What is your “style” in street photography? How can you make your work stand out? What makes your photos unique, and what do your photos say about you?

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There is a sea of photographers out there. How do you distinguish yourself from the mass of other photographers?

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“The Decisive Moment” — a fabled concept introduced by the founder of street photography (Henri Cartier-Bresson). The “decisive moment” is that beautiful fleeting moment– where all the compositional elements come together, and you only have a split second to capture the moment. How can you better capture the “decisive moment” — or better yet, identify the decisive moment?

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If you’re like me, you might have a hard time staying inspired in your photography. Here are 7 tips which have personally helped me:

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The photographers I admire the most are the ones who are able to combine their outside interests to make their photography their own.

I first met Bil Brown on Instagram, and since them have collaborated with him in sharing ideas about street photography, fashion, poetry, and Japanese aesthetics. Bil started off as a poet, discovered photography by accident, and now runs his own magazine (Black & Grey Magazine) and does fashion work. In the YouTube interview, we see the gear he is shooting with now, how he got started, his favorite photo books, and tips he has for anyone wanting to get more into fashion/street photography. Also make sure to follow Bil and his new YouTube Channel.

I recently did a workshop at the studio of my friend Bil Brown, and was blown away with his awesome collection of Japanese photo-books. He re-sparked my interest in Shomei Tomatsu.

I’ve seen many images of Shomei Tomatsu before, and was intrigued by his mysterious, surrealistic, and extreme compositions. His photographs had a sense of darkness to them, longing, and a bitter-sweet nostalgia of the past.

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Trust; human civilizations have survived for millennia with it. Societies without trust have disintegrated. Trust is the glue which holds humankind together.

How can you use trust to help you succeed as a photographer?

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Nobuyoshi Araki (more commonly known as Araki) is one of the most controversial figures in the photography world. While he is a rock star and a superhero in Japan, a lot of the outside world sees his work as sick, pornographic, and misogynist. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Warning: Photos are NSFW.

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Dear streettogs, lately I’ve been inspired to take things “back to basics”. Often I take photography too seriously and forget the importance of always staying a beginner, and sticking to fundamentals. Consider this an opportunity for me to share some practical tips I’ve leaned over the last 10 years in terms of what I think makes a great street photograph (either watch the video above, or read more for the text).

Of course this is not an all-inclusive list; there’s lots of other things which make a great street photograph. But if you’re starting off in street photography, or want a quick refresher, I hope some of these ideas will spark some inspiration for you:

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Hey streettogs, if you want to learn some practical tips and techniques when shooting on the streets, check out the video above, or read more to see all 15 tips:

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Another quick video on how I direct my subject when shooting street portraits. You can see the first version: How to Direct Your Subject for a Street Portrait.

In this video, you can see how I interact with my subject and direct them for a street portrait. You can see how I asked my subject to stand behind a clean background, how I started further, and then started to frame closer. I also tried to get my subject to be more interactive by playing with her hair, and throwing it back and forth. Shot in macro mode with a flash in “P” mode on the Ricoh GR II.

If you want to learn more how to shoot street portraits, check out my free book: “The Street Portrait Manual.”

Shot in Downtown LA by Todd Hatakeyama.

I often do a poll during my workshops: “Raise your hand if you don’t like having your own photo being taken.” Usually more than half of my students raise their hands.

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It is hard to know what makes a “good” photograph, but it is easy to know what makes an intimate photograph.

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter about the importance of staying fresh creatively by taking a break from your photography, not forcing you to take photos everyday against your own will.

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For a long time I’ve seeked “happiness” in my photography and life. While I still don’t know what “happiness” is, I know what makes me unhappy.

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Dear friend,

One thought that I’ve been thinking about: why do we “need” more likes or followers? Do we desire more likes or followers because it boosts our self-esteem? Or because it helps validate our photography? Or because we want to gain more power, fame, money, and influence with our work? Or a little bit of everything?

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Dear streettogs, here are the slides that I used during my “Street Photography 101” presentation on Day 1 of the Adobe Live-Streaming Workshop. In this presentation I talk about how to conquer your fears in street photography, practical tips, and show some of the contact sheets behind my favorite photos.

You can also download the PDF for free.

Also check out my other free street photography presentations on Slideshare.

