The essence of street photography is about documenting everyday life and society on the streets. You can find opportunities to practice street photography everywhere and you don’t necessarily need to travel to capture great shots.

1. 10 Tips for Successful Street
Photography
The essence of street photography is about documenting everyday life and society on
the streets. You can find opportunities to practice street photography everywhere and
you don’t necessarily need to travel to capture great shots.
DEC 22, 2015 DREW HOPPER
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2. It’s a genre of photography usually done candidly without permission and without your
subject’s knowledge. However, street photography doesn’t rule out staged pictures. You
may spot an interesting character that catches your vision; you can wander up to
strangers and ask for permission to take their picture. This is a great way to get a more
intimate portrait of someone in his or her environment.
The most important thing with street photography is to have fun and enjoy getting out
with your camera. Remember, your goal is to capture emotion, humanity, and depict a
person’s character. It takes time to get your shot, but with some practice and patience it
is rewarding.
#1: Choosing the best lens

3. Deciding which lens to use is one of the most important factors for street photography.
You may be tempted to use a telephoto lens, but that’s more than likely to result in more
harm than good. You don’t want to be that creepy person standing across the road
aiming a giant lens at strangers. If you want to look inconspicuous you’re going to need
to get up close and among the action. Use a wide-angle lens and get lost in a busy
crowd. Many street photographers choose a compact camera that’s less confronting
than a large DSLR, the advantages being smaller, lightweight, and discreet.
#2: Camera settings
The quickest and easiest way to set up your camera for street photography is by
switching the camera to AV (aperture-priority mode) and selecting your f-stop (aperture)
and ISO manually. The camera will then decide the shutter speed (exposure). On a
bright sunny day a good place to start is around f/16 with an ISO between 200-400. If
your camera displays a shutter speed higher than 1/200th a second you are ready to
roll.

4. Take note of the shutter speed your camera is reading and make adjustments to
aperture and ISO accordingly. If your camera is giving you a shutter speed that is below
1/80th you run the risk of a blurred shot, but that could be used for good effect too. To
overcome blur simply increase your ISO and/or choose a wider aperture. If you’re new
to photography you can always set camera to P mode (program or auto) and let the
camera select the correct settings. You can still adjust the EV if you want to over or
under expose the shot to your liking.
This is useful if you are shooting run and gun (in a hurry with no time to think), but you
have little control over what the camera is doing, so this isn’t always the best option.
Program mode does a pretty decent job, but I wouldn’t rely on it in low light where
there’s a high possibility your shutter speed will be too slow to freeze the action.
#3: Get close to your subjects
Using a wide-angle lens enables you to get nice and close to your subjects. The
advantage of the wide angle gives the viewer a sense of being there in the moment.
You’ll also blend in with the crowd as part of the environment, rather than standing out
across the street with a long lens.

5. Many successful street photos were taken only few meters from the action and
sometimes only centimeters away. Walking through a busy street, market or park can
result in some rewarding pictures if you are observant and keep your eyes open for
interesting subjects. If your images aren’t how you visualized them, then you may need
to get closer, so use your feet as your zoom to be sure you’re in the right place at the
right time.
#4: Take your camera everywhere
Street photography is spontaneous and waits for no one. It’s a discipline you must
practice to make perfect. Your camera is an extension of yourself — it’s your gateway to
sharing your vision with the world and you don’t want to miss an amazing photo
opportunity by not having your camera on you. If you’re serious about street
photography, you will have your camera within reach at all times.
This is known as the ‘decisive moment,’ where you have only a split second to capture
your subject before it’s gone forever. You rarely get a second chance, so be prepared.

6. #5: Ignore the voice in your mind
Some people struggle with the idea of street photography. Some concerns may be the
fear about your subjects getting angry because you took their picture, threaten you with
physical violence, or even worse, call the police. Fear is simply false evidence
appearing real. These are all common fears, but it’s possible to overcome by practicing
and getting out more with your camera. Here are some suggestions to overcome your
concerns.
Find an interesting spot to sit with your camera. I spend a lot of time at cafes and
restaurants when I travel, my camera ready for any opportunities. Observing from a
comfortable setting you’ll feel at ease and can wait for pictures to come to you. You are
less likely to be noticed sitting outside a café with your camera than standing in the
middle of the street.
