- If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough (Robert Capa)
- Make photos you would like to look at.
- When in doubt, ask for permission.
- The scariest looking people are often the nicest (lesson from photographing people with face tattoos)
- The best camera for street photography in 2017: Ricoh GR II
- Shooting from the hip is a crutch.
- 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.
- Shooting photos with permission is more difficult than shooting photos without permission.
- You know you’re close enough when your lens doesn’t focus anymore (Thomas Leuthard)
- Street photography is 80% balls, 20% skill.
- When shooting layers, prefocus at 5 meters, at f/8, ISO 1600.
- The best street photography book: STREET NOTES x Magnum Contact Sheets
- The best film street photography camera: Leica and 35mm lens.
- To make better street photography compositions, capture triangles, diagonals, and depth.
- To study depth, study Alex Webb, Constantine Manos, David Alan Harvey.
- To make better street photos, capture more emotion. Emotion via hand gestures, eye contact, and body language.
- If you make 1 good street photograph once a month, you’re doing very well.
- Street photography: documenting humanity.
- Street photography doesn’t have to include people, but is often more interesting with people.
- Don’t upload photos you don’t like.
- The wider your lens, the more head-on you need to shoot (study Garry Winogrand)
- The best lenses for street photography: 28mm (when using a LCD screen), or 35mm (when using viewfinder)
- Always shoot 25% more of a scene than you think you should.
- If your mom likes your photos, your photos aren’t good.
- 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.