Eric: This article is by John Hall, a photographer and human being I respect deeply. John Hall was one of my students at a week-long street photography workshop in SF, and since then he has been my zen master (he always reminds me to stay centered). He recently attended a Jacob Aue Sobol workshop in Kyoto, Japan and I loved the article so much I wanted to share it with you. You can see his original article here.
John: I just finished a week long workshop with Jacob Aue Sobol in Kyoto and it was terrific. The Leica team was also most helpful during the week as the workshop was held in their beautiful Gion Leica store. Jacob, Chloe and Albert did a super job with a diverse set of students. A highly recommended workshop!
Just finished an incredible “Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography” here in Stockholm, and wow– this is one of the most awesome before/afters. I was so impressed to see how much all of the students pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, and how they started off the work terrified to approach strangers and shoot at a close distance, to having no problem at all– even using flashes, edgy compositions, while building a human connection with their subjects.
Man I have to say, I love teaching these workshops to death. They are so damn fun, and I love meeting all of the students time and time again. Some people ask me, “Eric, aren’t you bored of teaching the same old workshop over and over again?” Never. There are always new students, with new perspectives, who also inform my thinking and judgement. Not only that, but I always strive to do something a little different each workshop, and I am proud to know that every new workshop gets a little bit and little bit better.
I also started to realize what I love most about teaching the workshops; building a sense of community. Many at the students at the workshop didn’t know any other street photographers, and now they know some other local street photographers in Stockholm to meet up, have coffee with, shoot together, and “kill babies” together (editing down images).
I’m so blessed to do what I love for a living, and I am also proud of all the students at this workshop (and all the other workshops) for their enthusiasm, passion, and improvement. Keep rocking on brothers and sisters! :)
See all the great before/after photos below, and you can also check out my upcoming street photography workshops in San Francisco, New Orleans (1 spot left), and Downtown Los Angeles.
Andre Scholten
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Bjorn Sundqvist
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Daniel Fredholm
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Gunnar Swärd
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Martin Draeger
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Micael Sjölund
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Patrik Bergström
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Riki Kawakami
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Robert Heaney
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Sean Joyce
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Sten Widerstrom
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Sue
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Upcoming Street Photography Workshops
Don’t miss out on upcoming workshops!
Vienna Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Group Photo 2015
Don’t miss out the chance when I am visiting to your city for you to conquer your fears and meet new peers in street photography. Subscribe to my newsletter below, and stay in the insider’s loop! Excited to see you soon :)
Group selfie from my Berlin Conquer Your Fear Street Photography Workshop!
Dear streettogs,
I am excited to share my new upcoming street photography workshops for the rest of the year! If you want to conquer your fears in street photography and meet new peers, don’t miss out on this chance to invest in your education!
I know the workshop isn’t cheap, but I can guarantee you that it is an experience you will never forget, and something that will help inspire your photography for years to come. Not only that, but you will have a chance to pick my brain, get pushed outside of your comfort zone, and to connect with a community of other passionate street photographers in your own city!
Below is my full upcoming schedule. If you have any questions, email my manager Neil at neil.ta@erickimphotography.com
I am very proud of my students at my recent Seattle Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop. They all pushed themselves out of their comfort zone, approached strangers, got rejected, but also got accepted. They all did an amazing job building their confidence, learned how to better interact with strangers, and the coffee and experiences we had in Seattle were amazing!
I’m also quite proud of their before/after photos, see them all below!
Achim Soelter
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Bob Munoz
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Chris Dowling
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Damon Saylor
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Daniel Petrzelka
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Darren Curtis
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Diane Civic
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Frank Hahnel
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Jason Evans
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Marcia Latta
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Marcus Phung
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Mita Reischrdt
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Nicole Ramirez
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Richard Reed
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Ryan Mower
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Ryan Pham
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Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography
If you want to conquer your fears and meet new peers in 2015, invest in an experience you will never forget! Check out my full list of upcoming street photography workshops below:
If you are in Toronto (or closeby) and want to take your photography to the next level, check out the upcoming Magnum Photos Editing Masterclass in Toronto as part of the Contact Photography Festival 2015. You will get the help of acclaimed Magnum photographers Michael Christopher Brown, Mark Power, and Larry Towell.
For photographers who are starting a project, mid-project, or if you’re stuck shooting and want to move your project forward.