Tune out and listen to your iPod while you are out walking with your camera. Music is
somewhat of a distraction that can help relax and inspire creativity. It may not sound
logical, but it works wonders, and if it means you’re comfortable in your surrounds then
it’s worth a shot. (I don’t suggest doing this at night, in uncrowded or unfamiliar places!
Always be aware of your surroundings.)

7. #6: Shoot from the hip
As a general rule of street photography, if you can get the shot with the camera to your
eye, you will get a better shot. However, there are times when it’s not possible to raise
the camera to your eye, and so shooting from the hip is a useful method of capturing a
decisive moment.
When I first started shooting on the street I found it difficult holding my camera to my
eye and pointing it towards strangers, so I started holding the camera by my hip to
capture more candid pictures. At first I wasn’t successful, but the more familiar I became
with my camera and the focal length I managed to capture some great candid moments.
#7: Shoot at night
Night photography in the city is a great opportunity for unique images. It’s not as easy
as shooting during the day; you will need to be mindful of low shutters speeds to avoid
blur and use your ISO and aperture to compensate for low light.
Take a tripod with you if you plan on doing long exposures. Alternatively, using a fast
aperture lens will enable you to shoot low-light scenes and still freeze the action. When
shooting at night try finding interesting lines, shadows and compositions to give the
image a bold visual statement. Silhouetted subjects are interesting and can create nice
compositions with the shadow filling the foreground.
#8: Think outside the box
Powerful ideas and emotions can be portrayed through the simplest of scenes. Most
people wrongly associate street photography with people or portraits on the street. You
don’t always need people in frame, or capturing interesting juxtapositions or fitting as
many different people or objects into frame.
It may be difficult in some busy places, but take a walk down a quiet alleyway or side
street and look for different subjects that interest you. There are infinite opportunities
for all kinds of images with or without people.

8. While in Vietnam, I spent time wandering the streets photographing bicycles, which I
have turned into a small series titled ‘Transportation’, that has been quite popular
among the photo community. This was unintentional, but by doing something different I
discovered a series that I may not have explored otherwise.
#9: Image quality isn’t everything
Some photographers may disagree with me here, but from my personal experience in
shooting on the street, I haven’t been concerned with image quality as much as I am
when shooting landscapes or commercial work. Yes, you should strive for high image
quality when possible, but with street photography it’s not as important. In my opinion,
composition, light, drama and the story you are trying to tell are of more important than
image quality. If your images capture those four things, then you’re on the right path to
becoming a great street shooter.
Sharpness, low noise and immaculate image quality are worthless if you have poor
composition, bad light and no atmosphere to tell a story. Focus on what’s important —
that’s essentially what makes a great street image.
#10: Most importantly, have fun
Like all genres of photography, it’s important to enjoy what you do and do what you
enjoy. If shooting on the street doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, then chances are
you’ll probably take ordinary images. Creativity flows where the passion lives, so do
what makes you happy, not what other people expect to see. I love shooting street
because it gets me out and about, meeting interesting people, and seeing everyday life
from a fresh perspective. That’s what inspires me to do what I do.
Conclusion
Street photography requires practice and the more you get out there, the more your
eye will develop and your confidence grow. The approach is much simpler than other
genres and manipulation should be kept to the essentials, with minimal to no post-
processing. The only manipulation I tend to do with my street photography is done
through the camera viewfinder.

9. Perception and intuition are the most important factors. Perception requires a creative
eye for detail and is an attentive effort. Intuition is immediate and is not duty-bound to
any attentive reasoning. These two factors are combined to create the decisive
moment, an amazing process that takes your images to the next level. Because of this
process, it’s here in the moment that street photography is captured and expressed.
Strong street photos come from powerful ideas and emotions captured in a simplistic
manner. It comes down to perception to force yourself out with your camera to capture
decisive moments that unfold in front of you.
