If you are a budding street photographer and would like some street photography tips from an expert, read this article from IOP® Tutor Michael Barrow, who specialises in this area.
We sent Michael out on to the streets with his camera to undertake to find some great street shots using all these techniques:
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- Rule of Thirds
- Symmetry
- Leading & Converging Lines
- Framing
- Triangles & Threes
- Depth
- Curves & Diagonal Lines
My Day & Street Photography Tips
1. My first stop took me to the steps of an art gallery, which currently houses an outdoor display of foliage and greenery as well as deck chairs. There is also a lot of maintenance happening in that area, meaning space is tight, compact and opportunities for proximity plentiful.
2. I then went over into a main stretch of the city. When space opens up, proximity becomes a little more difficult, so searching for distance and depth to your image can take a little more importance. Follow along streets or rows of buildings. Architecture can help here and also provides those leading lines. I found myself searching for scaffolding or structures which framed a space.
3. Lots of bright, untamed sunshine today. Fierce contrasts in exposure – bright lights and harsh shadows interacting in all kinds of different ways. This is unavoidable so embrace it. Turn your attention to tone and think about how a black and white image can flourish in these scenarios.
4. People always play a major role in my street photography. I am fascinated by their quirks, personalities, and movements within environments. I will always try to capture a moment between an individual or number of individuals and an environment using a super fast shutter. So in this sense, I can use the day’s stark sunlight in my favour again, keeping my shutter speed high.
Results – Scaffolding
This shot exemplifies a few compositional qualities.
As soon as I saw this scaffolding, I could see the arrangement in my mind.
I wanted to introduce three subjects as per the brief, so I positioned myself and waited for the right arrangement
Conversion to black and white can intensify all these different forms, rather than the being in colour, which could distract the eye.
Compositional devices used:
- Symmetry
- Leading and converging lines
- Triangles
- Diagonals
- Depth
- Three subjects
Results – Three Builders
Using threes is a great compositional street photography tip. This is a simple, but effective shot of threes.
Each builder appears to be framed in a box, and each exhibits a different emotion.
The shape of their bodies has also created a leading diagonal line for the eye to follow.
Compositional devices used:
- Threes
- Framing
- Leading lines
Results – Archway
This is a beautiful archway and one I know well.
It offers the perfect opportunity for framing your subjects.
Find somewhere in your local area like this, then simply sit and wait for the right person.
Compositional devices used:
- Curves
- Symmetry
- Leading lines
Results – Stairway
An example of how your street doesn’t necessarily need to contain a human element.
Diagonals and framing both at play within the same space here to create a pleasing visual effect.
Compositional devices used:
- Framing
- Diagonals
- Leading lines
Results – Colour
Colour can lift your street scenes. Besides the leading lines in this shot, I was stunned by the vibrancy of this lady’s Sari in juxtaposition with the orange boiler suits.
Compositional devices used:
- Symmetry (the fence and the barriers)
- Leading lines
- Depth
- Diagonals
Results – True Love
This is my favourite shot from the day.
As you have seen above, many of the compositional tools we’re asking you to focus on can be present in an image, but sometimes all you need is one, placed with some great timing and a keen creative eye to get a very striking image.
I was careful not to disturb the moment as it was happening but indeed quick enough to capture it.
I knew that being up on the steps of the gallery and above street level, surrounded by that thicket of greenery and in such a contrasting urban environment would work.
I wanted that foreground pulled forward using a nice wide aperture against that city skyline in the backdrop.
The light in this image is stunning. It’s so bright and almost illuminates the scene behind like a theatre set and giving a lovely narrative. Natural, no flash used.
The rule of thirds is present here, and it’s focus spans across the image, from the couple to the greenery on the right. This makes for some slight framing also, as we peer past this tender moment and off into the scene behind.
This was by no means a complicated image to capture.
Just a few well-exercised techniques that came into play at just the right moment.
Compositional devices used:
- Rule of thirds
- Threes (2 people and a deckchair)
Street Photography Tips
- It’s not easy to go out into a large, bustling space and just shoot. The best advice I can give you here is to take each separate assignment both with a pinch of salt and in your stride.
- Sometimes it won’t be as successful as you think. Sometimes you will come out of the gates shooting lots of fantastic happenings. Don’t try to assume anything. Life happens at its own pace, the best you can do is take what you’ve learned and immerse yourself in it for periods at a time.
- It’s important to keep that shutter fast, as sometimes you will be moving quickly and the light conditions and weather can change in an instant.
- One of the most critical street photography tips is to push yourself. Shoot things that make you uncomfortable. It’s all part of honing your craft.
If you enjoyed these Street Photography Tips, take our Diploma in Street Photography Online Course
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