I just finished a week-long intensive street photography workshop in SF, and man– was it one great experience. The students all did an incredible job stepping outside of their comfort zones, improved their street photography, and built up an amazing sense of teamwork.
I am so proud of all of their improvement through the week, read more to see all of their before/after images! Also if you are interested in improving your body of work, learning more about composition, and building your confidence in in the streets, check out my upcoming street photography workshops.
I just finished an epic “Conquer Your Fears of Shooting Street Photography Workshop” in Downtown LA this past weekend and put together a fun behind-the-scenes video above. All of the students did an incredible job building their confidence in the streets, getting closer to strangers, and had a lot of fun getting to know one another.
Hey guys, I am really excited to share that Matt Stuart (from In-Public) is coming to the states and teaching two workshops with Leica Akademie (in Los Angeles and San Francisco)! The workshop is only $599 and limited to 12 participants, and this is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on! Matt is one of the most talented street photographers out there, and I can guarantee this is an experience you will never forget. More info below:
It was an absolutely incredible weekend teaching the Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop in San Francisco. We had folks come from all over: Seattle, Texas, Zurich, Tokyo, and all over the Bay Area in California. I am so proud of the friendships we made during the workshop– and the huge before/after improvement after the workshop.
Side note: If you’re free this Friday at 6pm — we are having a meetup in Berkeley, California at Artis Cafe. RSVP on the Facebook event.
Hey Scandinavian (and European) streettogs– I am excited to share that I am hosting an intimate 2-day Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in Stockholm limited to 6 students (October 29-30th, 2014). I know it is a bit last-minute (and in the middle of the week), but I wanted to have a chance to host a workshop open to the public before I do another workshop for adopted children in Stockholm (that same weekend). I don’t know when the next time I’m going to be in Stockholm (or anywhere else in Scandinavia) — so don’t miss out ;)
If you are a bit timid in your street photography (and want to build up your courage), if you want to improve your compositions (or style or vision), or meet other passionate street photographers– this workshop is perfect for you. Don’t miss out on this experience to make new friends, have great food (and strong coffee), and of course hit the streets of Stockholm together.
If you want more information about the workshop, read more. If you can’t attend this workshop, make sure to check out all of my upcoming street photography workshops.
Today David Alan Harvey just arrived from France, and I had one last morning session with Constantine Manos. Below are my notes and video critique recordings:
Dana Danzel, a drag queen at a bar. I approached and asked her if I could take a few photos. I loved her personality, and blue accents. Shot a roll of Kodak Portra 400 on her on my Leica, and shot a few photos with my phone to email her. Provincetown, 2014.
Just flew out from sfo this morning at 6am and arrived for the meet and greet for the Magnum Workshop. Was met with a beautiful sunset, and was able to meet some great folks. Also had a great chat with Song, the Magnum workshops coordinator.
Photo by Ed Comino, shot during my Saigon Street Photography Workshop.
I recently had the pleasure of teaching a week-long travel street photography workshop in Saigon, Vietnam. It was seriously the time of a lifetime— I loved all the time I spent with all the students, and it was inspiring to see how much progress everyone made during the week. I also loved the sense of friendship and community that formed during the workshop— over talking about photography, eating great Vietnamese food, and (very) strong Vietnamese iced coffee.
It is an experience I will never forget— and to see the before/after of the students really brings me a lot of pleasure and happiness as a teacher. Check out their images below, and you can see my upcoming street photography workshops for 2014 and 2015.
Chris Stoltz, a talented photographer and videographer (and workshop attendee), just put together an awesome behind-the-scenes video of my recent LA Street Photography Workshop. He interviews me about my passion for teaching workshops, and also the students and what they gained from the workshop.
If you’re interested in breaking outside of your comfort zone, growing creatively, and meeting other passionate street photographers– join me at one of my future street photography workshops.
I just finished my Toronto Introduction to Street Photography Workshop with my manager (and fellow co-teacher) Neil Ta. I was amazed by how much the students were able to build their confidence, push outside of their comfort zone, and have huge progress in their photography in such a short weekend! Check out all of their before/after photos below.
If you want to conquer your fears in street photography or take your creativity to the next level, join one of my upcoming street photography workshops!
