Everything about Street Photography

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The Best Street Photography Portfolio Examples of 2023

Whether you already have a street photography website or are building one from scratch, it’s always worthwhile to look at other inspiring portfolios and get ideas for your own. As a best practice, we recommend reviewing your site at least 1-2 times each year to see what content or design might need to be refreshed. We’ve done the hard part for you by collecting artistic street photography portfolio examples that you can click through for inspiration; you’re sure to find some fresh ideas for how you can design your own.

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Tazzy Bro Photography

Taz Brotherton is based in Manningtree, Essex UK and specializes in street, commercial, portrait, and wedding photography. His passion is everything photography; he’s driven by creativity and will stop at nothing to get the very best photos for his clients. His decades of experience have resulted in extensive technical abilities that Taz applies during every shoot, allowing his creative ideas to shine.

Drew’s Photos

Drew Blacow is a young photographer based in the Lake District of England. Having started shooting seriously in 2020, Drew enjoys experimenting and getting creative to find the best possible image. He currently specializes in street, motorsport, and travel photography. Drew’s goal is to not only meet client expectations, but surpass them as he continues to grow and improve.

ARTtography

David Bruce Kawchak is a native of Western Pennsylvania and specializes in fine art street, landscape, and real estate photography. He graduated with a degree in Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and worked for many years as an Exhibit Designer for trade shows. David enjoyed the honor of seeing his work for Fortune 500 companies & celebrities featured in various exhibit trade magazines on multiple occasions. Now he combines his background in design with his love of photography to create beautiful imagery, some of which has also been featured nationwide in magazines and television.

Check Out The Best Street Photography Portfolio Examples of 2023

The Best Street Photography Ideas for Your Next Photoshoot

Are you an aspiring or experienced photographer running dry on street photography ideas? It’s normal for photographers to run into a creative block of ideas for their next photography session from time to time.

Some street photography ideas may work better for you than others. There are many ideas to keep in mind, such as long exposure street photography and flash street photography.

Keep reading for a wide range of street photography ideas that you’ll want to consider trying out.

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Reflections

Shadows and reflections of uniquely shaped objects or people are another excellent idea for long-exposure street photography

Using a timer is also highly recommended so that you don’t have to worry about placing your hands on the camera once the moment comes to take the right shot. Having a timer will also reduce the chances of any blurriness occurring.

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People working

Taking shots of people working is a great way to capture professionalism in motion.

As mentioned, longer focal lengths let you get closer to subjects, which results in more candid shots. 

This idea works very well in crowds. With a long exposure, you’ll also get a nice blur on the background of your images, and this is a helpful way to have your subject stand out from the rest of the crowd. When taking long exposures, a solid and sturdy tripod will help ensure your camera remains steady for the duration of the shots. 

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Take your shots at night

Long-exposure street photography works well at night. Highly lit buildings like cafes and restaurants make for great backdrops when captured with long exposures, and the lights blur into the rest of the photos.

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Black and white shots

Taking black-and-white shots is an excellent way to get the creative juices flowing. Doing so allows you to go back to the basics while focusing more on lighting and your subject.

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Capture cars driving

Hitting the streets at night and capturing cars moving is a great way to capture the energy that motion blur photography can offer. Robert Frank is a Swiss photographer that used motion blur in his photography to create this type of energetic feel.

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Crowds

Another excellent idea for motion blur street photography is to use it when walking through crowds in a street or subway station. More people in the crowd create a feeling of cohesion instead of just people walking separately throughout their day.

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Cyclists

With motion blur street photography, it doesn’t matter how fast a cyclist moves; the motion blur will make them seem like they are moving faster than they really are. This idea emphasizes the cyclist’s motion in the photo instead of the environment around them.

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Street Performers

If you’re wandering the streets looking for subjects to photograph, consider heading to a busy area where street performers typically stick around. Motion blur street photography of someone playing the violin or guitar can instill a lot of emotion in photos, and the blur patterns can add a unique touch.

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Focus on architecture

Using architecture as the focal point of your photos in a busy street is a great way to utilize motion blur street photography. The motion of people and vehicles will be blurred, while the building will remain focused. To really highlight the motion blur, be sure to use a tripod so the buildings remain crisp even with a slightly longer exposure.

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Street art

Street art and graffiti are just as much a part of the cityscape as buildings and signs. They’re also an excellent way to add color and interest to your photos. Look for murals, graffiti tags, neon lettering, or anything else that stands out from the background.

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Car headlights

Neon night street photography should always focus intensely on the light source above anything else. Car headlights are a popular source of light for this type of photography. This type of shot can also be combined with motion blur street photography to create some stunning imagery.

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Nightlife

During the nighttime hours, business districts tend to get a little quieter. At this point, you can head to those areas and take some unique neon night street photography of bars or nightclubs while simultaneously capturing people walking in or out of them. 

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Signs

Neon night street photography is nothing without photos of bright, neon-lit signage. Finding the right sign with the right colors can be a daunting task, and it’s worth mentioning that good editing in post-processing can make these types of photos shine.