About the author: Drew Hopper is a fine art travel and landscape photographer based
out of Australia. Captivated by the diversity of cultures, people and environment, Drew
ventures far and wide to capture pictures that define his experiences with the vision
that they will impact and inspire an audience in a way individual to each viewer. You
can find more of his work and writing on his and . This article was also
published .
website blog
here
TAGS: ADVICE, DREWHOPPER, LIST, STREETPHOTOGRAPHY, TIPS
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Oliver Twisted • 4 years ago • edited
•
"The quickest and easiest way to set up your camera for street
photography is by switching the camera to AV (aperture-priority
mode) and selecting your f-stop (aperture) and ISO manually. The
camera will then decide the shutter speed (exposure). On a bright
sunny day a good place to start is around f/16 with an ISO between
200-400. If your camera displays a shutter speed higher than 1/200th
a second you are ready to roll."
Really enjoyed this piece. And while this statement above isn't bad
advice, I would actual recommend one sets their ISO to auto with a
shutter minimum of 1/250th of a second. This way, you eliminate the
risk of the shutter firing too slow at the expense of more noise. In
street photography, a blurred subject (unless you're going for a
special effect) is worse than a noisy subject. If I'm in really bright mid-
day conditions, I'll even go 1/500th of a second minimum.
Daytime: Another thing not mentioned is setting focus manually using
zone or hyperfocal distances based on your aperture, which is going
to be way more reliable and faster than any auto focus. This is why
using wide lenses and manually setting your aperture to f/5.6 or
smaller is so important -- because of the huge DoF you can achieve.
Though this doesn't apply to night and indoor/subway photography.
In those cases, I find it's best to switch to a wide aperture and pray
your AF hits the right subject.
6 △ ▽
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11. KrautHammer • 4 years ago • edited
•
Should be titled, "10 Successful Street Photography Tips for Drew
Hopper".
No 2 people shoot the same, so what works here for this person is
great. It is however disingenuous to pass off how one person shoots
as being the best way or a way to success. If this works for the
person writing the article, FANTASTIC!
I'm so tired of hearing how using a telephoto lens makes you appear
to be a "creeper". Articles with statements like that do more harm to
the thoughts of street photography than the actual use of telephoto.
Just about every point above could be twisted into a "creeper"
statement.
Shoot from the hip, "creeper" who doesn't want to have people know
they are shooting. Shoot at night, "creeper" trying to hide in darkness
and take pictures like a pedo!!
I've heard them all and trying to put too many "points to success"
really only takes originality out of the experience and we get too
many of the same and we stagnate on innovation or great ideas.
5 △ ▽ 2
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> KrautHammer
"No 2 people shoot the same, so what works here for this
person is great. "
My view too and was going to make same point.
Thinking one's own way of working is the optimal way for
everyone else too is the mistake many such articles make.
Saying 'this works for me, it may also be worth you trying it' is
far better than claiming 'these are the rules for doing...'
3 △ ▽
3ric15 • 4 years ago
•
> KrautHammer
He's not wrong though, people tend to shy away from huge
cameras.
3 △ ▽
KrautHammer • 4 years ago> 3ric15
I've been shooting street since 2008 in large and small
cities. I've yet to have anyone "shy away" from me
regardless of the camera I am using. I think this "shying
away" phenomenon is largely an overblown concept.
There was a recent petapixel article where some
"street photographer" was shooting and doing a great
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12. •
street photographer was shooting and doing a great
job at showing the worst possible way to shoot street
and treat other human beings. Jammed a short prime
right into other peoples faces.
Attitude and professionalism are way more important
when shooting street.
http://petapixel.com/2015/1...
△ ▽
Kelly Padgett • 4 years ago
•
> 3ric15
you are 100% correct
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Kelly Padgett
Except he isn't.
You can take photos with big chunky cameras
in plain sight and be completely ignored by your
subjects if you go about it the right way. This
was taken with a 5DII+ grip with a 24-70 f2.8
and large lens hood which is a hefty and
certainly not discreet camera/lens combination.
In fact I'd say it was easier in this case, than
using my Sony RX100 III with the equivalent
lens, as people would assume I'm using a big
tele lens and not a wideangle when using the
Canon kit.
⛺
1 △ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago
•
> imajez
The old men on the left are looking away from
you, they felt the invasion.