I just finished my NYC Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop this past weekend, and was so impressed to see the progress all the students have made. The focus of the workshop was finding your own style and voice– and it was centered on working on a mini-project.
Check out all the students’ before/after work below! If you want to take your street photography to the next level, you can also see my upcoming workshops here.
Above is another GoPro video I made on the streets of Dubai during my street photography workshop here at Gulf Photo Plus with the new Fujifilm X-T1 and Fujifilm 27mm f/2.8 Lens. Here I instruct Jillian and give her a little encouragement to overcome her fears of shooting street photography. Check it out!
If you were ever curious what it is like at my street photography workshops, here are some fun behind-the-scenes snapshots at my recent Amsterdam Introduction to Street Photography Workshop. You can see the student’s work on Facebook here. You can also see all of my upcoming street photography workshops here.
Today I just gave a talk titled: “How to Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography” at Gulf Photo Plus 2014 in Dubai. You can see the slides above or on on Slideshare. Unfortunately the talk wasn’t recorded, but I will try to re-record it for YouTube in the near future!
Photos in this article are from my travels in Istanbul this summer.
I often get criticism from teaching street photography workshops. I get criticized that they cost too much. I get criticized that I am not qualified enough. I get criticized that street photography is something that you “cannot teach”– and is something that has to be learned on one’s own.
Instead of defending myself about how I teach street photography workshops I teach– I wanted to write an article about why I teach street photography workshops. I think that we generally forget to question ourselves “why” we do anything at all. By asking the question “why”– it helps us often get to the core of our life’s purpose.
Contrary to popular I don’t teach workshops to make a ton of money and buy all the Leica’s in the world. From my workshops I am living more or less month-to-month (while trying to put a little into savings). I am pretty certain I made more money (after expenses) working at my old 9-5 job.
For this article, I will share some of my personal experiences which brought me to teaching– and dedicate the other part to sharing specifically why I teach street photography workshops– and what I hope that students (and myself) gain out of them.
There is one-week left for the early-bird discount (Sunday, Jan 5th)Â for my first Seattle Introduction to Street Photography Workshop! Don’t miss out on this beautiful unique location, especially if you live in the area!Â
Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to become more confident shooting in the streets and learn how to better interact with your subjects? Do you want to meet other street photographers that are as equally passionate about street photography or interested in learning like you?
Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to become more confident shooting in the streets and learn how to better interact with your subjects? Do you want to meet other street photographers that are as equally passionate about street photography or interested in learning like you?
I am excited to announce I will be teaching my popular “Introduction to Street Photography Workshop” in Downtown Los Angeles (11/1-11/3) with talented LA street photographers Rinzi Ruiz and Dana Barsuhn.
In this action packed 3-day weekend workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of street photography, how to create visually compelling images, how to conquer your fear of shooting street photography, as well as tips & tricks how to capture “the decisive moment.”
If you are a beginner or intermediate street photographer and you want to take your work to new heights and meet other passionate street photographers, check out more info about the workshop below!
STUCK IN A CREATIVE RUT AND LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION TO TAKE YOUR STREET PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO?
Do you feel that when you look at your street photographs, you have a hard time defining your style? Do you dream of creating unique and eye-popping images that stand out from the crowd? Do you want to find that signature style that you can put your stamp on and be proud to share with the world?
If so, I am excited to invite you to my upcoming 3-day Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop in San Francisco October 25-27th.
This unique workshop will give you the opportunity to hone your street photography voice, vision, and style while giving you the skills, knowledge, and confidence to take your street photography to the next level.
Photograph by Paul Thompson. Click to see more of the Introduction to Street Photography Student Photos
Photograph by Paul Thompson. Click to see more of the Introduction to Street Photography Student Photos
I was very impressed with all of the student work with my last two workshops with Bellamy Hunt in Tokyo. For the Introduction to Street Photography Workshop, students focused on overcoming their fear in street photography, better understanding what to look for in a street photograph, and also improving their composition. For the Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshops, students stepped outside of their comfort zone to find their own style and voice by focusing on a weekend project.
I hope you enjoy the images from all of the students!
Photograph by Steve Richards. Click to see all of the student photos from the Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop
As a note, there is also only 3 days left for the early-bird discount for my Calcutta Week-Long Introduction to Design/Composition Workshop with Adam Marelli (12/10-12/14). Don’t miss your chance to fully immerse yourself in the streets of India, break out of your creative rut, and have an unforgettable experience!
