The Digital Trends website summarises 23 tips for taking your street photography to the next level as revealed in this video featuring photographer Thomas Leuthard being creative in Salzburg. I’ve cribbed and adapted their list to my personal recommendations.
- Use a camera with which you’re really comfortable.
- Keep it dark – your clothing, casual and subdued, don’t stand out in the crowd.
- Monochrome is best on the street, but shoot RAW and post-process.
- Frame your shot, then wait for the right moment.
- Use burst mode and select the best frame later.
- Be patient.
- Squint to get an idea of the scene’s luminance and then snap when subject enters that well lit spot.
- Take a break and send out some taster shots to your social media followers.
- Back up images if you have the kit or change to a second, third, fourth memory card.
- Find new angles. Get down low…
- …and up high
- Use the wireless controller for your camera if it’s got one – candid shots.
- Use a tripod and your wireless controller like a selfie stick but for a new angle on the scene not a self-portrait
- Shoot fountains and moving water with a slow shutter speed for smoothness, or fast to catch every drop.
- Use street furniture, architecture and trees to frame a subject.
- Duck into an alleyway or doorway to get an outward-looking, framed shot.
- Don’t always frame the whole of a subject, sometimes what you leave out makes it interesting, as with music.
- Use shadows, think noir, drama, framing.
- Same goes for reflections.
- If you’re snapping people and it’s appropriate say hello, introduce yourself (before and/or after snapping).
- Offer to send them a copy of the photo and give them your business card with its link to your website and social media.
- Don’t over edit, don’t nudge levels, curves or other processes beyond 10% except for special effects.
- Don’t delete any photos, just archive them…you never know…back them up on lots of storage remote, local and cloud.