Dear streettogs, if you didn’t have the chance to watch my free 2-day live streaming street photography workshop with Adobe, below are the videos. If you want to learn how to conquer your fears, find your style in street photography (and see me breakdance and do really bad freestyle rapping), watch the videos below:

Part 1: How to Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography

Part 2: How to Find Your Voice in Street Photography

Thank you so much for your patience and support as Cindy and I worked to prepare the last batch of Henri neck straps. We received a lot of great feedback, and have made the newest batch a little bit longer in length and the leather of the neck pad softer. This run is limited to 100 straps, pick one up before they sell out:

• Purchase the “Henri” Neck Strap on Amazon: 79.95 USD >>

For International Orders (outside of the US), you can order here >>

Dear streettogs, I am super pumped to announce that I am hosting my first free live-streaming street photography workshop on July 19-20th (12-3pm Pacific time) on the Adobe Twitch Channel >>

The workshop is a two-day affair, and streamed live (so you can ask me any questions or feel free to interrupt me during my presentations). July 19th will be focused on how to conquer your fears in street photography, and July 20th will be focused on how to work on your own personal projects and discover your own personal style.

Also through the event (starting July 19th) I will give honest feedback and critique to some of your street photos with the hashtag #StreetPhotoJam on Instagram/Twitter on July 19th).

See more info for the event on the Adobe Blog >>

I remembered when I was sitting in my cubicle, dreaming and lusting after a digital Leica M9. I imagined after buying it, all of my life’s problems would be solved. I imagined the camera would inspire me to be more creative, brave, and inspired in my photography. I imagined how cool I would look in the streets with a Leica over my shoulder. I also imagined how much more people would “respect” or admire me, simply because I had a Leica.

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What is a photographer? A photographer is an individual who sees beauty in the mundane. A photographer is an individual who walks at a slow pace, experiences life fully and vividly, and can capture fleeting moments with precision and poise.

A photographer is an individual who is always grateful to be alive, to have a pair of eyes, and to be able to visually decipher complexity in the world.

A photographer isn’t graded by how many cameras, lenses, awards, or books he/she has. Rather— a photographer is graded only be him/herself. A photographer never judges his/her work by how many likes they get on social media— a photographer judges him/herself based on how much personal satisfaction their photos bring them.

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I don’t know about you— but there is nothing I hate more than being a tourist. When you’re a tourist; you feel trapped. You do what everyone else tells you what you should do— rather than doing what you personally want to do.

There are a lot of ways we can “de-touristify” our lives, photography, and creative processes.

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Dear friend,

I recently got back from my honeymoon with Cindy from Mexico city (amazing city, highly recommended) and finally we have some time to decompress, reflect on our wedding, and look through all our wedding photos (shot by Neil Ta, Brandon Phan, and video from my cousin Regina). And having all these photos— we wondered; how would we best immortalize our special day?

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In today’s modern world, procrastination is seen as a negative thing. It is seen as a “disease” that needs to be eliminated. Thousands of self-help books, blog posts, and podcasts encourage and teach us how to overcome procrastination — and get more things done.

But what if there are certain things that shouldn’t be done immediately— and should be left undone? What if procrastination can be a good thing (in certain circumstances)? What if procrastination can actually help us be more creative in life and our photography?

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter on how to liberate yourself in photography— by photographing what interests you rather than what you think other people will be interested. It means to make your photography more personal, and to make your photos a reflection of who you are as an individual. Remember; photos are always self-portraits of yourself, not of your subjects.

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Hey streettogs, for those of you who like videos– I just put together a new one sharing my personal experiences photographing my own wedding. You can read the original blog post here: What I Learned Photographing My Own Wedding

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter about some thoughts I have on “doing nothing”; not feeling like we always need to be “productive”, that we don’t always need to be producing, and how calmness, peace, and tranquility might be the key to what we’re searching for in life.

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Hit the streets with my buddy Josh White (@jt_inseoul) in this film about the 24 Hour Project with photographers (Pierre Ricadat (@ghostdogpr), and Michael Fincham (@thelastfin). It is beautifully directed by Dong Kim of AFTER STORY FILM, shows what it is like to roam the streets of Seoul, and has incredibly soulful music to get you in the mood.

The mission statement of the 24 Hour Project is to “document the human condition of multiple cities” during a single day, founded by Renzo Grande (@aliveinnyc) and Sam Smotherman (@whittiersam).