The Week-Long Introduction to Composition/Design Workshop in Venice/Verona with Adam Marelli was a huge blast. Not only did we have the opportunity to explore the beauty, architecture, and history of Venice/Verona – but we also were able to enjoy the great foods, wines, and sights there. The support and energy from all of the workshop participants was incredible, and needless to say that everyone’s photography improved throughout the entire week together.
The workshop was also a special opportunity for me, because it was the first week-long workshop I ever did. I loved it because it gave me more time to get to know everyone more personally on a 1:1 basis, as we did wake together, eat breakfast together, have countless espressos & spritzs’ during the day, shoot together, review together, and dine together. It was a very unique experience that I will never forget.
Street Photography Workshop:Â Introduction to Design/Composition
Calcutta[INDIA] – December 10th-14th
Eric’s Note: I am excited to announce that I will be teaching another unique 5-day workshop in Calcutta, India with NYC  photographer and master composition teacher Adam Marelli. Adam Marelli has a keen eye for design, composition, and capturing “the decisive moment”. He holds a degree in Sculpture and Photography from New York University and studied at the Barnstone Studios. If you are serious about your street photography, and wanting to take it to the next level – check out this unique workshop opportunity!Â
Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Would you like to learn how to overcome your fear of shooting on the streets and destroy those moments of hesitation? Do you want to meet other street photographers who are equally as passionate as you?
If you are a street photographer starting off and want more courage shooting on the streets, learning what to look for when shooting on the streets, or meeting other passionate street photographers this workshop is for you. Through this dynamic and hands-on 3-day workshop myself and Bellamy Hunt (aka Japan Camera Hunter) will cover some of the following topics:
How to conquer your fear of shooting street photography
How to become invisible and shoot without anybody noticing you
How to react to people who get offended by street photography
How to never miss “The Decisive Moment“
The best technical settings to use on your camera in street photography
How to create memorable and timeless images
The secret of creating beautiful black and white photographs
The best way to tell a story through your street photography
How to develop a razor-sharp eye when shooting on the streets
The fundamentals of critique & feedback in street photography
Huge thanks to my buddy Brian Sparks who put together this stylish video recap of my street photography workshop at Fotografiska, the Swedish museum of photography. Brian taught at the workshop alongside me, and I crashed at his pad for a week as well! Not only did he feed me well with food, but he gave me tons of great resources about photography books, history, and inspiration.
Eric’s Note: I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a 5-day workshop in Venice/Verona with NYC street photographer Adam Marelli. Adam Marelli has a keen eye for design, composition, and capturing “the decisive moment”. He holds a degree in Sculpture and Photography from New York University and studied at the Barnstone Studios. If you are serious about your street photography, and wanting to take it to the next level – check out this unique workshop opportunity!Â
A Secret Tradition
Come explore the sun drenched side streets of Venice & Verona in a truly unique photography workshop. We will retrace the footsteps of the “Grand Tour†which was the foundation for any serious artist in the last three hundred years. During these formative trips painters like John Singer Sargent mastered Design, Composition, and Light to transform everyday street scenes into masterful works of Art.
You and your camera will be led on a guided exploration to learn “How to See like a Master Artist.†Many of the design principles were reserved for serious artists and are never taught in photography programs. But in this special (5) day workshop (Sept 17-22), you will learn the secrets of Classical Design that pioneers like Henrì Cartier-Bresson inherited from drawing, to revolutionize the world of Photography.
We still have a few spots left for my Advanced Street Photography Workshop in Hong Kong, June 23-24th with Gary Tyson from F8 Photography. The course will be focused on finding your unique street photography voice and style, embark on a project for the weekend, and publish a book out of it by the end via Blurb.
Photo by Andreas Weeber. Click to see the rest of the images from the workshop.
Photo by Andreas Weeber. The winning image of the workshop!
Just uploaded the best street photographs from my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop participants in Berlin! See all of the photographs here on Facebook.
I am excited to announce that Bellamy Hunt (Japancamerahunter) and my protege Rinzi Ruiz will be teaching a street photography in Los Angeles March 10th-11th. The workshop will be a fantastic opportunity for beginners and intermediate photographers to learn more about the beautiful craft of street photography- including how to take photographs of strangers, composition, as well as shooting on the streets of the City of Angels!