1 △ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago • edited> Hector
People do like to talk a load of complete
rubbish don't they. Were you there? No you
weren't, but yet you still think you know what
was going on. The two chaps were chatting to
themselves and weren't bothered by my
presence as it's a popular tourist resort with
cameras everywhere. My camera wasn't even
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13. •
pointing at them and with the lens I was using,
it look like a tele lens and that I was shooting
something behind them. If you look like a dumb
tourist and don't point camera directly at
people, people normally ignore you.
△ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago
•
> imajez
I have been in that situation, you think you are
about to grab a wonderful natural spontaneous
shot and in the last second the subject turns is
eyes away and puts on a stiff face. It's all over
their body language.
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
Maybe you need to work better on your being
less obvious about what you are doing or be
faster and also accept that due to this not being
a studio shoot people are not going to pose as
you would like for them, so you will miss
shoots.
△ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago • edited
•
> imajez
It happens to everyone and it happened to you
in that shot. The guy in the green jacket is
avoiding contact.
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
You were NOT there. You therefore have ZERO
idea what the situation was. I took the picture
because of the canoodling couple, who seemed
to make the other two uncomfy.
Also the long lens was pointing away from the
two older chaps, who were unlikely to realise it
was actually a wideangle zoom.
△ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago> KrautHammer
Telephotos are mostly not recommended for street
photography because they tend to isolate the subject with
shallow depth of field and narrow field of view although they
also flag you instantly as a photographer.
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14. •
I'm sure there are some guys out there doing nice street
photos with white Canon L telephotos and 5D bodies but
those are not the optimal tools for the task.
1 △ ▽ 1
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
Nothing wrong with isolating subject or using shallow
depth of field and cameras tend to flag you as being a
photographer regardless of the lens being used. Using
a camera with a tele lens is normally far less noticeable
to your subject than using a wide lens closer in.
My Canon 5D bodies with 16-35mm or 24-70mm f2.8
lenses are way bigger than my EM5DII with a 80-
300mm [equivalent lens], not that being seen with a
camera is necessarily a problem anyway
3 △ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago
•
> imajez
There's nothing wrong with subject isolation per
se but for you are taking the street out of the
"street photo" by focusing only on the subject's
body and excluding context.
1 △ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
We are a bit literal aren't we. 'Street
photography' [an awful term] is a catch all for
usually candid non set up photos that tell a
story, are humorous or an observation of life. As
long as you show what is needed, that's all you
need. So if removing clutter like an irrelevant
background helps tell the story, do that and not
worry about ridiculous rules about how things
should be done.
△ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago> imajez
As I said before, you can go ahead and do
something interesting with a telephoto in street
photography but it is not the optimal tool. As a
documentary genre, street photography
benefits from context and wide angles bring in
more context than telephotos, there is nothing
ridiculous about that.
I can't recall a street photography master
t lki b t t l h t i hi k
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15. •
talking about telephotos in his work.
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago • edited
•
> Hector
Portrait photographers don't tend talk about
using wide angles in their work either, doesn't
mean you can't use them.
Street photography can be a whole heap of
different things. You wanting to limit it, only
reflects upon you and your limited world view.
⛺
1 △ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago
•
> imajez
Here are 2 guidelines for sports photography:
1. Use a lipstick.
2. Ignore number one.
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
Same as 'street' photography then.
△ ▽
KrautHammer • 4 years ago • edited
•
> Hector
No one said you had to use a hand cannon. I have and
still do use an Olympus 40-150/4-5.6 and 75-300/4.8-
6.7 for street photography.
Jay Maisel uses a 28-300 on his Nikon D3 as an
example.
△ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
"The approach is much simpler than other genres and manipulation
should be kept to the essentials, with minimal to no post-processing.
The only manipulation I tend to do with my street photography is
done through the camera viewfinder."
So not sure how Drew explains the heavy vignetting in most shots,
the desaturation and crunchy contrast in one shot and B+W in other
shots.
Nothing wrong with him doing post work like that as it can be
effective, but don't pretend it isn't done. Not one shot looks like
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16. •
minimal/no work done.
