105 Lessons I’ve Learned About Street Photography

Dear friend,

To advertise my new book: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography“, here is a list of practical and philosophical tips on street photography, which I hope can empower you to take your street photography to the next level:

When in doubt, just shoot it.

  1. A smile is the best way to shoot on the streets– to avoid conflict, and also to defuse negative situations.
  2. If you shoot with a viewfinder, 35mm “full frame equivalent” is ideal. I recommend Fujifilm X100F
  3. If you shoot with an LCD screen or phone, a 28mm “full frame equivalent” is ideal. I recommend RICOH GR II
  4. The secret to making better street photography compositions: make your photos more dynamic and more simple.
  5. For color street photography, shoot high-contrast-saturation JPEG mode.
  6. For black and white street photography, shoot RAW, and use free ERIC KIM Lightroom Presets.
  7. The best way to shoot a street portrait: start off by complimenting them, and asking for permission to “make” their portrait.
  8. The easiest composition technique in street photography: diagonal compositions.
  9. To simplify a scene, “chunk” (group) elements together.
  10. When you think you’ve “got the shot” in street photography, you haven’t. Shoot 25% more than you think you should, to fully-extract the maximum juice from the lemon/scene.
  11. If you live in the suburbs and there aren’t people walking on the streets, shoot urban landscapes.
  12. The best black and white street photographers of all-time: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, Sergio Larrain, Richard Avedon.
  13. The best color street photographers of all-time: Saul Leiter, Martin Parr, Helen Levitt, Alex Webb, Constantine Manos.
  14. All street photographers are good people.
  15. You aren’t just a “street photographer”– you are a “street sociologist.” You use the camera as your research tool.
  16. Jazz is the best music for street photography: the spirit of improvisation. Miles Davis meets Lee Friedlander is best.
  17. iPhone is better than Android/Samsung for street photography (faster, better image quality, simpler to use).
  18. Street photography is walking zen meditation with a camera. Shout-out to Rinzi Ruiz
  19. The most dynamic cities in the world to shoot street photography: NYC & Tokyo.
  20. The secret of a great street photograph: “Do I see my own soul in my street photo?”
  21. One of the best ways to monetize your street photography is through teaching your own workshops, seminars, or 1:1 courses.
  22. The secret to staying inspired in your street photography: shoot like a child, without any notions of genre or definitions.
  23. Purpose in street photography will always triumph over “inspiration”.
  24. Building your own unique aesthetic in street photography is mostly editing— choosing your best work, and figuring out how to display, sequence, and present/publish your work.
  25. All advice in photography (and street photography) are just tips and suggestions. There are no “rules” in street photography.
  26. Let time be your ultimate counselor: your best street photographs will survive the ravages of time.
  27. If you make 1 good street photograph a month, you’re doing very well. Aim to make 1 great street photograph a year.
  28. Never compare yourself to any other street photographer. You are different.
  29. Define street photography for yourself, but be open to changing your definition.
  30. Similarly, define success for yourself in your photography — disregard the likes, followers, and money as external markers of success.
  31. How to overcome perfectionism in street photography: publish photos that you think are “80% good enough.”
  32. Shooting street photography on a Leica won’t make you a better, more confident, or inspired street photographer.
  33. The most robust ethics in street photography: Don’t photograph others as you don’t want others to photograph you (SILVER RULE).
  34. To overcome the feeling of guilt of photographing street photography: feel more comfortable being photographed yourself.
  35. Your photography is constantly in a state of flux; always changing, never the same, and embrace the chaos.
  36. The more experienced I get in street photography, the less dogmatic I become, and the more child-like I become.
  37. Treat shooting street photography like taking your camera out for a walk.
  38. Only shoot street photographs which are personally meaningful to you— disregard shooting scenes that you think others would “like”.
  39. To get into a ‘zen zone‘ when shooting street photography, turn off your phone.
  40. Walk 25% slower than you think you should– treat yourself like a ‘flaneur‘ in the streets. Walk slowly, for fun, without any destination in mind.
  41. Shoot at least with 1/250th shutter-speed to avoid camera blur. Ideally 1/500th of a second.
  42. Program (P) mode, center-point autofocus, ISO 1600 are the best “Set it and forget it” settings in street photography.
  43. Digital medium format is good for street portraits.
  44. When shooting street portraits, ask your subject to look up, down, left, and right. Also, ask them to look into the lens and “don’t smile.” Or you can ask them to laugh, and tell them a really bad joke.
  45. To create layers in street photography, make sure to focus on the subject furthest away from you. With manual lenses, pre-focus to 2-5 meters.
  46. You don’t know when a “decisive moment” will occur in street photography until it happens. Therefore, follow your gut, and “linger” when you see an interesting scene.
  47. There can be more than 1 “decisive moment” in a scene. Lesson: Shoot a lot.
  48. When you’re walking on the streets, walk on the curb, and shoot towards store-fronts, to simplify your background.
  49. Easy way to simplify your street photography compositions: crouch down low (low angle perspective), and photograph your subject against the sky.
  50. If you ask your subject for a street portrait, and they say no — ask to photograph their hands instead.
  51. A street photograph without emotion is dead.
  52. For dramatic street photographs (to ‘crush the blacks‘), shoot with -1 or -2 exposure-compensation.
  53. If you’re shooting in a touristy location, shoot *opposite* the direction the tourists are shooting. You will probably see more interesting photography opportunities.
