In March this year, I was asked to speak at a Wellington Photographic Society event about my approach to street photography, the techniques I use and the gear I use. I’ve turned my presentation into a blog which will hopefully have some helpful tips for you!
I’ve been doing street photography on and off for about two years but my main photographic focus has been wildlife photography, specifically on New Zealand’s native birds.
I spend countless hours walking through Zealandia Ecosanctuary, wetlands and offshore predator free islands in search of photographing our rare and wonderful native birds.
Currently, I work full time for the Ministry for the Environment, working in sustainability. This keeps me pretty busy and it’s rewarding work. However, working full time in an office can be pretty draining, and I found that I was going entire weeks without feeling like I’d been creative once. I felt like I didn’t have the energy to be creative in the evenings after a long day, and this started to bother me.
I realised I had adopted a mindset where I was waiting for the weekends to take photos, and decided that I was gonna take photos during the week too. Street photography has become my creative outlet during the week. I take my camera to work every single day now, and make sure I am taking photos on my way to work, on my lunch breaks and on my way home from work. Sometimes, if I need more of a street fix, I’ll ditch the birds and go shooting street on the weekends too because I’ve developed a bit of an addiction and an appreciation for the style.
The photo that started my passion for street photography and really got me jazzed about the style in general happened in 2017.
I was walking to work super early one gorgeous winter morning in July down Lambton Quay. It was this perfect golden sunrise, and totally lit up Lambton and Stout Street with this epic light. Until that point, I’d never really thought that the CBD could look pretty but holy heck, it looked amazing. I stopped walking, stood at the intersection for a couple of minutes and took some shots on my phone. This woman happened to cross the street at the right moment and I liked her silhouette and shadow.
I was also struck by the fact that everyone around me seemed to be oblivious to this incredible light as they were concentrating on getting to work. This made me wonder how many awesome moments I’d missed purely because I hadn’t been paying attention. After that morning, I started to look for potential street photos everywhere, paying attention to light and shadow and subtle details I wouldn’t normally have noticed.
Time for some gear talk. I ditched my heavy Canon 600D in 2018 and switched to the Fujifilm X series system.
It was like a revelation for me: my kit was lighter, smaller and I found I wanted to take it out with me more often. I use an X-T3 body and pair it with either the 35mm f2 or the 27mm f/2.8 pancake lens. Paired with either lens, the entire set up weighs less than the 18-35 Sigma art lens alone I was previously using for street stuff with the Canon body.
With the 27mm lens, it’s so small that most people don’t seem bothered at all if I’m pointing it in their direction. The 35mm is awesome with the X-T3, the whole kit is weather sealed I can go shooting in the rain and not have to worry.
Another reason that I love the Fujifilm system is for its inbuilt film simulations. I’m able to shoot using black and white filters called Acros and Monochrome, which get applied to both the electronic viewfinder and the LCD screen.
When you shoot in RAW using the Fuji film simulations, when you import the files into Lightroom, they automatically convert back to colour.
Then, you can choose whether to switch it back to black and white in post. The benefit of shooting in black and white is that it forces you to look for the light and shadow, and composition becomes critical.
And yeah I know, for anyone who used to shoot with black and white film back in the day, this is old news for you but as a millennial like me, it’s a novelty. I like to expose for the highlights then just let the blacks drop off because at the moment I’m enjoying punchy shadows.
Moving on to my process now, I want to talk about the similarities and differences between my two main styles: wildlife and street.
For ages, I struggled balancing the two because I thought they were so different to each other.
After some thought, I realised that they share some similarities:
I shoot both styles on continuous high shutter speeds
You need quick reflexes
Predicting the behaviour of the subject
Being able to anticipate the shot before it happens
Both require some serious patience, but also spontaneity
And as for the differences between my two styles:
My wildlife kit is heavy as in comparison to my street kit
For the bird shots, the eye has to be in focus or the shot is usually a bust. If my street stuff isn’t 100% sharp, I’m not devastated as it might capture some motion or add something to the image
And perhaps the most key difference which i’m most thankful for: so far i haven’t been crapped on when doing street photography!
So, moving on to settings! The settings I usually use are aperture priority mode, between f/2 to f/8.
I use continuous high speed burst, usually on 8 frames per second.
The high frame rate can help you get the one shot you’re after.
I use electronic shutter, and put it on to silent mode so that people aren’t aware I’ve taken a shot.
A lot of my images are shot from the hip as I’m looking down at the LCD screen I’ve tilted up.
Over time, I have developed my own kind of code of ethics which guide how I approach street photography. Obviously, when it comes to street photography you have to stick to the law and only shoot within the public domain.
I’ve made some clear decisions in the style of my photography, where I prefer an anonymous look to my images, meaning that I don’t take images where a person’s face is clearly visible. This doesn’t apply to shots of people marching in protests, because people doing that want to be seen and want their signs to be read.
For my own personal style of street photography, I also choose not to photograph people who are homeless, or look to be having a vulnerable moment.
