Dehli, India
Street photography is difficult, maybe the most challenging and intimidating genre of photography. Standing on a busy street and trying to get compelling photos of strangers, without being rude or obtrusive or feeling self-conscious, is an art.
Although I am a naturally shy person, I really enjoy street photography. People are fascinating, and when I see fascinating things, I want to photograph it. Over the years, I have gotten better and more comfortable with taking photos of strangers on the street (although I am by no means an expert). I don’t want to shove my camera in the face of a person who is simply going about their day, but it is hard to get captivating street photos without getting close to the subject.
I use a few strategies for taking street photos that use opposing, contradictory methods. Although I think method A in each example below is the best, sometimes it pays off to adjust your style and be flexible. Read on and you will see.
Contradictory Street Photography Tips
1a. Ask People for Their Photo
The simplest way to get a photo is to ask. I’ve asked hundreds of people for their photo and I can count on one hand the number of rejections I’ve received. In the photo below, I saw these guys playing chess on the streets of Havana and I wanted to capture the moment. I started talking to them and after a minute, I asked if I could snap some pictures. “OF COURSE,” they said. Actually they said “!POR SUPUESTO!,” but, you get it.
Havana, Cuba
Usually, if you ask for a photo, people agree then settle into going about their normal routine. I took the below photo at a funeral ceremony on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Everyone knew I was taking photos, and after a series of posed shots, everyone relaxed and no one paid attention to me. Asking was the key that allowed me to get started.
Tana Toraja, Indonesia
1b. Don’t Ask
Sometimes asking ruins the moment, like in the photo below. These people didn’t seem to care that a gringo was taking their photo and I captured a candid moment that would have been ruined by asking.
Antigua, Guatemala
2a. Get in the Middle of the Action
Have you ever noticed how wedding and sports photographers are usually right in the action? The best way to get great photos is to get right in the middle of it all. In the photo below at the Navratri festival in Jodhpur, the locals saw me taking photos and placed me in this spot. It was a little scary with motorcycles whizzing by, but worth it.
Jodhpur, India
2b. Blend In and be Invisible
On busy streets, festivals, or tourist sites where there is a lot of activity, it can be easy to blend in. I will often find a street corner and wait. People sort of forget you are there, and people passing by take no notice of you. By blending in it is easy to get candid photos. In the photo below taken on the Ganges, I was able to get this shot of the two boys by staying in the same spot and waiting.
Varanasi, India
3a. Engage
Smile. Talk to people. Have welcoming body language. Engaging with locals on the street is a great way to get photos. Smiles are disarming and if you take a candid photo of a person and they catch you in the act, smile at them – 99% of the time they won’t mind. In places like India when people see you smiling and taking photos, often times they will pose for you.
Pushkar, India
Pushkar, India street portrait
Purists of street photography will argue that posed photos are no good, but many times posed photos of locals are fun and a great way to meet people. These kids ran up to me in Africa and posed like this spontaneously and it was one of my favorite photos from Malawi.
Likoma Island, Malawi
3b. Stand back
Sometimes, in order to get an overview of the scene and to avoid offending the locals, it is best to stand back. Take the photo below as an example. By standing back, I got a long line of boys queuing up for alms. Getting closer would have been rude and wouldn’t have captured the moment as well.
Luang Prabang, Laos
In summary: If you want to take photos of strangers, I think the best method is to ask, engage and get in the middle of the action. Although this can be intimidating at first, you are rewarded with great photos and interactions with the locals. Alternatively, sometimes it is better to be invisible. Use both methods to get the best results.
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Do you have any street photo tips to share?
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Great post, i like photography very much.
Thank you very much.
Very interesting! I’m not a photographer and yet I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you. It can be a fun way to take photos.
I’m often intimidated when it comes to asking to photograph strangers, but I’ll give it a shot now.
Engage 🙂 Thanks
It certainly can be intimidating, but ask yourself this: what would you do if someone wanted your photo?
Great post and top tips – thanks!
Thank you!
Reblogged this on Steve Says….
Awesome clicks !
Thank you!
I try to be careful when taking photos of strangers haha! But still love taking them.
It is fun even though it can be intimidating!
Nicely done 😏
Thank you.
Great post, amazing photos and wonderful tips. Thanks.
Thank you Paula.
Reblogged this on smindlo's Blog.
Thank you for this post. Despite my overwhelming desire to photograph people in their natural settings, I find it hard to do so without feeling rude or imposing. This has been a great and informative read!
