Street Photography: Getting Started

Chelsea Northrup offers street photography advice: gear barely matters, though small mirrorless cameras are discreet and vintage ones like a Mamiya RB67 invite conversation; know local photography law; ask permission with a compliment when close; pay street performers and costumed subjects; and pre-compose, then wait for a subject.

Sunny Gala presents ten simple street photography tips drawn from personal experience and fellow travellers, delivered as a short montage of street images set to music with no spoken narration. The fourth video on the channel, it offers newcomers straightforward starting points for photographing people and scenes in public.

Andrew Boey leads students through Kuala Lumpur's Petaling Street: a flower seller shot at 1/10 second in burst mode so hands blur but face stays sharp, temple-floor reflections at ISO 800, metering on his hand before approaching, asking permission with a smile, and shooting statues at f/4 and f/11.

Gary Gough shoots London's streets, rejecting rigid rules: any camera or phone works, phone users pass as selfie-takers, and wide lenses tell busier stories than a wide-open 50mm. He suggests programme or shutter priority at 1/125, auto ISO, and shooting for black and white so clashing shirts become grey tones.

The COOPH team takes to the streets of Paris with the Leica CL Street Kit to demonstrate seven creative techniques intended to give street photographs a more original look and feel. Each tip is tried out on location around the city rather than explained in the abstract.

Kenneth Hines Jr, interviewed by Jason Vong in New York, shares five street photography tips: prime lenses like his Zeiss Batis 25mm, 40mm and 85mm force movement; f/6.3 keeps context that f/1.8 destroys; aperture priority copes with changing light; and midday sun bounced off buildings becomes a fleeting reflector.

Andrew Boey takes the train into Kuala Lumpur as Malaysia's lockdown eases, handing a camera novice a small Canon mirrorless and teaching as they go: storytelling through composition, manual mode for silhouettes or brighter subjects, lowering the viewpoint to clear busy backgrounds, and directing subjects in a back alley.

Ichipan, for Adobe, gives seven tips for street photography: begin on a smartphone, with earbuds as a remote shutter, and shoot alongside a friend to ease nerves; frame a spot and wait or roam; understand what draws the eye; use aperture priority and auto ISO; and keep gear in perspective.

Brian Lloyd Duckett identifies thirteen street photography mistakes: fear, eased by practice and avoiding eye contact; losing concentration to phones, music and chimping; expecting many keepers rather than one or two; walking too fast; acting so stealthily it looks creepy; and chasing low ISO over a 1/200 second shutter.

Brian Lloyd Duckett gives ten street photography tips: travel light with a pocketable Fujifilm XF10 or X100V and an inconspicuous bag; read the streets for light, body language and detail; and set aperture priority at f/8 with auto ISO and 1/250 minimum, fine-tuned by exposure compensation, plus zone focusing.