Recently I met Colin Westerbeck, the author of “Bystander: A History of Street Photography” and he shared some great stories with me. One of the stories he shared was the great friendship that Garry Winogrand and Joel Meyerowitz shared. They would hang out a ton, go shooting, eat with one another, and critique one anothers’ work at each others’ houses.

When it comes to street photography, I personally like to shoot with other people. Although you probably get the “best” photographs when going by yourself, going along with a buddy or a couple of friends is a great way to stay motivated, have fun, and still get some great shots. Imagine like having a gym-buddy (they will get your ass out of bed to go workout). Same thing with having street photography buddies (they get your ass off the computer at home and go out and hit the streets).

For this blog post I will describe how you can start your own street photography community, and the benefits that it will bring you!

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(Above photo by Daan Loeff)

I know it has been a while since I featured street photography from the community – but here is the last batch of great shots I have noticed on Facebook! If you would like to get one of your shots featured in the future, make sure to upload them to my Facebook fan page! (I prefer using Facebook because it is easier to sort/look through all the photographs).

Some tips to get included in the next post:

1. Don’t use watermarks on your photographs or white/black borders. They are often distracting to the image and take away from the power of the photo.
2. Don’t over-process your photographs. Once your photo looks too “HDR’y” you should tone it down.
3. Street portraits are great – but try to incorporate the subjects/backgrounds more.
4. Get good lighting. Try not to include shots that have been shot mid-day.
5. Think about balance and composition. Don’t have your subjects too center-focused.
6. Don’t shoot people’s backs. Sometimes they work but typically they don’t.
7. Think about the statement your photograph is trying to say. Is it just a person of a person walking on the streets, or something more?
8. Generally photos of street performers/homeless people are cliche and not very original. Try to find the extraordinary in the ordinary- rather than capture ordinary photos of extraordinary people.