Thanks for the comments, Alicia. A lot of people commenting on this post feel the same way about feeling rude or imposing.
Some pictures are happy, while some are sad. But they all say so much more than just categorizing emotions. Pictures speak louder than words. For e.g., the Malawi picture tells how the kids are living in poverty and unhygienic conditions, but are unaware of the struggles of their parents, which is the beauty of childhood 🙂 Totally oblivious of the hardships and making the most of what little we have 🙂 Very powerful pictures. Street photography is a great art!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comments. Yes, those kids in Malawi were very poor. Their clothes are almost rags, but yet those were some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I’ve ever met, if not THE friendliest. That island has zero crime too – our hotel didn’t even have locks on the door and locals were always hanging around on the beach outside.
Street photography can be a powerful medium as you say. Thanks again for the comments.
Thank you so, so much. Such an amazing and informative post! Love your work!
Thank you!
Reblogged this on racingmythoughts and commented:
I was always too afraid to take photos of strangers, but this guy makes it sound so simple!
Thanks for the reblog.
My live in Bali, & like art, your best moment. Like bro
Thank you. Bali is a great place for street photography!
Very helpful post. Thank you!
Thank you.
Great work! 🙂
Thank you.
https://homeworkimage.wordpress.com/2015/08/27/la-regina-rossa-dei-buskers-red-queen/
beautiful shots !! we would like to come and see our photos
You have some excellent photos. I really like the red queen.
thank you! we always try to improve
Jeff – thank you so much for this article. Work like yours seems like some magical dreamscape. To see people just being is unusual; but simultaneously, it is invigorating. It makes us all want to be the people we see in your photography. Thank you – for the images, and the in-depth on how they came to be!
Thank you Todd. I am humbled by your compliments. I guess it is a bit unusual to see people just being. After spending the last 6 months in remote Alaska, I’m headed to Mexico soon and I am glad to see people again, and take their pictures! I hope to have more to share in the future.
Ha! You nailed it. I think it all boils down to reading a moment and remembering to be human. Building trust, being sensitive and having a heart…you’ve got it in spades clearly!
Building trust. Very well said. I think a lot of documentary photographers spend a lot of time with their subjects and build that trust. On the street, I think smiling, interacting with people, being open, is a great way to build some instant trust. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Wonderful photographs and great post. You give really good advice. There has been a few times I have taken peoples photos. Some when they saw the camera just gave a small nod to say that it’s ok. Other times they see me and they just carry on. I feel less intrusive when I use a longer length lens.
My experiences are the same. Often times if they see me, I’ll nod, smile and sort of hold up my camera in a playful gesture. But often times, they just move on.
I think a longer lens can be good, but not too long. I think you lose a certain intimacy at too long of an angle, plus you sometimes lose the context of the scene.
This is just so helpful! I haven’t tried street photography yet. The reason is (maybe) I’m shy or I think it’s kinda rude and/ or I still lack the confidence and guts to do street snaps but with this post I might try doing it.
– A SUNNY HAPPINESS by Vianna
Guts or courage, is one of the most important needs in street photography! If you go out and try these tips, let me know how it goes!
I loved reading this post even though I am not a photographer myself. The photographs are very beautiful and touching too! And the voting has been very interesting to see!
Yes, the voting has been interesting. Only about 10% ultimately feel that it is wrong to take someones photo without permission, and may others want to do it but are too shy. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Very nice post. I can easily relate to every word you wrote. I love taking street pictures too and I know how challenging, but rewarding it is.
Laila, I agree – if I had to sum it up in 2 words, it would be challenging and rewarding.
this was very helpful. THANKS!
Thank you.
I love you, this is beautiful. I’m a writer who has just taken up photography for a photojournalism class and this is just brilliant. Thanks so much. Do you have any tips for beginners? With sincere adoration.
Thank you Paul. I’d say for beginners, I have three main tips:
1. Interact with people on the street and ask to take their photo. This will help you overcome fear.
2. Study the masters. There is a lot of bad photography on the web. I’d start by looking at Eric Kim’s Street photography blog (google it).
3. Take lots of photos. Lots. They say your first 10,000 are your worst. I’ve probably taken 50,000 plus photos and each day, each year I get better.
Thank your for reading!
Street photography is an art, which you get better at the more you do it. Your photographs are amazing, the techniques that you suggested are really helpful. I choose the technique, where I don’t disturb people, and take their photographs! An amazing piece all in all, I too voted for your poll!
