For the Nervous Photographer…
Street photography can be a thrilling and rewarding genre of photography. It lets you explore new or familiar areas and be creative with your surroundings. It allows you to capture the essence of a city, its people, its culture, and much more. But if you're new to street photography, it can also be a nerve-wracking experience.
Walking around with your camera, taking photos of strangers can feel intrusive and intimidating, especially if you're not used to it. You may worry about offending people or drawing unwanted attention to yourself. But don't worry, with some simple tips and time on the street, you can feel more comfortable and confident taking street photos.
In this post, I'm going to share with you five tips to hopefully help you overcome your nerves when doing street photography.
Tip #1: Pretend to Shoot Something Else
One way to avoid having to fear any type of confrontation is to pretend that you're taking photos of something else. For example, you can pretend to take a photo of a building, a plant, or any object around the person/subject you want to photograph. This can help you blend in with the surroundings and make it less likely that you'll attract unwanted attention. By taking a few shots of the environment, you can blend in and wait for the right moment to capture the candid shot you're looking for. Or after you’ve taken the shot, take a couple of shots of the environment to make it not as obvious that you just took a photo as lowering your camera is an implied indication that you have just taken a photo.
The great thing about street photography is that there are always interesting things to capture, even if it's not people. So people will understand if you are taking photos of anything around them. One thing to keep in mind though is to read the room as this can come off as a bit creepy, especially if you’re lingering for too long. I often use this when I see a compostion that I find interesting, but I want to get a candid shot. Sometimes I get it and I sometimes don’t which is fine. I never put myself or anyone above the importance of a photo, especially if I’m sensing that my subject is getting uncomfortable or if it’s too risky in terms of being confronted.
Tip #2: Shoot Telephoto
Another way to take photos without being noticed is to use a telephoto lens, such as a 50 mm, 85mm or if you want to go extreme, 135 mm. This will allow you to take photos from a distance, which can help you avoid getting too close to your subjects, as opposed a 35 mm lens or a 24 mm lens. This is particularly useful if you're feeling nervous about approaching people or if you want to capture candid moments, for the simple fact that you don’t have to get as close compared to a wider lens.
This is one of the reasons I love shooting with telephoto lens. It gives me that extra peace of mind. I personally don’t like getting right into people’s faces so having that room really lets me just worry about the composition and taking photos. As much as certain street photographers might complain about this, I’m on the street and I’m taking photos. And above all of that, I’m enjoying my time with my camera so I could care less about all that extra talk. In addition to that, a telephoto lens also has a unique look to it that I love, which can make your photos stand out a bit more as most street photographers aren’t using telephoto lens.
Tip #3: Simply Don’t Take Pictures of People
If you're not comfortable taking photos of people yet, there's no need to force it. Try getting comfortable with taking your camera out on the street. There are many other subjects you can photograph in the streets, such as environment, architecture, nature, etc. You can still capture great photos without having to worry about being confronted by strangers. In fact, some of my favorite street photos is not of people at all, but rather of the surrounding environment. The unique details that make each street corner special can make for great and interesting photos. This gets especially true when traveling to new places. The streets of each town or city can be so different from each other and that alone can make for exciting photos. And maybe from this step can you start building up. Going from buildings, to buildings with crowds of people. From crowds of people, to groups of people and so on. But it all starts with getting out there on the streets first. Once you start getting comfortable with getting photos of people, then you can start doing both: getting photos of human and non-human subjects.
Tip #4: Use LCD Screen Instead of Viewfinder
If you're feeling nervous about standing out when taking photos of people on the streets, try using the LCD screen instead of the viewfinder. This can help you take photos without making it obvious that you're taking a photo.
As your walking around with your camera, one thing that screams “I’m taking a photo!” is looking through your viewfinder. That is probably one of the most known universal action that everyone knows the meaning of for someone with a camera. Using your LCD screen instead of the viewfinder can help you avoid this situation altogether. Not only that though, but using your LCD also lets you snap your photo fast. You can get into a scene, get your composition right with the LCD screen, and take your shot. Once you do that, you’re basically done and you can leave the scene all within a matter of seconds.
You can couple this with other ways to make this even more efficient and quick like using certain focus modes on your camera such as zone focus or with photography techniques like shooting from the hip as opposed to the normal eye level shots you’d get if you were to look through your viewfinder.
Tip #5: Don't Shoot When They're Looking
If you're still feeling nervous about taking photos of strangers, a simple solution is to shoot when they're not looking. You can take a photo when they're walking away or when they’re simply not looking at you. This can still result in great street photography, and it can help you feel more comfortable taking photos in public.
A lot of my street photos of people are ones where they’re not looking and probably aren’t even aware I’m there taking photos of them. I like this candid style of shots as well, purely due to the type of influence I have to my surrounding environment, which is nothing. I want it to basically be as if I’m invisible in that environment and just be there to capture the moment so because of that, I actually prefer if people aren’t looking into the camera for my street photos.
Street photography is a fun and easily assessible type of photography. Anyone can do it as long as you have a camera and a place to walk around so try not to overthink it. If you see something interesting, take the shot. The worst that can happen is that someone will ask you to delete the photo, and that's okay. Just be respectful, polite, and delete the photo if that happens. If people don’t sense they are in danger from you invading their private space, you’ll be fine. Just have common sense and treat others how you would like to be treated.
The more you practice street photography, the more comfortable you'll feel with it. Start by taking photos of everyday scenes, like people walking, street vendors, and buildings. Gradually, you can challenge yourself to take more candid shots and maybe even start asking people for their portraits on the street! Just remember to get out there and have fun with it. I hope you found this helpful and that these tips can help you find more photo opportunities when doing street photography.