The workshop will be hosted at the Hatakeyama Gallery in Downtown LA. If you are a Los Angeles native or have ever wanted to visit – it will be an amazing opportunity to shoot all the colorful districts of Downtown. This includes the colorful fashion district, the dazzling jewelry district, and the amazing light rays from Broadway.
Beautiful Downtown LA
Some topics that will be discussed in the workshop:
Beating your fear:Â How to get over the fear of shooting strangers. By learning simple techniques we will teach you how to overcome your fears and how to get into the mindset to go out shooting without being nervous.
Find your style:Â Everyones style is different and we want to encourage yours.
Be critical:Â Learn how to self edit your work and how to select the pieces that really define you.
Working for yourself:Â Learn how to develop projects that will help you define your style.
Shooting:Â What street photography workshop would be complete without actually hitting the streets and shooting?
The course will be $395 for the weekend. Places are limited, so sign up quickly before spots are sold out! Check out more details at:Â www.lastreetphotographyworkshop.com
INTERESTED IN STREET PHOTOGRAPHY BUT SCARED OR DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN?
Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to learn the best settings to use on your camera to capture the decisive moment on your camera? Do you want to meet other street photographers that are as equally passionate about street photography or interested in learning like you?
If you are an beginner or intermediate street photographer and want to conquer your fear of shooting in the streets or looking to improve your skills, this workshop is for you. Through this dynamic and hands-on 2-day workshop you will get to learn:
How to get over the fear of shooting street photography
How to shoot candid images without anybody noticing you
How to tell a story with your photos
The best technical settings to use in street photography
The secret of converting your photos into beautiful black and whites
How to react to people who get offended by street photography
How to capture “The Decisive Moment“
The laws of street photography
What techniques for taking great street photographs
The history of street photography
Read more for more information about this upcoming exciting street photography workshop in Kuala Lumpur!
Poutin, Tim Hortons, butter tarts, toonies, loonies, monopoly money, cops on horses, and friendly people– I will miss you Toronto! It was such a huge pleasure everyone in Toronto at my workshop, especially Brian, Tasos, Minsoo, Les, Domenic, Andre, James, Chris, Rockie, Robert, Siri, Neil, Ronnie. Also huge shout-outs to Jenn, Tom, and Andre from 500px!
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of Toronto at first, but was so pleasantly surprised of how much fun I had here. Canada, I hope to meet up with you again soon! Read more to see the pictures from the workshop.
After a fun-packed two days in Downtown LA, I am pretty pooped. However I had such a wonderful time teaching the workshop and helping my fellow street photographers build more courage when shooting in the streets and also helping them capture more compelling images. On the second day, we focused on editing and post-processing our images, with an emphasis on using Lightroom 3 for post-processing and Silver Efex Pro 2 for black and white conversions.
I spent especially a good portion of time discussing editing– the act of choosing your best images. Editing is something really overlooked when it comes to photography, but is almost as important as shooting. As a piece of advice to all the streettogs out there– don’t upload your images immediately. Wait before you decide to upload them. As Garry Winogrand once said, “Photographers mistake the emotion they feel while taking the picture as judgment that the photograph is good.” Therefore apply this same mentality when it comes to selecting your best work. Don’t simply upload images as a knee-jerk reaction. Let your images marinate for long periods of time before deciding to upload them.
Anyways just wanted to give a shout-out to all the LA street photographers at my workshop. It was a guge pleasure having you Michael, Bill, Chris, Greg, Brian, Jennifer, Dennis, Cameron, Eunice, Jim, Jason, Julie, Adam, at the workshop– your enthusiasm and energy was boundless. Huge thanks especially to Rinzi, Norman, Genesis, Jacob, and the Think Tank Gallery. I love you guys with my heart and soul, and I hope to see you guys all soon!
Heading out tomorrow to Michigan tomorrow and meeting up with my beautiful girlfriend/manager Cindy, and then heading over to Toronto for my upcoming street photography workshop. Wish me safe trip, and will keep you all updated! Keep reading more to check out the rest of the photos from the workshop.
(Some of the LA street photography workshop participants catching some dinner in Downtown LA after the Day 1 of the Workshop!)
