Great Tricks to Improve Your Street Photography

If you're looking to try your hand at street photography, or just want to improve, here are some great tips.

Street photography is something I love to look at, it's where a lot of my passion for photography derived thanks to documentaries on Vivian Maier and Bill Cunningham, but I've done very little myself. I always say to myself that next time I got on a city break, I'm going to do it, but then I get waylaid with work or other excuses. The little I have done, however, has been tremendously enjoyable and it gives you a real insight into how tricky it can be. There's a lot of requisite skill in scene reading, prediction, and patience to get shot of the caliber people remember.

Evan Ranft is a great resource for photographers and this video lays out some important tips and tricks (I refuse to use the word "hack") for street photography. My pick of the bunch is only taking one lens with you. I did this in Tokyo and not only does it lighten the load, freeing you up to move more comfortably, but it means you're not constantly changing lenses; you're more in the moment. You know what kit you have and you need to make it work. I'd like to take that one step further and suggest using a prime too, if you can.

Do you have any tips for good street photography? Share them in the comment section below.

Robert K Baggs's picture

Robert K Baggs is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, educator, and consultant from England. Robert has a First-Class degree in Philosophy and a Master's by Research. In 2015 Robert's work on plagiarism in photography was published as part of several universities' photography degree syllabuses.

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2 Comments

For street stuff I use my Tamron 18-400 2:1 Macro zoom & I take my Lume Cube2 w/some filters & a ball grip head.

Actually great tips.