Photographing in the street

Street photography is mostly about being ready. The moment does not wait while you adjust anything.

Settings that stay put

The aim is not needing to change anything.

• Aperture priority at around f/8. Enough depth of field that approximate focus is good enough.
• Auto iso with a minimum shutter speed of 1/250. Fast enough to freeze walking, and the camera raises sensitivity rather than letting the shutter drag.
• Continuous focus, single point, roughly central.

That combination handles most of what a street throws at you without touching a dial. See the letters on the mode dial.

Working

Find a place and wait. Interesting light, a good background, a doorway people pass through. Waiting for a subject to enter a composition you have already worked out is far more productive than hunting for complete scenes.

Get closer than feels comfortable. Most street photographs fail from too much distance, not too little.

Keep the camera up. Raising it is the moment people notice; a camera already at chest height attracts far less attention.

Light

Cities give hard light and deep shadow, which is often the point. Pools of light between buildings, reflections off glass, a lit shopfront at dusk.

blue hour is particularly good in a city, when the artificial lights are lit and still balance against the sky.

Other people

Laws differ by country — check yours rather than assuming.

Beyond the law: photographing strangers involves a person who did not ask to be involved. A few things that cost nothing —

• If someone notices and looks unhappy, a nod and moving on is usually enough.
• If someone asks you to delete a photograph, deleting it is cheap.
• Photographing people who are struggling, without their knowledge, deserves more thought than it usually gets.

None of this is a legal requirement. It is just the difference between being a photographer and being a nuisance.

Key takeaways

• Set the camera up before you go: f/8, auto ISO, minimum 1/250, continuous focus.
• Find a good background and wait rather than hunting complete scenes.
• Get closer than feels comfortable.
• Know the law where you are, and be decent regardless of it.