Is Street Photography Hard To Do?

In a word 'yes' if you want to take high quality pictures, anybody can walk around with a camera and take pictures in the street, but they will almost certainly be poor if no thought is put into them.

Camera Choice

Let's start with the camera, you can use most cameras to do street photography. However, a good camera is a huge benefit not only can it freeze the motion easily under most conditions it can also choose the right aperture, shutter speed and ISO almost instantly. Depending on what settings you use.

The more advanced cameras can detect for example 'people' in the frame which is the most applicable setting for street photography. Along with the settings mentioned above using a good camera makes street photography a great deal easier without having to constantly check your settings. 

Fuji X-T3 Camera

Which camera is the best for street photography, the answer is it depends. Firstly your budget, as usual you get what you pay for. Popular choices amongst street photographers are the Fujifilm X-T range of cameras, at the time of writing the X-T5 is the latest offering from Fuji. This model offers lightning quick adjustments when shooting in changing conditions which is typical in street photography. If your budget doesn't stretch that far the previous models such as the X-T3 are perfectly capable cameras and a great starting point.

The Sony A7iii is also a popular choice as it is a small and very quick camera, adjusting again to the light and conditions extremely quickly. I personally use a Canon EOS R8 as I wanted a full frame camera that is small, light and easy to manoeuvre.

The choice is yours and there is no ideal camera, but for street photography having a lightweight camera makes life much easier, I started off using my Canon EOS 6D Mark ii full frame camera. Firstly it is difficult to manoeuvre quickly, the shutter speed was a tiny bit too slow and boy your wrists start to ache after a while. Secondly you tend to standout more, if you are trying to disappear into the background and go unnoticed a big camera is not going to help. Thirdly I was asked if I worked for the papers or if I was a photojournalist, people tend to associate bigger cameras as a professional photographers choice and assume this is your means of earning a living. I didn't use it for long!

When I bought the EOS R8, things changed for me straightaway not only the size and weight, but the more advanced technology and general speed of the camera made a huge difference in the quality of my photographs. Being able to easily use it with one hand and manoeuvre it so quickly means I was getting the shots I previously missed with the EOS 6D. It also meant I was less noticeable as I walked the streets and didn't attract quite as much attention.

Confidence

Another big challenge of street photography is confidence, having the courage to take pictures of random strangers right in front of them as they are going about their business is not for everyone. So you may think OK I will use a long lens and shoot from a distance, I can still get good shots if I use a long zoom lens. Technically yes you can do that, but you will standout a mile and people may be even more wary of your presence and question what you are doing especially if children are around. 

If you are new to street photography, I would suggest taking your time and build up your confidence, don't go straight into people’s faces and stop them in the street to take a photograph. Just stand to the side and watch people go by and take pictures, you can use the shoulder strap or a better idea to be more subtle is to wrap the camera strap around your wrist and take pictures at waist height. This means you can still get great shots, but you are less obvious and don’t look like you are a serious photographer with your little camera hanging loose. I'm not wanting to patronise the general public but that how it is seen by many.

Carrying the camera around all day taking pictures not only familiarises you with the camera itself but with having it in your hand becomes natural you will become less self conscious over time. It just becomes part of your photographic journey into successful street photography. Yes, people will stare, but for the most part they are more concerned with what they are doing rather than what you are doing.

Conflict

'There is nothing stranger than folk' is a saying that comes to mind when dealing with the general public. You have the right to take pictures in public spaces in the UK, but you must be respectful of people’s privacy which is an unwritten rule in street photography. If for example you take a picture of someone who gets upset by realising their picture has been taken calmly speak to them and show them that you are deleting the photograph (if that is necessary), apologise and be on your way. There are many more opportunities to take more pictures so don't worry about it, most of all don't let it discourage you. 

Always be polite and don't forget to smile and interact with people you will be amazed at how friendly and helpful people can be. This is the next stage of building confidence and dealing with people. Again not everyone is happy, and the most common negative reaction is a frown or a look of suspicion, ignore it and carry on. Remember you are doing nothing wrong, and you are simply recording a moment in time for your benefit or the benefit of others who enjoy your photographs and appreciate your work.

Courtesy of Unsplash

Frustration

OK, now you are familiar with your camera, you have more confidence in what you are doing and a far less concerned about taking photographs in public spaces, you’ve cracked it - hooray. Not so fast, you have overcome some major obstacles in your street photography journey but now you need to elevate the quality of your photographs. I'm not saying this applies to every new photographer and if you are out there taking great shots congratulations, you’ve achieved far more than I did in such a short space of time. 

I can only speak from my experiences, and this is what I found to be the next stage. If you look on social media you will see some great street photographers and really well taken photographs and think it can't be that hard. However taking great street photographs as opposed decent photographs is a big step for most.

I have found that I have gone out with great enthusiasm wondering what great pictures I can take today after all its street photography the possibilities are endless. Only to find myself thinking what on earth am I going to photograph specifically, what is going to make a great street photograph only to find when I look through them afterwards, I have a great collection of average to meaningless photographs.

That is where the frustration comes in, it’s not that the majority are out-of-focus as the camera does a great job of compensating for my less than perfect shutter pressing. It’s the killer shot, the one that you think yes I am really pleased with that people will love it, at least that's what I hope for but don't really know, or maybe a group of photographs are good but not great. It could be that you have shot too high, too low or at the wrong angle. If only I'd moved a little bit to the left or moved in a little close or further away, grrrrr.

Every photographer no matter how good they are today have gone through that stage, you are definitely not on your own. Again frustrating and discouraging, nonsense it's just a stage.

Your photographic journey is just reaching the next stage that's all, don't let it stop you in any way. Now is the time to do in depth research. Look at photographers you admire and really look at why they are great photographs and most importantly what you like about them. This can not only encourage you to carry on but it may help you focus on what type of street photographer you want to be. 

A Street Photograph Taken in Birmingham

Conclusion

Have fun, enjoy yourself. It may seem like an awful lot to learn and a little daunting at first, but you will soon get the hang of it, the secret as in many things is practice, practice, practice. Go out as often as you can and create your style and your own way of doing things.

You can find out more about me and what I do by following the links below the comments.

All opinions expressed in this article are my own and are not endorsed by anyone.