Today I had a blast teaching the first day of my Downtown Los Angeles Introduction to Street Photography Workshop at the Think Tank Gallery. Considering that the photographs from the YOU ARE HERE street photography exhibition are still up, it definitely made for a great backdrop. Photographers from all over LA, and even Bill Nash from Arizona, came and were super pumped about the workshop, and ready to learn more about street photography– and build their courage shooting in the streets.
On the first day of the workshop, we started the day by introducing ourselves to one another and discussed why we loved street photography and what we wanted to get out of it. We then focused a great deal of time on overcoming the fear of shooting street photography, and discussing in-depth techniques to build courage. Not only that, but we reviewed many famous street photographs and learned what made a great photo.
Shooting the streets of Downtown LA was a huge blast, and I was amazed to see how much courage all the street photographers were able to build up. Not only did everyone feel a lot more comfortable shooting in the streets with one another, it was great to have the sense of community and fellowship when out with one another. Of course after a long day of shooting, we went out and enjoyed some nice food together as well.
Really excited for Day 2. Wish me luck, and if you are interested in any of my upcoming workshops in Toronto, India, Tokyo, or Malaysia– check out my workshops page for more info! You can also keep reading to check out the rest of the photos from the workshop!
Chicago is definitely one of my new favorite places to shoot street photography. Not only is downtown Chicago ripe for street photography, but Chicago has some of the friendliest and down-to-earth people out there. I had the time of my life teaching my street photography workshop with Jason Martini, and you can see a recap of my workshop here.
Below are the best images from the Introduction to Street Photography Workshop. If you are interested, I also have upcoming workshops in Toronto, India, Tokyo, and Malaysia on my workshops page!
I am excited to say that I am teaching my Intermediate Street Photography Workshop in San Diego this up-coming 10/8-10/9 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel. The workshop will be focused on finding your own street photography style, and we will be studying the work of the masters (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Elliott Erwitt, and more). There is a cap of only 8 participants, so make sure to click below for more information before spots run out!
Man, I am pooped. After 2 fun and engaging days of learning about street photography and shooting in the streets I gotta say I have mad love for the Windy City. Some of the nicest folks out there, and Downtown Chicago is definitely one of my new favorite places to shoot. I will miss the hospitality of my beloved cousin Holly and Ian’s pizza, Goose Island Beer, as well as the famous deep-dish pizzas here!
Huge thanks for all the participants who came out, including George, Rod, Margarett, Josh, Ryan, Alex, Darci, Bob, Jayme, Sam, Angelo, and especially Souvik for helping with logistical details and Jason for leading the workshop with me! I will be posting their 5 best images from the workshop soon, so stay posted!
Also if you are interested in one of my upcoming street photography workshops, please check out my workshops page for a workshop coming near you! Below is my upcoming calendar. If you have any questions shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com
October
10/8-10/9: San Diego –  Sheraton San Diego Hotel –  Info
10/15-10/16: Downtown Los Angeles - Think Tank Gallery - Info
Today was a phenomenal Day 1 of my Introductory Street Photography Workshop with Jason Martini in Chicago! It was my first time doing a workshop in Chicago and I was a bit nervous about all the logistical details, but in the end– everything worked well! Huge thanks to Souvik for helping with the accommodations and helping make this thing happen!
It is crazy to think that three months ago I was talking to Charlie Kirk about how I wanted to do street photography full-time and now it is a reality. It reminds me how important it is for me to stay humble (thanks Mom for the advice!) as well continuing to give back to the community. Thomas Leuthard (85mm) was the one who helped me start my street photography career by supporting my trip to Beirut, Lebanon to teach my first workshop— and in his words, I want to pay it forward. I taught my photography class at Phoenix High School in Los Angeles to under-privileged students and now plan on helping expand this network hopefully world-wide. Watching Born into Brothels (a documentary about a photographer teaching photography to kids in the red-light district in India) truly inspired me, and I just want to continue to spread the love of photography. Therefore stay tuned for some great projects that we can all help support! :)
Thanks all of you for your never-ending support and encouragement. I truly love you all. Keep reading to see the rest of the photos of the workshop!
One of the most important parts about street photography is to only show your best work. Below are some of the best 5 street photographs taken by my Downtown Los Angeles Street Photography Intermediate Course participants. Add them on Flickr, Twitter, 500px, and take a look at their respective websites and let us know whose work you really dig by leaving a comment!
