What is truly critical in street photography?

1. Composition

First and foremost, perhaps composition is the first and most important thing.

The good thing about composition is that it could be taught visually. You don’t have to explain it in words.

2. Motivation and spotting potentially good photo opportunities?

Another difficult endeavor is spotting potentially good photo opportunities. Something to teach then is simple:

How do you know if a given moment might be a good photo opportunity?

3. Technique

Then there is technique, which is the approach of how to shoot a scene. For example, is it wise to just shoot one photo and move on? Or to wait around and milk the scene?

4. Self confidence

Another very critical thing to consider is self-confidence. That is,

How do I know if I am making progress in my photography or not?

For me this was a very difficult endeavor, because I had to consider whether my photos had value or not.

5. Broadening your horizons

This is a very critical concept, to broaden your horizons, and not just allow yourself to be stuck in one small bubble.

Why is this so important? Because if you shoot street photography long enough, you won’t want to be limited by how you shoot, when you shoot, and what you shoot.