Five Street Photography Tips for Success

You can find stunning shots in street photography everywhere, so you don’t necessarily need to travel to get great shots.

Jogger mirroring the street sign, Photo by Khaled Sayed ©2020

This technique means taking candid pictures without permission and without the subject’s knowledge. However, staged photos are not prohibited in street photography. If you come across an interesting character, you can ask strangers for permission to take their picture. This is a great way to get an intimate portrait of people in their day-to-day life.

In street photography, the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy getting out with your camera. Your goal is to capture emotion, humanity, and depict a person’s character. Street photography takes a lot of practice and patience, but with these following tips, it can be incredibly rewarding.

Check Your Camera Settings

The easiest setting for snapping a street photo is using your camera in automatic aperture-priority mode and then select your aperture and ISO manually. Cameras then determine shutter speeds. A good starting point for bright sunny days is at f/16 and ISO between 200–400. If your camera displays a shutter speed greater than 1/200th of a second, you are ready to snap your shot.