A facial expression, an awkward moment, and odd situation, or juxtaposition of interesting characters; these all scream to me to be photographed. There are plenty of great places to find that one-of-a-kind candid moment: family gatherings, sporting events, school, clubs, work, and the list goes on. Perhaps one of the most interesting and challenging is out on the public street.
Street photography is all about what is happening around the photographer on a city or town street or generally in public places with people present. It often has a documentary or journalistic feel to it. A random shot into a crowd probably will not have too much interest, but focusing on a lost child in the crowd looking for a parent tells a story. There is a nice definition on Wikipedia if you want to go deeper, but what I really want to talk about is technique.
It is not enough to say you are creating street photography if you are just standing on the sidewalk and taking pictures. These days you will see these photographers everywhere as it seems nearly everyone has a camera with them at all times. The chances that those photographs will amount to anything is pretty small if the photographer is not considering what goes into making a good image. Just taking a photograph does not make you a photographer.
First off there is your equipment. Because you are making candid shots you will need to prepare in advance. You will not have time to change lenses, setup a tripod, or play around with the exposure. If you can, pack light and keep things small. You need to be able to maneuver easily and not stick out like a sore thumb.
While it would be nice to have a lens for any circumstance you will probably not have time to change on the fly. Consider your circumstances, make a choice and stick with it. A small camera is better than a large one, but do not assume you can use one of the little point and shoot digitals. They are not well suited to street photography for many reasons. A small rangefinder would be ideal, an SLR would also work well, but they are a little larger.
Okay, ready to capture an image? Go ahead, point somewhere and push that little button on top. Chances are you just captured something no one, including you, will want to look at. Like all good photography you need an actual subject; something that draws the viewer's eye. You have only a single still frame to capture the viewers interest. The full story must be there. I am always looking for an interesting face or juxtaposition, great lighting, or best a combination of all.
What makes a good subject will vary depending on whether you go with a narrow or wide field of view. If you take a narrow field, go with a small depth of field. You can use a telephoto lens or a lens with a large aperture to achieve this. If you go wide you will likely have a large depth of field whether you want it or not. You will not be able to isolate your subject by focus alone.
Find the angle that no one else has. I often find myself getting on my knees or looking for a way to get up high. Adults look down at children; it is a simple fact of the physical proportions involved. Get down to eye level or lower for a different view. This goes for many other subjects and you can do it virtually anywhere (I assume your legs bend at the knees and you do not mind getting dirty or wet); dress appropriately. Up high can be tricky, but rewarding particularly if you have a wide field or a completely new and interesting perspective.
Night is a great time for street photography. In the day a city street can be a blandly lit place, but at night the artificial light brings it alive in new and interesting ways. You will need a camera that can take photographs in low light. A maximum ISO of 800 will not give you too much to work with. If your camera can create good images at 1600 or 3200 you will be much better off. Also, you will need a fast lens; f/2.8 might not be enough. Look for f/1.8 or better. One of my favorite lenses on the street is a speedy f/1.2. Shooting with a telephoto lens will probably be out of the question as you will likely use exposures of 1/60 of a second or longer. You just cannot hand hold a long lens at speeds like that. A newer model lens with vibration reducing capabilities will help, but you need to be steady and you need to practice.
When you shoot at night you have less flexibility in how you shoot in addition to just the low light capabilities of your camera. Not everything is well lit. You will want your subject positioned near a light source that is as good or better than the surroundings. Color balance will also be very tricky at night as your will find many different color temperatures in the same location. You will need to choose one and live with color problems elsewhere. Sodium vapor lamps are particularly tricky as they only give a narrow spectrum of light. Auto white balance will often fail you in these circumstances so make sure you can preset your camera accurately or make adjustments after the fact; shoot in RAW if you can. Black and white processing is always an option if you do not like what you can do with the light that is available.
One last thing about night street photography is the focus. Most cameras these days have an auto focus feature. While this is very convenient for many things it will frequently fail in low light. Time to practice manual focusing. This can be very tricky with modern cameras as they were never designed for manual focusing. Your auto focus lens may allow it, but not make it easy. It may be hard to distinguish in focus and out of focus in your viewfinder. Best thing you can do is practice. Getting a manual focus lens can also help. Some newer DSLRs can also display the image on the LCD screen while you are taking the picture. Focusing from the LCD can help, though I find it can also complicate and slow things down. If you are digital, fire a few times while moving the focus ring. You are liable to get one right.
