and a 35mm f2 which equates to a 24-105 zoom and a 50mm prime. As for computer and software I would get myself an 11 inch iPad Pro with a keyboard and a pen. A £10 per month Lightroom subscription and affinity photo will cover all your editing needs. Finally a hard drive for backing up your files, a spare battery, a spare SD card and a dongle to connect it all to your iPad. I wouldn’t worry about a camera bag. Unless you’re carrying a ton of camera gear, they are a total waste of money.
Settings
Keep it simple! Put the camera into full auto and master the following settings: First is Auto ISO. Your camera will have a menu where you can set the minimum and maximum ISO as well as minimum shutter speed. You want to set the ISO between base and around 6400 but more crucially you want to change the minimum shutter speed to around 1/200. This should avoid any blurry photos. Secondly is your exposure compensation:
On a normal sunny day, leave it at 0
On a harsh bright sunny day you want it very slightly under exposed… around -0.3
On a cloudy day you want it slightly over at around +0.3
At night or in very low light you want it under exposed by -1 or even more depending how dark it is.
In the fog or snow you want it over exposed by up to around 0.6
Moving on to photometry which is where you tell the camera how to expose. Here you will only focus on 2 settings. The multi mode and the centre weighted mode. Multi is what you would use most the time and this is where the camera exposes for the entire scene. Centre weighted only exposes for the middle part of the frame and you would use it when shooting through things or out of things. Like shooting out of a car or window for example.
Finally to focus, I would suggest using two different modes. The first one is a single point focus which as the name suggests, is just one spot that the camera will focus on. The second one is a zone focus which is a larger collection of single points where the camera decides what to focus on. If you are still, use the single point. If you are moving, use the zone.
Photography
I’ve made a ton of videos and posts on these topics. However to summarise, first you want to identify good light. Specifically make sure your subjects or scenes are either side lit or back lit. Secondly you want to identify good clean compositions. As well as leading lines, framing and foreground element, you want to make sure the image is overall balanced and is not leaning to one side. Then you want to implement what I call the 3 photo method. So for each location, you want to get an establishing shot of the whole area, a subject shot of something interesting and a detail shot of something unique that many would not see. Finally you want to focus on enjoying the process of photography and not getting bogged down in the technicals and results too much.
Workflow
I made a more comprehensive blog / video on this however here I will summarise. Like with everything, you want to keep things simple. Personally I store all my photos in the Adobe cloud as well as on an external backup drive. When i come in from a shoot, i try to avoid sitting on photos and process them as quickly as I can. For me it just removes mental clutter of outstanding tasks. I then export the JPEGs into my iCloud Photos library for sharing and easy access across all devices and on the web. There is no perfect workflow however do your best to streamline and minimise.
Editing
At first I would suggest shooting both RAW and JPEG. That way you have a guide for what a normal edit would look like. This would avoid over editing. I would then suggesting, taking each aspect of editing and just doing a deep dive and only messing around with that. If you start trying to learn the tone curve, HSL sliders and colour grading all at once, you will get overwhelmed. Start basic and only once you’ve mastered one aspect, then move on to the next. I would suggest mastering the exposure sliders and the colour grade first. Between those two, you can pretty much change the entire look and feel of the image without going too deep. Presets are also a good way to see what could be possible. Avoid over sharpening, too much clarity and too much dynamic range… not a good look. Finally, every time you’ve made an edit you’re proud of, save it as a preset. This is the first building block to developing your own unique editing style.
Finding your style
Your style is a combination of different factors however the only way to get there is through trial and error. Finding your style takes times however below are the typical things that can impact your style:
Editing
Lens choice
Lighting choice
Subject choice
Environment choice
Over time you will pick your favourite colour grade, your favourite focal length, what sort of lighting you like, the subjects you would go for and the environment within which you shoot… and that combination will be your style.
Sharing your work
When it comes to sharing your work there are 3 places that I focus on. First is instagram. Despite popular belief it is still the king of sharing your photography when it comes to the reach and number of people on the platform. Secondly is twitter. In the last year it has really picked up pace within the photo community and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Plus with all the changes happening, it is a worthwhile place to put your photos at least at the moment. Finally for those of you who want to take this a bit more seriously, you can always make your own online portfolio and then share it with everyone. Although at a cost, it does have benefits.
Mistakes to avoid
Finally these are some of the mistakes to avoid. Listening to other peoples opinions. If you take 10 street photographers, you would get 10 different viewpoints on what is street photography, on what equipment to use, whether to edit or not to edit etc. So although I’m not saying ignore people who are more experienced than you, I’m saying take everything with a pinch of salt… including my advice. Not because the advice is wrong, but because it is based on my own experience which is different to another person. Second mistake is rushing the process.
Photography is a marathon. Not a sprint. So take your time, focus on small improvements and remember that this is a hobby for a lifetime, not just for a couple months. Third mistake is not enjoying the process. Many people get so stressed over not getting an instagram banger than they ruin their entire day and end up resenting the art from entirely.
Learn to enjoy each step of the process, from packing your gear the night before, to heading out for sunrise. Enjoy setting up your camera and hunting for the right composition. Enjoy sitting down with a cup of tea and importing your files in the evening to see what you have. If you enjoy the whole process, you will never get bored. Finally, always be improving, learning and progressing. Staying still is going backwards.