5 practical street photography compositions you can integrate into your photography today!

Henri Shoulder Strap now Live on Amazon

New Henri Shoulder Strap: Available in PHANTOM BLACK and CREMA BROWN

5 Tips

Crouch down low (low angle perspective)
Get your subjects legs in a “V” (triangle composition)
Negative space between your subjects head and the background
Let the photos come to you!
Use the “fishing technique”: compose the scene then wait for your subjects to enter the frame!

Video Lecture: 5 Simple Street Photography Composition Tips

See all YouTube Videos >

1. Fishing technique

Establish your composition, then wait for your subject to enter the frame. Similar technique to Henri Cartier-Bresson:

2. Crouch down low

Crouch down low with a wide-angle lens (24mm, 28mm, 35mm), and crouch down from a low perspective to make a more dynamic composition:

3. Leading-lines / Subject’s legs in a “V” / triangle shape

When you’re out shooting, have fun and look for nice leading lines (like escalators, alley-ways, etc). This is a photo I shot at the mall close to my old workplace (shoot more street photography during your lunch breaks!)

Get your subject’s legs in a “V” shape// because it is more dynamic (looks like a triangle).

4. Negative space between your subject’s head and the background

5. Let the photos come to you

I am a big fan of coffee shop street photography (more info in STREET HUNT).

The way I made this photo:

I was drinking a coffee at a coffee shop in Hanoi
I noticed a silhouette of people as they entered/exited the door next to me.
I took out my RICOH GR II, and waited for the subject to enter again.
The subject entered again, and I got a beautiful silhouette of the subject.
I shot in P (program) mode in RAW, and processed with ERIC KIM MONOCHROME preset.

Conclusion

Ultimately I want you to also follow your gut in composition. You don’t need to follow composition tips line-by-line. Rather, study the master photographers, and study their compositions. Figure out which compositions you like, and integrate them into your photography!

Also another tip: study composition by watching great cinema. Don’t just look at photos; analyze them, and integrate the lessons into your own photos!

BE BOLD,
ERIC