Finally, you need to get the exposure right. I find this can be one of the most tricky parts of street photography. The exposure meter can be easily fooled when you are trying to grab that once chance at a great shot. This is easier for those with digital cameras as you can make a test shot in advance and check the image and histogram and make adjustments. Once I find the right exposure for a given setting I do all my shooting on manual. I will keep two or three light scenarios in my head according to what the situation is and set the exposure before I make the shot.
For instance, at night on a street with shops you may find that ISO 3200, f/1.2, 1/125 works well, but if you subject moves away from the shop under a street light you will have to switch to 1/60. Figure this out in advance otherwise the shot will be lost. If I need to quickly test a new situation I will just fire blindly, check the histogram, and make the adjustments accordingly. If your subject is a fleeting one, you may not have time for anything else. Practice with your camera when you are not in a rush. If you shoot RAW, you will have more options for making adjustments after the fact.
It is not enough to say you are creating street photography if you are just standing on the sidewalk and taking pictures. These days you will see these photographers everywhere as it seems nearly everyone has a camera with them at all times. The chances that those photographs will amount to anything is pretty small if the photographer is not considering what goes into making a good image. Just taking a photograph does not make you a photographer.First off there is your equipment. Because you are making candid shots you will need to prepare in advance. You will not have time to change lenses, setup a tripod, or play around with the exposure. If you can, pack light and keep things small. You need to be able to maneuver easily and not stick out like a sore thumb.
Okay, ready to capture an image? Go ahead, point somewhere and push that little button on top. Chances are you just captured something no one, including you, will want to look at. Like all good photography you need an actual subject; something that draws the viewer's eye. You have only a single still frame to capture the viewers interest. The full story must be there. I am always looking for an interesting face or juxtaposition, great lighting, or best a combination of all.What makes a good subject will vary depending on whether you go with a narrow or wide field of view. If you take a narrow field, go with a small depth of field. You can use a telephoto lens or a lens with a large aperture to achieve this. If you go wide you will likely have a large depth of field whether you want it or not. You will not be able to isolate your subject by focus alone.
Find the angle that no one else has. I often find myself getting on my knees or looking for a way to get up high. Adults look down at children; it is a simple fact of the physical proportions involved. Get down to eye level or lower for a different view. This goes for many other subjects and you can do it virtually anywhere (I assume your legs bend at the knees and you do not mind getting dirty or wet); dress appropriately. Up high can be tricky, but rewarding particularly if you have a wide field or a completely new and interesting perspective.
When you shoot at night you have less flexibility in how you shoot in addition to just the low light capabilities of your camera. Not everything is well lit. You will want your subject positioned near a light source that is as good or better than the surroundings. Color balance will also be very tricky at night as your will find many different color temperatures in the same location. You will need to choose one and live with color problems elsewhere. Sodium vapor lamps are particularly tricky as they only give a narrow spectrum of light. Auto white balance will often fail you in these circumstances so make sure you can preset your camera accurately or make adjustments after the fact; shoot in RAW if you can. Black and white processing is always an option if you do not like what you can do with the light that is available.
For instance, at night on a street with shops you may find that ISO 3200, f/1.2, 1/125 works well, but if you subject moves away from the shop under a street light you will have to switch to 1/60. Figure this out in advance otherwise the shot will be lost. If I need to quickly test a new situation I will just fire blindly, check the histogram, and make the adjustments accordingly. If your subject is a fleeting one, you may not have time for anything else. Practice with your camera when you are not in a rush. If you shoot RAW, you will have more options for making adjustments after the fact.
So what about those subjects that just do not want to be photographed? If they are in public view, they are probably fair game in most places. You could abstain or go incognito. There is always the ever popular "I know your sneaky photographer tricks and I can avoid you" shots that can be interesting.
Interaction with the photographer can produce some exciting results in street photography. You could argue that these shots are not candid, but if you capture a genuine reaction (good or bad) you have a candid shot. There is nothing wrong with getting into the action as one of the crowd that happens to have a camera. When you take a shot, no one thinks twice. Offer to email an image to your subject if they seem interested after you have taken their picture. Your might find some other interesting opportunities as a result. Better yet, get them to sign a model release and open some additional possibilities for you to use the image later.
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