You can also check out a recap of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Downtown LA Intermediate Workshop. Keep reading more to check out all the inspirational images below!
Group photo of the SF Introduction to Street Photography Workshop
After a trip visiting Cindy in Michigan for a week, I headed my way over to SF to teach my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop. It was also great to have Tom Brichta from Leica come out and help input his thoughts about street photography while letting us play with some nice Leica equipment! Although hiking up hills was tough, it was wonderful to capture the colorful people of the city. Not only that, but we had great company, food, and support!
I also wanted to thank all the participants Davit, David, Michael Rickey, Michael Cohen, Xiamin, John, Jia, Austin, Justin, Tom, Angela for their willingness to help one another while trying out new street photography techniques! Of course I also want to thank Sarah for letting us use her beautiful home and also to my loving mom for her never-ending support! Make sure to watch the video below– I give each of you guys a shout-out!
Also if you are interested in any of my upcoming workshops in Chicago, Downtown LA, San Diego, Toronto, or Tokyo check out my workshops page for more info!
Video Recap
Read more to check out all the photos from the workshop!
The last day of the Downtown Los Angeles Intermediate Street Photography Workshop really touched my heart. Being able to facilitate a community of equally passionate and open-minded street photographers really made me realize how wonderful life has been to me. A year ago, I had a faint idea of starting a street photography blog to share all my tips and insights about my path of becoming a street photographer. I had no idea that a year after, I would be able to meet people from all around the world and share this same passion for street photography.
The second day of the workshop went smoothly, and a great time (and great food by my mom and sister) were enjoyed by all! Huge shout-out to The Think Tank Gallery for hosting the workshop and letting me use their venue.Being in the heart of Downtown LA really helped us explore so many colorful neighborhoods (the fashion, jewelry, and toy district as well as Little Tokyo and other areas). Below are some images from the workshop, and expect to see photos from the participants (Mattei, Norman, Nannette, Justin,Rinzi, Elizabeth, Ibarionex, Bo, Todd, Jordan, and Dana) soon!
If you want more information about my upcoming Introductory Street Photography Workshops in San Francisco (9/10-9/11) with Leica or in Chicago (9/17-9/18) with Jason Martini check out my workshops page or shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com
Hey streettogs, I’m excited to say that the first day of my Downtown Los Angeles Intermediate Street Photography went extremely well! It was the first time I taught the Intermediate workshop, and quite frankly was worried how it would go. I made the Intermediate Workshop from scratch (completely new material from the Introductory Workshop) and wasn’t quite sure how it would be in terms of engagement, timing, and fun.
However things went very smoothly, and I really fed off all the positive energy from the participants of the workshop. We studied the work of some of the great street photographers, such as Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Winogrand, Erwitt, and Levitt and learned more about their methodology and philosophy when it came to shooting. By looking at a combination of videos of them shooting on the street, documentaries, as well as images and quotes– it helped us understand their style and how we could apply it to our own.
I want to personally thank all the participants of the workshop (Mattei, Norman, Nannette, Justin, Rinzi, Elizabeth, Ibarionex, Bo, Todd, Jordan, and Dana) for their enthusiasm to keep an open mind, learn new things, and apply them when shooting on the streets. Although I love doing workshops for the street photography, my favorite is meeting new and passionate people from all around the globe and different walks of life.
To you guys who attended today: rest up and let’s have some more fun tomorrow! Read more to check out all the photos from today!
“Pipe it in” by Jason Martini I am excited to announce that I will be teaching an Introductory Street Photography Workshop in Chicago 9/17-9/18 with talented street photographer Jason Martini. This workshop will be great for anybody interested in street photography or wanting to improve their current skills. Here are some of the topics we will cover: 1. How to get over the fear of shooting street photography 2. How to shoot candid images without anybody noticing you 3. How to tell a story with your photos 4. The best technical settings to use in street photography 5. How to post-process and edit your images and create captivating color or beautiful black and white photos. The workshop will be full of insightful tips & techniques, and there will be lots of time for you to ask us your individual questions on street photography. Not only that, but you will have the opportunity to shoot with other passionate street photographers and us on the streets of Chicago.
