Did you know that cities speak for their inhabitants, their streets, their facades?Life on the street is the soul of any city, have you ever tried to represent it?Freeze your movement, your gestures, your spontaneity? This is called street photography.
Street photography is not something new, it has always existed, although it is true that in the era of telecommunications it is more fashionable than ever, everyone has a camera in hand with the latest generation of mobile phones, and Some of these Mobile phones have very good cameras, allowing urban photography to easily achieve such fame and spread in these times.
- This type of photography is very exciting and although it takes a lot of patience and leave shyness at home.
- It is very rewarding.
- I will tell you the most important thing you need to know to become an urban photographer.
- I am sure you cannot wait to be there!.
There are different opinions on what type of lens to use. There are those who recommend a wide angle for deeper and more powerful images, those who think that a telephoto lens is better to be able to go unnoticed and take pictures from a distance, but what if you want to do urban photography? Pure and hard? The philosophy is to enter the scene, capture all its essence, not make a remote robbery, so a 35 or 50 mm fixed that would force you to get closer would be the best, and of course lighter? . Because the ideal is that your equipment is very light, that you have it at hand at all times and that it does not weigh too much or swell too much.
Since you cannot adjust settings continuously, use semi-automatic modes. Every street scene is fleeting and will only last for a moment, it won’t wait for you to adjust the speed of light, aperture, or metering mode, for example. When I resume my investigation, the scene will have completely changed. This is why you must have your camera always ready, you can use the priority mode you prefer, depending on the type of images you want to obtain, but adjust the standard settings and for the rest use the automatic or semi modes. -automatic. Do not worry if you later need to process the photo to improve it, also in this type of photography a powerful scene is more important than the sharpness or perfection of the image.
This point is more important than it seems. Everyone can dress as they want, we are in a free society, however if you want to get urban photographs it is essential to go unnoticed. It is much easier to film a natural and spontaneous scene when your dress is discreet and you are not the target of all eyes. Better to become invisible? And since you sure don’t have that power, make your clothes less visible? ;).
You don’t have to ask permission from all the people you want to photograph before you take the photo, in which case your photo will disappear, however you should not forget that if someone gets angry and asks you to delete the photo, you have to do it. They can ask you what it’s for, it’s okay, you explain that you’re a fan of photography, you show them the photo kindly and if they like it, they can even ask you to send them a copy!(Remember that a smile always helps). On the contrary, if that person is upset and wants me to take it off, do so without arguing.
1. Be very respectful. Avoid capturing degrading images, if you are photographing a musician or street artist, try to make up for it with changes.
2. Keep the camera in your hand and do not hang from your neck, or you will miss more than one snapshot and you will go less unnoticed.
3. Photographic sequences. Do not stop filming and you will be surprised.
Try taking pictures without looking through the viewfinder. It requires practice, but you may be lucky enough to get a great photo from a lower angle.
5. Take a look around and get up if necessary. Sometimes we find a reason that can give us a good opportunity, but do we need a little patience, wait for the right moment? and shoot!
6. Look for scenarios that tell you something, so that you not only have a picture, you also have a story.
7. If you do not like the result too much, do not erase, try to convert your image to black and white, you may be pleasantly surprised.
8. Try to go out every day with a different lens, so you can check the different results without having to charge with all the equipment.
9. Look for interesting faces
10. Have fun. Does this type of photography live it, feel it, love it? Don’t take it as an obligation, enjoy the sets, the characters, play with them and shoot (not to kill, of course).
11. Shoot, shoot and shoot, you will have time to clear.
12. Be agile. We have to be very fast, we have already said that the scene fades quickly.
13. Better if you don’t have company. You will move more easily and your companion will not get bored. What if you have company? Take advantage of the situation, chat quietly and help you achieve your “invisibility”.
14. Architecture can be very interesting, but it will always win with the human factor.
The most important thing is not to plan, nor to carry all the instructions to the letter, the important thing is to go out, train, photograph, lose the fear of photographing the soul of your city or the city where you are. Do not forget your camera or when you go shopping, your opportunity may be just around the corner. At the end of this post I leave you a gallery of urban photographs so that you can finish animating yourself.
What are you waiting for?But first take a second to like or share if you find this article interesting. See you next time!