5 Streettog Tips - ERIC KIM

Some practical street photography tips:

1. No Morals/Ethics

RICOH GR II

Often we create moral and ethical rules for ourselves like:

“I don’t photograph homeless people, or people who I perceive as less fortunate than myself.”

I used to believe this for a long time, but now, I no longer believe in “morals and ethics” (in the popular sense). I think too often we allow morality to get in the way of us shooting street photography.

All is beautiful; all people are beautiful despite their life circumstances.

2. Allow yourself to shoot “randomly”

Allow yourself to shoot more haphazardly. Shoot photos without thinking. Don’t worry about composition. Just respond and shoot.

Too much preoccupation with composition and “good” framing often gets in our way.

I say be free; freedom street photography means to shoot however you want. And later when you import your photos to Lightroom, then choose photos based on what you like.

3. Cultivate your own aesthetics

As a photographer you’re also a painter. Paint your own colors which bring you joy!

All these photos are jpeg, positive film color preset on RICOH GR II, with maximum contrast and saturation. Lots of photos shot with flash. And when I import my jpeg photos into Lightroom, I will further increase contrast and other settings to achieve a look I like:

4. Photography is life

Photography and life is synonymous. Don’t get suckered into thinking the point of photography is to make good photos. The point is for your life and photography to become integrated; to find more joy in both your personal life and your photographic-artistic life.

And if your photos make you smile they are good photos!