  54. Don’t get “tunnel-vision” in street photography– look at the edges of the frame when you’re shooting.
  55. Study surrealism to make better street photographs.
  56. Street photography can be shot anywhere: at the mall, in the subway, at the park, or at the beach.
  57. If you’re not sure whether your street photograph is good or not, it isn’t good. In other words, “When in doubt, ditch.”
  58. Buying 1 good photo book once a month is a better investment than buying camera gear to re-inspire your photography.
  59. Street photography is like fishing: you can be the best fisherman in the world, yet still not catch any fish. Lesson: enjoy the zen of fishing, not the reward (catching the fish).
  60. Street photography is getting more and more popular, because of the iPhone and smartphones. More and more people are moving into cities, and being born. Thus, street photography will never die as a genre.
  61. If your street photograph puts a smile on your face, it is a good street photograph.
  62. To make more street photographs, wear your camera around your neck more often. Or better yet, never leave the house without the camera around your neck (or on your wrist).
  63. Sharpness is overrated in street photography.
  64. Treat street photography like dancing in the streets!
  65. Street photography is mental therapy. Prioritize it for yourself.
  66. To make more dynamic perspectives in your street photography, practice yoga, back-bends, downward up-dogs, and do heavy squats at the gym (train your hip-flexibility, and leg strength). To build more confidence in street photography, do heavy deadlifts at the gym.
  67. To find more street photography opportunities, don’t take the same commute to work. If you walk to work, everyday walk a different route. If you drive to work, drive a little bit different every time. If you take the bus/subway to work, change the time of day you go to work, and head home.
  68. All photography is memento mori— remembering that we will die.
  69. Be a positive, and life-affirming street photographer (MEMENTO VIVERE!, remember to live!). Make more positive street photographs, and promote life in your photos.
  70. As a street photographer, you have an important societal duty: to document history, capture the beauty (and injustice) in the world, and to motivate, uplift, and inspire people with your photographs.
  71. You cannot change the world; you can only change yourself. Grow a thick skin, and put on your bronze Stoic Armor and become a stoic street photographer.
  72. The more you share your secrets in street photography, the better a street photographer you will become, and the more ‘famous’ you will become.
  73. The best shoes for street photography: NIKE Flyknits.
  74. Best color film for street photography: Kodak Portra 400
  75. Best black and white film for street photography: Kodak Tri-X 400 (pushed to 1600)
  76. The best ‘bang for the buck’ film camera for street photography: Leica M6 + Voigtländer 35mm f/2.5 lens. Or for compact camera, Contax T2.
  77. Must-own street photography books: Magnum Contact Sheets, STREET NOTES.
  78. To create more mysterious street photographs, decapitate (cut off the head) of your subjects, and only show their chest, and hands.
  79. The best camera straps for street photography: Henri Neck Strap and Henri Wrist Strap.
  80. A type of street photography you can innovate in: long-range, flash street photography, shot indoors.
  81. It is better to ask for permission and get rejected in street photography, than to never ask at all.
  82. All street photographers can benefit from shooting film to build discipline and appreciation. FILM NOTES is a good primer.
  83. The only sin in street photography: sharing a boring street photograph.
  84. When in doubt, get closer.
  85. 80% of street photography is conquering your fears.
  86. “Shoot with your gut, edit [select your photos] with your brain.” (credit Anders Petersen)
  87. Symmetry is boring in street photography. Rather, tilt your camera (dutch angle, like Garry Winogrand), and aim for asymmetric (yet balanced) compositions.
  88. The best female street photographers of all-time: Vivian Maier, Lisette Model, Zoe Strauss, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus.
  89. The most knowledgeable street photographer and photo-book nut: Brian Sparks.
  90. Best street photography websites/bloggers: Josh WhiteJapan Camera Hunter, Blake Andrews, Invisible Photographer Asia, YanidelShooter Files (FD Walker), Oliver Krumes, Martin Waltz.
  91. Best instructors/educators for street photography.
  92. Best street photography collectives: Burn My EyeIn-Public, Observe CollectiveThe Street Collective.
  93. Shoot with one camera, and one lens in street photography to master your gear.
  94. There is no objective “truth” in street photography. All photos you make are your subjective view of reality. Revel in it.
  95. When taking photos of children, don’t be sneaky. Make it very obvious to avoid being called a pedophile. Or when in doubt, just ask the parents.
  96. Street photography is the best genre of photography because it allows us to find beauty in the mundane— beauty of everyday life.
  97. The best way to be stealth in street photography: don’t make eye contact with your subjects, or pretend that you’re photographing something *behind* them.
  98. Don’t seek to make clever street photographs, seek to make meaningful street photographs.
  99. Photography is all a matter of perspective.
  100. The best way for you to share your street photographs: make your own photography blog (via bluehost.com and wordpress.org), and get indexed by Google SEO.
  101. The most important person to impress with your photos is yourself.
  102. To find more joy, focus, and zen in your street photography, delete your Instagram.
  103. Don’t treat street photography too seriously– remember to have fun!
  104. Write your own list of street photography tips, as a way to reflect, meditate, and empower other street photographers — and to drive the genre forward.
  105. All photography is photography. Don’t become a prisoner of the genre of ‘street photography’. Master street photography for yourself, and feel more happiness and joy in life! :)

ERIC

Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography

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