WORKSHOP TIME & LOCATION
Date: September 17-18th Time: 10am-6pm (both days) Location: University of Chicago
REGISTER NOW:
If you are interested in registering or would like more information, please email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com
For my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in Los Angeles, I assigned all my students to go out on the 2nd day and shoot a consecutive street photography essay. They chose themes such as shadows, hands, tattoos, shadows, and even tourists.
If you would like more information about my upcoming workshops in Los Angeles on 8/28-8/29 or in San Francisco on 9/10-9/11 check out my workshops page or email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com
Keep reading to check out the rest of the inspirational images and essays.
During my Los Angeles Street Photography Workshop, Rinzi Ruiz followed me around and recorded me shooting street photography with my Canon 5D, 24mm f/2.8, YN 560 Flash, and CSLR C-loop and Glidestrap.
I enjoyed the experience and this time aimed my flash aiming upwards from a low angle (while crouching down). As you can see through the video, a lot of people were very friendly (as long as I smiled and said “thank you” or that I liked something they were wearing). A few people objected and gave me weird looks (as you can see) but I am pleased with a few of the resulting images.
For the first day of my introductory street photography workshop, I was very impressed to see all the great photos everyone took! We were able to edit/post-process each of the photos with one another using Lightroom 3 and Silver Efex Pro, and the results look great. Read more to check out all of the photos!
Day 2 of the LA Street Photography workshop was a huge success and I am so sad it is already over! We spent a good time during the day editing our images and post-processing them with Lightroom 3 and Silver Efex Pro, and everyone got some great images! I am still in the process of editing all the images and videos, so please be patient as they get ready ;)
Also I am accepting sign-ups for my Intermediate Street Photography course on August 27-28th–so please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more info!
Update: Just uploaded photos of the workshop–read more to see them all!
Tomorrow is the day I am teaching my street photography workshop in LA and I wanted to let everyone know thanks so much for the help, support, and love you have given me. If it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have been able to spread the news and made this workshop a success (at least in getting people to sign up!). I have been very fortunate that my entire family has been helping me, including my mom and sister who are making all the meals, and my girlfriend/manager Cindy who helped me with all the logistical details.
Today on the car ride to the 4th Floor Gallery to do some last-minute things, I had a very insightful conversation with my mom about being humble. She told me that regardless of what I do I should remember to stay humble and be truly grateful for the help I have been getting from everyone. It really struck me to the heart, and I thought about all that has happened within the last year. Within a year I was able to teach a street photography workshop in Lebanon, the UK, Switzerland and meet passionate street photographers like Thomas Leuthard, Charlie Kirk, Damien Rayuela, and many others. Not only that, but Leica has also flown me to Paris where I met Bruce Gilden, Elliott Erwitt, and many other influencers.
Therefore I wanted to re-iterate thank you again for everything you have given me. This quote that I got from my friend and street artist Jacob Patterson truly resonates with me:
“You don’t owe your audience your art; you owe your audience your life.†-Howard Bloom
Wish me luck for tomorrow and will keep you updated with how everything goes :)
Henri Cartier Bresson - I am sure we can still find opportunities to shoot images like this today
Recently from the recommendation of Daniel Schaefer I watched a film called “Midnight in Paris” which stars Owen Wilson and is directed by Woody Allen. The premise of the movie is that Owen Wilson (a writer) is hopelessly in love with the ideal of Paris in the 1920’s and is convinced that his present is not nearly as romantic or great enough. However through a strange series of events he finds himself in the 1920’s Paris where he finds out all the people living during that time-period wished that they were also in an earlier and more romantic time-period.
Highly recommend everyone to watch this film
Therefore it had me thinking about street photography and the romanticism we can often attribute to the past. We think of all the great photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, and Robert Frank and think that we can never capture as stunning images because the present is boring. However what we need to realize that today is going to be the past one day, and the opportunity to shoot is now. Don’t let all these excuses about the present not being interesting enough get in your way of shooting.
Henri Cartier Bresson - I am sure we can still find opportunities to shoot images like this today
Also I am excited to announce that for my July 30-31st street photography workshop in LA I am going to have a Leica representative bring Leica M9’s, lenses, and compact cameras for you to shoot with. If you have ever wanted to learn more about street photography (and shoot with a Leica M9) sign up soon! I only have 3 spots available, so please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more information or to sign-up.
So have you ever been guilty of romanticizing the past and dismissing the present? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment below!
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