25 Ways How to be a Bad Street Photographer

by Eric Kim on October 28, 2010

Note: I love making lists, as I feel that they are fun ways to learn and gain more insight about street photography. Please do not be offended by this list, as they are some of my own personal opinions about street photography. However I feel that these “rules” are broad enough to apply to most street photographers. If you don’t agree with any of the points below, leave a comment and tell me otherwise!

  1. Never carry your camera with you
  2. Be “too lazy” to go out and take photos
  3. Only keep your batteries charged half-way before you go out and shoot
  4. Take photos of your subjects a mile away
  5. Make excuses that “your camera is not good enough” for street photography
  6. Be afraid of taking photos of people in public
  7. Try to imitate the styles of other street photographers, instead of nurturing your own
  8. Spend more time on internet forums than on the streets
  9. Never share your photos with anybody else
  10. Miss “The Decisive Moment“
  11. Always follow tourists when looking for photo opportunities
  12. Stop taking photos in a public space when confronted by police
  13. Only take photos during the day
  14. Never experiment with your shots
  15. Be unwilling to accept constructive criticism of your photos
  16. Don’t backup your photos
  17. Be suspicious in public
  18. Look at your LCD more than you look at the street
  19. Stick out like a sore thumb
  20. Shoot before you think
  21. Only take photos of peoples’ backs
  22. Walk around in public with a massive telephoto lens
  23. Never travel to new places to take photos
  24. Run away from your subjects after taking photos of them
  25. Only capture extraordinary subjects/scenes, not the mundane
1x1.trans 25 Ways How to be a Bad Street Photographer

Don't be like her

Like this list? Make sure to also check out my other popular lists, 101 Things I Have Learned about Street Photography as well as 100 Things I Have Learned About Photography.

Tagged as: batteries, constructive criticism, decisive moment, insight, internet forums, list, photo opportunities, photographers, public space, street photographer, street photography, taking photos, telephoto lens, tourists

  • http://www.kpraslowicz.com K. Praslowicz

    Not sure I agree with #9. Vivian Maier? She never shared, but I would not call her work bad. I don’t believe that quality has to be justified by the amount of celebrity a photo has.

    • http://www.janklomp.nl/ jan

      If you never share, no one can enjoy your pics but you. I never heard of Vivia Maier before, but I’m happy her work is shared now.

      • http://www.kpraslowicz.com K. Praslowicz

        Yes, not many will enjoy them. But, the quality of an image is not determined by the number of eyes which have been set onto it. Many photographers are/were happy never widely distributing their work, I don’t think that that decision alters the quality of the images and more or less.

        However, our society seems to trend towards thinking that the number of likes any particular thing has is the determining factor of quality.

        • http://www.erickimphotography.com Eric Kim

          Great point K. It is definitely true that the # of views that you get doesn’t dictate how good of a street photographer one is. However I still believe that it is the duty of the street photographer to share his/her beautiful photos with the world. That is just my opinion :)

        • matthew johnson

          A photo that isn’t shared is not known. How can something that is not known be considered good or bad. If something is good it is because it is considered good likewise if it is considered bad, and that kind of ties in with point number 15.

      • http://www.erickimphotography.com Eric Kim

        Vivian Maier indeed has some amazing work.

  • C

    Random/somewhat related: One thing about street photography that bothers me is that a lot of people give meaning to their photos through their title. It’s like they took a random photo and then gave it a great title that MAKES the photo. Without the clever title, the photo would say nothing.. To me, the photo itself should stand on it’s own. The title could make the photo BETTER, but not MAKE the photo.

    Another thing is when there is an interesting ad, and then having a random person walking by it. If it’s the ‘right’ kind of person (like if the person contradicts or makes some juxtaposition against the ad) then it’s cool but just any random person, just to add a ‘human element’ is bothersome to me.

    That’s just my opinions though.

    • http://www.kpraslowicz.com K. Praslowicz

      Agreed. I hate titling my work with a passion. I romanticize for the old days of only being able to share via a paper prints without a mandatory title field.

      • http://www.erickimphotography.com Eric Kim

        Ahh–the good old days ;)

    • http://www.erickimphotography.com Eric Kim

      Hey Christine,

      It is true that sometimes titles make or break an image. However I still feel that in cases when photos are already strong by themselves, a title will even add MORE meaning (a good thing).

      Thanks for your input! :)

  • Justin T.

    HAHAH i just love the picture at the bottom. Great list though. I would say all of those things really apply to horrible street photography, and I can only say that because I do some of them and boy are my street photos hideous.

    • http://www.erickimphotography.com Eric Kim

      Your street photography is not bad! Keep shooting bro!

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/65321471@N06/ thepandabare

    Love this list! Especially because I am forcing myself through a lot of the uncomfortable aspects of street photography. Thanks

    http://ltlboy.wordpress.com/

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