2 △ ▽
bogorad • 4 years ago
•
Any modern camera has auto-ISO, so why not use it? As you
correctly state in (9), image quality isn't everything. But
unintentionally blurred shots are just garbage. So for run-and-gun
why not set your camera to F/7.1, 1/200sec, and ISO=auto (no
upwards limit). It's going to be around ISO 100-200 at daytime, and
anywhere from 6400 up at night - so what? You'll always get sharp
in-focus pictures. And noise is nothing, since I almost always convert
to b/w and add some 'film' grain.
2 △ ▽
Patriot4ever • 4 years ago
•
Interesting you didn't mention using an iPhone or other Smart Phone
for street photography. I almost exclusively use my iPhone 6 for street
photography. Talk about less intrusive! With the quality of the camera
I capture excellent shots and it is so easy to shoot quickly and
appear non chalant.
1 △ ▽
dleereus • 3 years ago
•
> Patriot4ever
Smart phones aren't good for quickly capturing fleeting
moments in a well-framed composition with the right depth of
field shutter speed.
△ ▽
Kelly Padgett • 4 years ago
•
#5 I disagree with. As there is a certain amount of respect that needs
to be extended when taking someones photo, regardless of where
you are.
1 △ ▽
Being Yourself • 2 years ago
•
> Kelly Padgett
Do you ask everytime you take a street photo?
5 △ ▽
Carlee Keppler-Carson • 4 years ago> Kelly Padgett
The world is beautiful but not a zoo. A smile, an
acknowledgement of the subject or the bribe of a cigarette
can gain you access far more readily than just aiming a lens,
especially a big one. At this stage of the game nothing gives
me more pleasure than watching a very expensive rig get
slapped out of a burgeoning travel photographers hands
because they didn't respect the place or the culture You may
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17. •
because they didn t respect the place or the culture. You may
loose a more candid expression, but a returned smile is far
more rewarding. As for press work, that's another matter all
together.
1 △ ▽
Kelly Padgett • 4 years ago
•
> Carlee Keppler-Carson
Thats exactly right. Its about having respect for the
people you are shooting. 90% of the time, people will
go back to doing what they were doing, if only you ask
if its ok to take photos. Recently i was back in Siem
Reap again. A lady there I've seen many times was
carrying on about her usual business and I asked if I
could take a photo (it has been done before) and she
said no, she didn't want it. So I let her be, even tho i
really wanted the shot. Press work is completely
different for sure. We also have to remember to put
ourselves in other peoples shoes. How would we feel if
people were shoving cameras in our faces everyday
without so much a hello, a hi, or a thank you?
Sometimes we can sneak a photo.. others we need to
simply respect the person and seek permission.
1 △ ▽
Hector • 4 years ago
•
> Kelly Padgett
Henri Cartier-Bresson disagrees with you.
1 △ ▽
Kelly Padgett • 4 years ago
•
> Hector
i could care less
△ ▽
Brennan McKissick • 4 years ago
•
> Kelly Padgett
Two different schools of thought. Sorry, I shoot street in NYC
every day and I'm not stopping everyone to walk back and do
what they were just doing, it ruins the moment anyways.
Asking for permission is cool for environmental portraits or
something but that's about it. People are going to get mad but
you have to learn to defuse the situation. You can't be a pansy
and shoot street.
△ ▽
Jonathan Maniago • 4 years ago • edited
"The quickest and easiest way to set up your camera for street
photography is by switching the camera to AV (aperture-priority
mode) and selecting your f-stop (aperture) and ISO manually."
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18. •
Aperture Priority's fine for street portraiture, but methinks Shutter
Priority might be the better option for freezing action or conveying
motion in street photography. More often than not, it's the timing
rather than the bokeh which makes a street photographer's shot
stand out.
1 △ ▽
imajez • 4 years ago
•
> Jonathan Maniago
Or simply use manual. Easier and faster than auto in many
ways.
△ ▽
Kratos_IcE • a year ago
•
Shoot from the hip DOES make you look creepy, if you have a
problem with being confronted when you shoot holding the camera
to your eye level, then do not do it from the hip level ==> that is going
to get you " f " ed up.
△ ▽
gonzalito • 2 years ago
Lot of BS comments here. You just read article which sugests how to
do street photography and give some usefull advice.
some of you guys are raking thi gs so seriously to the point of
actually mocking the author.
Some people will agree, some wont. if you dont agree, dont read it. It
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