Street Photography for Beginners: Where to Start

Street photography is a captivating genre that captures the raw and candid moments of everyday life. It's an art that tells stories through the lens, turning the ordinary into extraordinary. If you’ve ever wondered how to get started with street photography, this guide is for you! Let’s dive into the basics and find out how you can capture stunning street shots. Street photography is a great way to develop your skills as a photographer. Unlike studio photography, it requires no setup, just your camera or phone, an eye for detail, and a passion for capturing life as it happens, you’ll be amazed how different the world looks when you are really focusing on what is happening around you, It's a genre that enhances your ability to observe and anticipate, capturing moments one off moments can be as rewarding as any other type of photography.

Why not try and shoot in black and white? Monochrome images can bring street photography to life and is often better at capturing everyday life.

 

What you will need 

You don't need the most expensive equipment to start street photography at all. Just get out and shoot, play around and as always have fun, having the right gear can make a big difference though, here’s some basic equipment that you might need. Ideally a compact mirrorless camera or DSLR camera but don’t worry if this isn’t something on hand, modern phones can take stunning images, you can even play around in manual mode to get great results, this is also a great way to spend some time learning the manual settings, this will come in very handy when you progress to a standalone camera. If you are looking for a great beginner camera, ideal for street photography, the Sony Alpha a6000 is great, it’s very compact and has the versatility of interchangeable lenses as well as an excellent auto focus system that is just the ticket when you are looking to capture those fleeting moments.

What would be great to have

If you are lucky enough to have a camera, the addition of a prime lens would be perfect for street photography, prime lenses have a fixed focal length (no zoom) they are generally very quick to focus and offer pin sharp images, a 35mm or 50mm prime lens capture images very similar to what the human eye sees, prime lenses are used in many types of photography because of the quality of the images that can be produced, wildlife photographers use them often, but generally at much longer focal lengths, sometimes up to 1200mm. Wide angle lenses are great for capturing more of the scene, such as busy street markets or urban architecture, there are some great wide-angle lenses on the market that vary greatly in price, we have listed some below for you to get an idea of the range available, we will be going into individual lenses in more detail in upcoming blogs.

A comfortable camera bag with a strap is ideal but not a necessity, it’s helpful for storing a couple of lenses and some extra batteries or memory cards, street photographers can spend many hours walking around or just waiting for the perfect moment, having something to hold your flask of coffee is important if you ask me, here’s a few excellent bags to look at below.

Some basic street photography tips

Getting started with street photography is all about understanding the basics, here is a few tips and ideas that you may find useful.

Take time to watch the environment around you before lifting your camera, look out for interesting patterns, contrasts, or moments that tell a story, look for interesting shapes or interesting people for that matter, I find that listening to music that blocks out the sounds of the hustle and bustle really help me to focus on what else is going on around me.

Look to capture candid moments, the beauty of street photography lies in capturing genuine moments. Blend into the crowd, act natural, and always have your camera ready.

Try playing with light and shadows, street photography is all about using natural light. Early mornings and late afternoons offer the best lighting conditions. Experiment with shadows, reflections, and silhouettes to add depth real to your photos.

Try to use the rule of thirds, the rule of thirds is a basic photography principle that helps create balanced and engaging compositions. Imagine your frame is divided into nine equal segments. Place your subject along these lines or at the intersections for a more dynamic shot, your camera or phone may well have an option to show a grid which will help to guide you.

Choosing the best settings for street photography

For capturing fast moving subjects, try to set your shutter speed to 1/250 or faster where possible, this will help you to freeze those fast-paced moments and reduce any blur, alternatively if you would like to get creative and add some blur go for a slower shutter speed like 1/60.

To isolate your subject and create a beautiful bokeh effect, use a wide aperture (f/1.8 to f/2.8). For more depth and sharper images, use an aperture between f/8 and f/11.

Start with a low ISO (100-400) in bright conditions. In low light, increase the ISO, but be mindful of noise in your images, post processing programmes such as photoshop or lightroom will help you to reduce noise (grain) later, sometimes a little noise can really add to images such as those taken in black and white.

Location

Some people feel a little self-conscious when walking around with a camera in their hands, don’t be, nobody is paying attention to you, they are going about their day, think how many people hold up their phones to take a picture every day! Granted, some people may not enjoy having their picture taken but most of the time it’s unlikely that they will even realise, remember you are perfectly entitled to take photos of people in public, always try to avoid taking images of children or on private property unless you have prior permission.

The great thing about street photography is that it’s accessible to pretty much everyone, try places like local markets, busy streets, parks and transport hubs, you’ll find more than enough to shoot.

You’ve taken the images, now comes the editing 

Editing is a crucial step in enhancing your street photography. Here are some tools to consider. Adobe Lightroom is Ideal for adjusting exposure, contrast, and colours, this is a great tool that offers excellent editing solutions from beginners to professionals Snapseed (for mobile) is a free and easy-to-use editing app for beginners, just a few clicks or taps on the image and you will be on the path to photography greatness.

Final Thoughts GET OUT AND SHOOT!!

Street photography is an exciting journey that allows you to see the world differently. All you need is a camera, a sense of curiosity, and the courage to explore the streets around you. So, what are you waiting for? Grab your gear and start capturing the world one frame at a time!

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