One of the most toxic feelings that a photographer (or human being) is to feel envy. Apparently envy is a trait that is deeply embedded in us, even as babies.

But why is it that we feel envy, what are we envious about, and what can we do about it?

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Dear streettogs,

I know I already advertised some past workshops as my “last workshops” in the states before leaving to Vietnam, but this time is “for real.”

If you’re looking to invest in an unforgettable adventure and experience, join me at one (or both) of my workshops below:

July 30-31st, 2016:

• LA “Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography” Workshop >>

August 6-7th, 2016:

• LA “Discover Your Unique Voice” Street Photography Workshop >>

You can also see all of my upcoming street photography workshops >>.

A nomad mindset means that you are mentally and physically light. You don’t hold onto past possessions. You live in the moment, and you are flexible.

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A few weeks ago, I taught a SF Street Portrait workshop in the downtown financial district. It was an intensive 1-day workshop, where the students hustled hard to (quickly) conquer their fears of shooting street photography, as well as learn how to better interact with strangers.

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter on patience– how to be patient in our photography, our personal lives, and how we approach growth and self-compassion.

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Dear friend,

One thought that struck me recently: we all have an impulse to document and photograph things in our world. But what is this impulse exactly? Can we explain it psychologically? Is it something that all humans have? Or is it something that is unique– which differentiates us photographers from other people?

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter about the benefit of randomness, unpredictability, and chaos in our life.

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The other day I did something really stupid. I accidentally deleted a ton of photos on my camera before uploading them to my laptop.

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In this video I give some of my thoughts about life, travel, minimalism, blogging, and hopefully some tips that can empower you!

You can also read more about my future plans in-depth.

In Silicon Valley, one of the main obsessions a lot of entrepreneurs are having is to eliminate “friction” in user-experiences; whether that be apps, websites, or businesses.

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If you want to learn from the top thinkers and influencers in the field of street photography, don’t miss out on The London Street Photography Symposium (August 20-21, 2016). Tickets are now available to purchase >>.

Read more to learn more, and see my interview with organizer Jason Reed:

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I feel in today’s world in order to be successful, you need to be a “generalist” — someone who isn’t uber-specialized in one thing, but you can do many things very well.

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Dear friend,

I just read a book on Japanese Aesthetics titled: “In Praise of Shadows.” It was a beautiful book that helped me reflect on the beauty of darkness and shadows (Japanese aesthetics) while we in the west love white, the brightness, and light.

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter on gratitude— and thanking you for everything, and some life updates (moving out of Berkeley, moving to Vietnam for 2 years, and some other random ideas in my mind):

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter (to hopefully empower you). My suggestion: realize that everything in your life is up to you; nobody else.

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Is your photography your lifestyle? Or is your lifestyle photography?

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If you don’t desire or “want” anything superfluous in life, you are truly wealthy. When you have all your needs (food, water, shelter, love); what else do you need in life?

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Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter regarding your calling— the reason you were put on the earth.

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Sergio Larrain is a figure in photographic history who isn’t well-known, and is a bit of a mystery. He barely shot for more than a decade, and then decided to pursue a more “mystical” path in life— focusing on yoga, meditation, and secluded himself from society.

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We are all born into different situations in life. Some of us are born rich, some of us are born poor. Some of us are born with parents who taught us photography; others of us learn photography later in life.

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I first met Kaushal Parikh around 6 years ago— when he first invited me to Mumbai, to teach some street photography workshops there. He was one of the first street photographers I got to know really intimately— and I was always inspired by his passion for black-and-white photography, seeing beauty in the everyday world, and his dedication to the photographic community.

“Fragments of a Spinning Rock” is his first self-published book. I recently got a copy of it in the mail (thanks KP) and wow— the book truly blew me away.

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One of the things that plagues me as a photographer is that I think too much and don’t shoot enough. I think about what camera I should use, whether I should shoot film or digital, and what project I should work on. But all of this thinking leads to “paralysis by analysis”– I think so much that I end up getting nothing done.

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Dear friend,

I only got two weeks left in Berkeley. Here are some reflections I have in life and my time here, before I head off to Vietnam for around 2 years.

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If you haven’t heard about the SF StreetFoto International Street Photography Festival 2016, don’t miss out. June 6-12 will be jam-packed with exciting workshops, exhibitions, and pub-crawls. If you’ve wanted to meet other passionate street photographers from all around the globe, don’t miss your chance.

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