Regards, Chaitanya Haram 🙂
Thank you for the comments. Yes, practice is necessary! It is in many ways like taking wildlife photos – the action is constantly moving and for every great photo, you get 100s worth deleting.
You’re welcome!! Yes, I completely agree with you!! 🙂
Wonderful advice, Jeff. You have absolutely mastered the art of photographing strangers and they really respond to your great techniques. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed again – you totally rocked it! 🙂 ~Terri
Thank you Terri. I don’t know about “mastering” it, but I appreciate the compliment 🙂
Awesome post😊
Thank you!
What a great post! I always have this problem when I am out on the streets pictures. I worry that I seem like a creep, and usually wait until they aren’t looking to take the picture! Also, your photographs are amazing!
Thank you Trina. It can make you feel very self-conscious to photograph strangers, but I think if you acknowledge people if they catch you taking the photo with a nod and smile that alleviates almost all the creepiness of it. Good luck with future shooting endeavors!
OMG,,, I don’t understand, so I can’t speak English… Hhha #crazy .. I’m a Indonesia,,,
I would have written it in Indonesian, but I can only remember Bintang Besar and Selamat Makan!
I love your photos..simply breathtaking and heart warming…
Thank you so much!
Reblogged this on Olamatts007's Blog.
Very useful tips. Thank you
Thank you very much.
Thanks for the post. I’ve really wanted to take a few street photos recently – namely of a domino game in Honduras and a guy shining shoes under the shade of a tree in Nicaragua – but been too shy to ask. I know they would have made great shots; next time, I’ll ask!
I do hope you ask next time! You will cherish those photos and the people will in all likelihood be flattered. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Very useful and lovely photos! I have always been too scared to do such photos but this is inspiring. Thanks
Mop x
Hopefully these tips will help. Thank you for reading.
That was a nice piece on street photography. So, which guy won the game of chess in the photo from Havana?
I’m not sure who won. I think I distracted the guy closest to me because he was talking about his girlfriend who lived in Florida and how much he missed her.
Excellent post
https://heelsnharibo.wordpress.com
Thank you.
This was very interesting! I always feel a bit awkward taking pictures of strangers so I usually take pictures of animals or sites but I feel there’s a whole different feeling with people that scenery can’t capture. I will definitely try these approaches next time! Thank you!
Thank you. It can be very awkward to take pics of people, but also rewarding as you say. I have to be in the right mood for it too. Good luck with your future photo endeavors and please report back if you try these out!
Will do!
I just posted a photo on my blog! Check it out and tell me what you think 🙂 fictionwordpresscom.wordpress.com
I couldn’t tell which photo you posted. Can you send the specific link? Thank you.
https://fictionwordpresscom.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/homeless-please-help/
That is a nice photo. I like how the railing and the shadow of the rail point towards the person and draw a line towards them, and the sign adds a nice touch. I usually wouldn’t photograph homeless people but this tells a story and is done tastefully.
Great article
Thank you.
I love your opening statement that street photog is challenging and difficult genre of photography. Great tips. Overcoming one’s own fear has been my greatest lesson.
Thanks again
Thank you Vince. Agreed – the biggest thing holding most of us back in street photography is our own fear.
I can’t imagine how awkward it may be to solicit a stranger to have photos taken of them. I enjoyed the photos. Black and white have always been my favorite kind of photography. There is such a simplicity about it even though what you may be photographing could be anything but
It can be awkward for sure, but other times not too bad. It just depends on the situation.
love love love this post, thank you!!
Thank you.
I enjoyed reading this! You have some really beautiful moments captured and awesome tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for reading and commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed.
Very useful tips and great read. I’ll definitely use this while taking photos around the world, thanks!
Lauren x
http://www.lwithl.wordpress.com
Than you for reading and good luck with your photos.
Great post and fantastic photos!
Thank you!
Amazing photos, great tips, incredible photographer- hey! it’s Jeff!
Thank you.
Loved it. Amazingly inspiring
Thank you.
Reblogged this on Pixelated Era and commented:
There is nothing more difficult and intriguing than capturing unknown strangers. As a photographer, when you are behind the lens, you end up witnessing a whole new world of human expression. But it ain’t that simple. It takes years of practice and most importantly a calm yet curious mind which can find stories like a needle from the haystack.
Thank you for the reblog!
Very informative, thanks for your tips.
Thank you for reading!