3 Practical Street Photography Tips and Ideas for You

Dear friends,

Happy Sunday! Summer is just around the corner (I think it was the first day of summer in Providence the other day) and I wanted to use this breath of fresh air and sun to give you some great ideas on some practical and pragmatic ideas on street photography:

Sent on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER. See sample email here.


1. No definitions

First of all, almost everything can be considered street photography. Consider this a great blessing; it means, you can shoot street photography ANYWAY you want! Photograph people, dogs, cats, things on the street, and so forth. Especially that the streets are quite empty now, perhaps it can be a good chance for you to do ‘urban landscapes‘.

2. One Square Block

The next assignment from STREET NOTES:

For the next week you are only allowed to shoot in one square block from spot X (can be your home).

Even with COVID 19, it seems we can still go on walks around the block and so forth. Perhaps rather than bemoan this fact we can use it to our benefit. The gist:

If you constrain yourself to shooting only one square block you can find many interesting things to shoot.

Treat this like a Zen or Taoist notion. Everything is beautiful and interesting, as long as you look closely enough.

15 (More) Lessons Taoism Has Taught Me About Street Photography >

3. Clean background

Very simple idea. The gist:

Try to shoot the most Uber-simple and minimalist photographs. Just one subject and a clean background.

How can you do this? Simple:

  1. Walk around and only look for subjects standing in front of simple backgrounds
  2. Use a flash to separate your subject from the background
  3. Find a simple white background and wait for your subject to enter the scene.

For inspiration, look at the work of Richard Avedon >


More motivation

If you want more inspiration, motivation and pragmatic street photography ideas to elevate your visual artistry, don’t miss out on my two upcoming workshops on composition:

  1. Dynamic Photography Composition Online Workshop (Introduction, Saturday, May 23rd).
  2. May 30th: Advanced Street Photography Composition Workshop (email neilta@gmail.com if you want a special bundled discount on attending both workshops; both for new students and returning students).

Street Photography Composition Assignment

As your assignment sometime this week (or better yet, today) go out and shoot some street photographs (keep your face mask on). Intentionally try to shoot from a distance — and try to make one street photograph with one stranger who has a face mask.

Upload your best photos to ARSBETA.COM, and also give honest feedback and critique to other members in the community.

SHOOT ON FELLOW STREETTOGS!
ERIC


Also very excited to share that Cindy just produced a new personal documentary film project titled “VELCRO SHOES” based on her upbringings in America. Hyper-interesting; old-school 1990 footage of Cindy at 2 years old, and her personal meditations on language acquisition.

Learn more and watch the film here >