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Streets after a rainfall

Neon lights can make a bold statement when they reflect off wet streets after heavy rainfall at night. While it might take patience to get a shot like this, it will undoubtedly land in your portfolio or showreel.

Website Templates for Street Photographers

Our easy-to-use templates can be personalized into thousands of different design iterations uniquely suited for your business.

Big images highlight the beauty of your work. Ideal for fine art, landscape, and wildlife photography.

Feel the excitement and exhilaration as your dynamic images pop off the dark background of this template.

Meriwether


A modern design with a nod to vintage film photography makes this an ideal template for aesthetic fine art landscapes and stills.

Our new District template features bold fonts and a neutral palette designed to perfectly complement your photos. This template provides an ideal background for any photographer.

A unique carousel with character to showcase your work in minimalist frames that perfectly present your session types and specialized genres.

A striking gallery designed for universal, modern, well-arranged photography images.

After you perfectly capture life in the camera, show its many angles in this grid view design.

Let your images make a big statement in the space of a gorgeous single page site design.

Romantically tell the story of engagements, weddings, and maternity.

A striking template to capture powerful street photography.

A soft color palette and elegant script font are the perfect way to display romantic engagement and wedding photos.

Southwest

The black canvas background sets the stage for high contrast photos while evoking a moody style.

Check Out Website Templates for Street Photographers

Best Street Photographers

Lead by example right? That’s why we’re here, to explore the best street photographers—the eras they photographed, their technology of choice, as well as their iconic styles and subject matter, to help inspire you in your own work. Whether you’re just getting started in street photography, or need some ideas to spark a new direction, these iconic and historic street photography examples will be sure to prompt fresh ideas or provide guidance.

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Eugène Atget

Eugène Atget was a French photographer who lived and worked in Paris. He was known as being a French flâneur, meaning an observer of life. Atget began his photographic career in 1890, and despite developments in photographic technology, he carted around a large format bellows camera using glass plates. He was concerned with documenting what remained of “old Paris,” as the city was rapidly modernizing. He preferred taking photos of architecture and the urban landscape, including taking shots of shop windows and buildings. One of Atget’s most famous photos includes a group of Parisians looking up at the sky during a total solar eclipse. American photographer Berenice Abbott brought Atget to prominence posthumously back in New York City, where his work was first exhibited outside of Paris at the MoMA.

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Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer known for his candid, humanist, and even surrealist street photography. Before his photographic career had begun, Cartier-Bresson went to art school and studied painting and sculpture. He was an avid reader, and also studied literature. While conscripted into the French Army, he was gifted his first 35mm camera, eventually, his camera of choice became a Leica 35mm rangefinder. Cartier-Bresson traveled often during his photographic career and worked on several films. He was given a solo exhibition in New York City in 1947, the same year co-founded the photo agency, Magnum Photos. In 1952, he published his book, The Decisive Moment, a phrase coined by Cartier-Bresson that described the time when form, content, vision, and composition align and the ideal conditions come together to stop a moment in time and create a photo. 

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Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier was an American photographer best known for taking street photos in Chicago in the 1950s and 60s. Maier gained notoriety after her death, after over 100,000 of her prints and negatives were discovered by collectors and shared with the world through exhibitions and most notably, the award-winning documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier. Growing up between Europe and the United States, Maier eventually made her way to Chicago, where she lived and worked as a nanny. She primarily used a medium format Rolleiflex camera, which rendered sharp images of her subjects: everyday Americana, urban Chicago society, children, the working class, and architecture. Maier even infused a self-portrait from time to time. Her work has been described as warm, playful, and calm, with subtle gravitas and emotion.

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Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was an American photographer, who grew up and spent most of her life in New York City She started taking photos in the 1940s. Arbus is famous for her eclectic subjects, often featuring those with unique features or identities, many of who lived marginalized lives; carnival performers, drag artists, elderly people, nudists, and people with disabilities. Most she captured on the streets of New York City and the surrounding area, as well as in parks, on beaches, and in private spaces. Arbus spent most of her time with medium format cameras, held at the waist as she looked down into the viewfinder, allowing for a different level of intimacy between subject and photographer. Her black and white portrait style can be described as frontal, stark, documentary photography, often utilizing a flash during the daytime to contrast her subjects more starkly from their surroundings. 

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Robert Frank

Robert Frank was a Swiss photographer who emigrated to the United States after experiencing oppression in Europe growing up in a Jewish family. Previously apprenticing with photographers as a teenager, he started as a fashion photographer in New York City in 1947 at 23. Over the coming years, he received mentorship in his field and created several handmade books of his own photographs. His seminal photobook, The Americans, published in 1959, consisted of photos Frank had taken on cross-country trips over the previous years thanks to a Guggenheim Fellowship. The book captured juxtapositions between postwar American optimism with the racial, economic, and religious tensions of the time. Frank primarily used a 35mm camera, attributing the many photos he was able to get by always having his camera with him, walking around, and waiting for a moment.

