Need Some Inspiration? Try Early Morning Street Photography

by Eric Kim on May 28, 2011

Kai and the guys over at DigitalRevTV put together a great video about shooting street photography when the streets aren’t so hectic– at 4:00AM in the morning. In the video Kai wakes him (and his camera crew up) at a ungodly time and hits the streets of  Hong Kong. Although I do not advise on doing street photography with a tripod, I love the message behind the video: getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new. There is truly a beauty about shooting at different times of the day, as you see different characters, scenes, as well as light.

So what time do you typically like to shoot street photography? Leave a comment below and tell us about your experiences about shooting at different times during the day.

-Thanks to Reacher Rau for emailing me this over!

Tagged as: digital rev tv, early morning, kai, street photography

  • http://allcitysf.com/ Stuart

    I’m out around 6am until about 8am when I head to work. Great light this time of year.

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

      Wow early starter Stuart! Where do you work?

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/exi87 Jaap Barnhoorn

    Nice vid indeed.
    About getting out of your comfort zone: I really want to shoot some street on a rainy day. Any tips on how to protect your camera? How much water could a Nikon D5000 withstand?

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

      Nothing better than shooting on a rainy day ;)

  • http://www.briscophoto.com Brian Scott

    I’m out at lunchtime between noon and 1 p.m. for mine. It isn’t exactly a great time of day for light, but with a young family (family comes first) it’s always an hour I have to myself. Plus, the light can be a challenge, which can make it more fun, and at that time of day there are always people on the streets, rain or shine.

  • http://isoterica.tumblr.com/tagged/street Isoterica

    I’m usually awake at 4 am or so.. lite sleeper though I would prefer I think to stay up late to shoot so there is a little more life in my photos. Kai is a bit of a stud btw lifting camera and tripod up for a portrait shot.. in the dark!

  • Oisin

    Very interesting. I take it this is part of the 4am Project. There’s more about it here: http://4amproject.org/ and a particular part of the project that took place in my home town here: http://www.karenstrunks.com/blog/4am-project-project-brutal-capture-the-sights-sounds-of-birmingham-central-library/

  • http://www.RichardHeathPhotography.com Rick Heath

    Hi Erik,
    If you recall, I am the guy from Seattle. I moved to Hong Kong 3 months ago along with my wife . We both landed good jobs here. I also recently asked you to come to HK and do a workshop. I am new here so not yet sure where you could hold it. I would like to meet the guy who did this video. Do you have his contact info.?

    Rick

  • http://vedupadhyay.wordpress.com/ Ved Upadhyay

    Nice video. thanks for sharing. While watching a question came to mind. What if the photographer wants to sell one of these pictures with people in them. Does he have to get signed model release from each person in the pic? I’m trying to figure out the puzzle called model release. I understand you do need a model release if you want to make money of your pic with people in them but what if the picture is that of street, a crowd. How do I go about the model release part in this case? Thanks!

  • http://www.hito.fr Hito

    Oh nice video and yeah it’s alway benefit to go out of your comfort zone.
    Like in drawing, design etc…
    Last year I’ve done some early shooting in Paris. And since I’ve to take transport and I don’t live in Paris but near it I need to take the first subway who is at 5h45 if i’m not wrong.
    And I must say that taking picture early in the morning is what I love the most.
    I love watching the sunrise and the ambiance of Paris when there isn’t too much people.
    I’ve done some early shoot while I was in New Zealand too. It was awesome :)

  • Richard

    I like Kai’s videos …except for his one major drawback,,,,he is a “Nikon (NEEkon) Fanboy”"”"

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