Practical Street Photography Tips

New street photo ideas:

When photographing kids, say hello to them, and compliment the child (how beautiful they are) to the parents

Compliment people (or their dogs) while you photograph them

In the below photo, I complimented the dog, got close, and kept shooting:

  • Mexico City, 2020 #streettogs pick

“Trapping” street photography technique

Find an interesting background, and wait for your subject to enter it. You “trap” them inside your frame, against a simple background.

Drive-by street photography technique

See someone interesting, and keep clicking the shutter as you’re walking by them:

Shoot both horizontal and verticals

You never know which will work better. Whenever possible, shoot both verticals AND horizontals, then figure out later which you prefer.

  • Mexico City, 2020 #streettogs pick

Put your selfie in the photo

Like in this photo, when I put my shadow in the bottom-left corner, and kept clicking.

Isolate your subject against a simple background

Look for a simple background, and keep walking towards your subject, and photograph slowly and continuously:

Follow your mood

Ultimately, nowadays I’m more interested in photographing a certain mood than a certain composition.

To photograph mood: just shoot whatever you find interesting, select an aesthetic (black and white or color), and afterwards select/pick the photos which best accord to your mood:

Shoot both monochrome and color

Nowadays I’m shooting JPEG only for RICOH GR III. I switch between positive film (color) and high contrast black and white.

Some color photos from Mexico City:

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