From a legal perspective, yeah I’m allowed to take a photo of someone who is homeless because they’re in the public domain, but from a human perspective, or at least my perspective, it feels like an invasion of their privacy.
If I’m not prepared to go up to them and ask to learn about their personal story, then I don’t feel comfortable creating a narrative about them through my images. There is a certain element of both privilege and power that comes from wielding a camera, and I think there’s a lot of responsibility with that, too.
As photographers, our job is to communicate stories and create engaging images, but not to create stories by exploiting others. Some might argue that this makes my images more ‘abstract’ rather than ‘street’ since the human in the images remains anonymous, and that’s just fine with me.
For me, the reason why I love street photography is being able to capture the way people interact with the streets and looking for the moments of light and shadow that make the streets captivating. I enjoy being able to show others the way I see places that they’re familiar with and help them see them in a new light.
My photos are always location-centric, not people-centric. I look for interesting light and shadow and wait until someone walks through the scene, I don’t find an interesting person and hope they stand somewhere that looks cool. Street photography is about how humans interact within urban spaces and I seek to capture those interactions in an anonymous, intriguing way.
Moving on to my key advice for street photography…
Particularly when you’re new to street photography and starting to dabble in it, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed or nervous because you’re uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone. On my first few outings where I decided to try out street photography, I got so nervous and paranoid people would get angry at me for pointing my camera in their direction that I barely took any photos and went home feeling discouraged. Even with this these shots, I was bent down over a puddle on Lambton Quay and was getting weird looks left right and centre but I powered through.
You’ve got to push through that awkward feeling because if you feel tense, then you probably look tense. And then you’re a stranger on the street looking tense with a camera, which will make other people tense. Bad combo. If you’re not being a creep with your camera, then don’t hide the fact that you’re taking photos.
Be confident in your right to take photos and be friendly about it. And if someone asks you to delete a photo that they are in, just delete it. There’s no point having a confrontation or potentially ruining someone’s day - just delete the image and keep shooting :)
I highly recommend using a prime lens, so fixed focal length, because it forces you to move around. Your feet become your zoom. If you take a photo and feel like you’re too far away, you’re gonna have to walk closer. You begin to get attuned to know what your composition will look like when you use a prime lens too, and it can help you plan your shots in advance.
If you see interesting light, take a photo of it. Sean Tucker, a famous street photographer in London, describes these as ‘visual notes’. They don’t have to be amazing photos, but they serve as a visual guide or map of what parts of the city have interesting light at specific times of the day. I’ve found that i do this quite frequently, and add that particular spot to my list of places that I visit every so often to see what the light is doing, and if there is a possible photo opportunity there that day.
It can be beneficial to pretend to be a tourist, and you wander around looking in different directions to where your camera is pointing. If it looks like you aren’t paying attention to your camera, people tend not to pay attention to you and the benefit of this is you are able to create candid images.
Use your LCD screen to your advantage - not every photo has to be taken through your viewfinder. Another thing I find particularly useful with my Fuji, is the ability to put it on an electronic shutter, and turn the shutter to silent.
The day I took this photo of people choosing the escalator over the stairs, I’d taken so many shots, and didn’t like any of them except for this one.
I can’t tell you how many times I have walked the streets taking photos and ended up disappointed with my shots. I have gigs and gigs of crap shots. I can take 100 photos and only have one good one out of the lot.It’s easy to be disheartened by the crap shots but even the best photographers in the world take crap shots so there’s no point beating yourself up about yours.
Eventually, you’ll be in the right place at the right time and you’ll have your camera on you, and you’ll be able to tell a story through an image that resonates with people.
Creating your own luck is essential to street photography. You’re not going to get the brilliant shots if you don’t put in the time to walking the streets often and taking lots of photos. The amount of times I’ve walked up and down Lambton Quay and its side streets is probably outrageous, but it’s been worth it when I’ve gotten a shot I’m happy with.
Basically it comes down to the more time you spend out there, the more you’ll see and take photos of. You’ll get attuned to the street and start to memorise all its quirks. You’ll know what time of day gets you the best light in certain spots.
Part of creating your own luck means taking your camera with you wherever you go. For me, I’m fortunate to work close to parliament, which is an obvious hub for protests and these provide a great opportunity for shots. In fact, one of my favourite shots from last year was taken at a protest, which I had no idea was happening when I went on my lunch break.
I accidentally ended up in the middle of a massive group of people who were protesting for the protection of Ihumātao. They spilled out onto the intersection by the Beehive and stopped the traffic. Someone let an orange smoke bomb off, which created this cool atmospheric haze over everyone. I was firing shots off left right and centre, and managed to snap one of this guy looking like he was leading a revolution.
So, to sum all that up for you, my key tips are:
Work on overcoming your nerves. I used to be really nervous, and now I’m much calmer about shooting street
Use a prime lens and force yourself to get closer to your subject
Work on blending in. Your presence shouldn’t interfere with the scene. Candid shots are the goal
Everyone takes bad photos so don’t be hard on yourself
You create your own luck
Take your camera everywhere with you
