The Walking Alongside Someone and Shooting Until They Notice You Street Photography Technique

Photograph outlined in red, when the man looks over and notices me.

Dear friend,

I want to share a new street photography technique with you: This technique is called “The Walking Alongside Someone and Shooting Until They Notice You” Street Photography Technique. Yeah a mouthful, but the best title I have so far.

Unlock Your Artistic Potential: Enroll in Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography + Entrepreneurship on Udemy!

Video demonstration: Shooting Alongside Someone GOPRO POV

As demonstrated in this video above, I show the technique in the beginning.

The basic steps:

Identify someone you find interesting in the streets who is walking somewhere.
Walk alongside them, and start taking photos of them while you’re walking alongside them.
Keep shooting until they notice you.
When they notice you, keep shooting (you will get a good photograph of them looking directly at you).
After you got your photograph of them, keep clicking (you don’t know if the photograph will be any good or not). Keep clicking!
Keep walking (pretend like you were photographing something behind them).

You can also watch the video demonstration below:

Examination of contact sheets

If you examine my contact sheet, I took 19 photos of the man and the whole scene. When I was shooting (28mm on RICOH GR II) I was using the LCD SCREEN, I wasn’t sure whether I would get a good photograph or not. I was walking, and trying to GET CLOSE (enough) to fill the frame with my subject, and kept clicking.

Tips for photographing people while walking alongside them

Another photograph shown in the video above on the technique of continuing to walk with my subject, and shooting with a flash (he didn't even notice me until a lot later!) — Another photograph shown in the video demonstration on the technique of continuing to walk with my subject, and shooting with a flash (he didn’t even notice me until a lot later!)

Probably the biggest tips I would give you for this technique is this:

Remember, you don’t have to stop and shoot. You can shoot WHILE you’re walking. And don’t feel bad “stalking” your subject, by walking the direction they are.
Be careful not to trip on stuff while you’re shooting and walking. Wear a good pair of shoes.
This technique works best when using an LCD SCREEN (so you don’t trip while you’re shooting). Also experiment shooting with a flash while you’re walking alongside your subject, if you want your subject to ‘pop out’ from the background.
You WANT your subject to notice you and look directly at you. If you look at my photos, the best photographs are the ones where my subject is looking directly at me, because the photograph is more dynamic, emotional, and slightly “scary” (the moment the subject notices you photographing them also gives slight anxiety to the viewer).

Contact sheet: 5 photos of the man as I'm walking alongside him. He didn't even notice me shooting (even with a flash) until far later. Shot on RICOH GR II at 28mm — Contact sheet: 5 photos of the man as I’m walking alongside him. He didn’t even notice me shooting (even with a flash) until far later. Shot on RICOH GR II at 28mm

You can also watch the video demonstration below:

BE BOLD, and have fun! Realize you’re not hurting anyone in street photography. Shoot with a smile, and get closer than you think you should :)
ERIC

Unlock Your Artistic Potential: Enroll in Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography + Entrepreneurship on Udemy!

Street Photography 101

Black and white dark skies over Tokyo eric kim street photography

If you’re new to street photography, start here:

Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography

Become the best street photographer possible by picking up a copy of Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography. This book is full of all my distilled knowledge and wisdom on street photography over the last 10 years, crafted specifically to empower you in street photography.

For more free resources, presets, and PDF visualizations on street photography, join my free ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER to stay inspired and empowered.

Also join ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE if you want to take your street photography to the next level and conquer your fears and meet new peers.

To join a positive and passionate community, share your photos in ERIC KIM FORUM. Look forward to having you friend :)