25 Street Photography Tips by ERIC KIM

  1. If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough (Robert Capa)
  2. Make photos you would like to look at.
  3. When in doubt, ask for permission.
  4. The scariest looking people are often the nicest (lesson from photographing people with face tattoos)
  5. The best camera for street photography in 2017: Ricoh GR II
  6. Shooting from the hip is a crutch.
  7. The best street photographers: Bruce Gilden, Josef Koudelka, Martin Parr, Josh White, Charlie Kirk, Junku Nishimura, Alex Webb, Sean Lotman, Jacob Aue Sobol, Anders Petersen, Eric Kim.
  8. Shooting photos with permission is more difficult than shooting photos without permission.
  9. You know you’re close enough when your lens doesn’t focus anymore (Thomas Leuthard)
  10. Street photography is 80% balls, 20% skill.
  11. When shooting layers, prefocus at 5 meters, at f/8, ISO 1600.
  12. The best street photography book: STREET NOTES x Magnum Contact Sheets
  13. The best film street photography camera: Leica and 35mm lens.
  14. To make better street photography compositions, capture triangles, diagonals, and depth.
  15. To study depth, study Alex Webb, Constantine Manos, David Alan Harvey.
  16. To make better street photos, capture more emotion. Emotion via hand gestures, eye contact, and body language.
  17. If you make 1 good street photograph once a month, you’re doing very well.
  18. Street photography: documenting humanity.
  19. Street photography doesn’t have to include people, but is often more interesting with people.
  20. Don’t upload photos you don’t like.
  21. The wider your lens, the more head-on you need to shoot (study Garry Winogrand)
  22. The best lenses for street photography: 28mm (when using a LCD screen), or 35mm (when using viewfinder)
  23. Always shoot 25% more of a scene than you think you should.
  24. If your mom likes your photos, your photos aren’t good.
  25. Avoid making “IKEA” street photos (Charlie Kirk, photos that don’t offend anyone, but are pleasant to everyone).

For more inspiration, buy STREET NOTES and attend an ERIC KIM WORKSHOP.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 101 >