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Weegee

Born in Ukraine, Arthur Fellig, known famously as Weegee, emigrated to NYC with his family when he was a child. He was a self-taught press photographer and photojournalist, who followed police and emergency services around in the 1930s and 40s, covering crime scenes and emergencies around the city, primarily at night. He was known for his use of flash, taking gritty black and white photos on his 4×5 graphic camera. For part of his career, he got into filmmaking and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a stills photographer for Stanley Kubrick. There he also created Distortion, an experimental photo series featuring celebrities and politicians. Weegee and his crime scene photography were the inspiration for many pop culture references and films.

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Walker Evans

Walker Evans was an American photographer, best known for his photojournalism during the Great Depression in the 1930s, and street photography in the 40s and 50s. The self-taught Evans took up photography at 25 years of age, first documenting New England’s Victorian architecture and housing styles. His style and subjects evolved to document various aspects of American life, from New York City subway riders to rural inhabitants confronting the hardships of the Great Depression. His 1936 portrait of a young wife of an Alabama farmer made for an enduring image of the time. Evans primarily used a large format view camera but experimented with several different devices. Later in his life, he used a Polaroid camera, experimenting with elements of minimalism, he focused on single subjects, including portraits and architectural details.

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Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is an American photographer known for his pioneering use of color, despite its resistance at the time. He studied art at Ohio State University and moved on to be an art director at an ad agency in New York City. Inspired by Robert Frank, he quit his agency job to be a full-time photographer in the early 1960s. Meyerowitz started using a 35mm camera and moved to an 8×10 large format camera for its clear detail. He has received numerous grants and awards and has published over 40 books of his work. His street photography has focused on capturing natural light and human interactions and has broadened to include portrait and landscape work. Meyerowitz was the only photographer to get unrestricted access to photograph the World Trade Center site after 9/11.

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Helen Levitt

Helen Levitt was an American photographer who spent most of her life living and working in New York City. She started in photography in her late teens, where she taught herself how to develop photos and worked for a commercial photographer. She took photography classes through community organizations, further developing her style. While teaching art classes to children, she became enamored by their ephemeral chalk drawings, which she started photographing with her 35mm Leica camera. Her subsequent work documented residents in Harlem, the Lower East Side, and the Garment District, but she frequently returned to the perspective of children, their interactions, and play. She was also an active filmmaker for over 20 years, receiving an academy award nomination for a documentary film in 1948.

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Garry Winogrand

Garry Winogrand was an American photographer famous for capturing the frenetic energy of NYC streets in the 1960s. He emigrated to the US with his family and studied painting and photography in college. Winogrand photographed in New York City at the same time as Diane Arbus and Lee Friedlander. He supported himself through fellowships and various freelance photography jobs. His work explored American life and had a sometimes raw, sometimes lighthearted quality, bordering on absurdist at times. His subjects included people, public events, animals, and the streets themselves. He was also interested in the media’s effects on street life. He taught at various institutions, and published and exhibited his work. At the time of his death, he had thousands and thousands of unprocessed and unedited camera film, many have since been preserved and exhibited.

Make A Living

Create Your Online Street Photography Portfolio

Create your online street photography portfolio.

A street photography portfolio website helps you advertise your unique take on the art of street photography and provides an avenue for collaborations and print sales with potential clients. Here are our top tips for creating a strong portfolio with your street photography.

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How to Become a Professional Street Photographer

Street photography portrays everyday life subjects in their most natural state within a public backdrop. Consequently, it is your job as a street photographer to tell a story and convey emotions through realistic and striking photos. 

So how do you get started in street photography? You’ll find out as you read on.

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Best lens for street photography.

In street photography, where photographers must move rapidly to capture an exciting point of action, the type of lens you use influences the look and quality of your shot in various ways.

Depending on what you want, you can choose between using prime or zoom lenses. While prime lenses provide a natural eye perspective and their compact nature, prime lenses are perfect for photographers who have to capture shots on the go. Prime lenses tend to be lighter, and faster than their zoom counterparts making them a popular choice. Zoom lenses are beneficial when you can’t get near enough, or need to have a variable focal length to achieve the look you want when crafting a narrative. 

Street photographers will often opt for a wide angle of view such as 16mm or 28mm in order to bring more of the scene into the image. That being said having a range of a few focal lengths will let you control how close you need to get to the action of the scene without obstructing what is happening.

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Best street photography camera.

With different cameras on the market today, deciding which camera is best for you can get pretty overwhelming. To narrow your options down, it is best to opt for a portable and lightweight camera for ease of movement.

Mirrorless, DSLR, point and shoot, and film cameras are common street photography camera options. These cameras, each with their own pros (and cons), are game changers for street photographers. It all hinges on your photography style and what you want to achieve with your images. 

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Best camera bag for street photography.

Camera bags are essential for all photographers, regardless of niche. Whether you prefer a backpack, a shoulder sling, or a waist bag, you should always consider your camera’s safety and the ease of carrying the bag. 

While it is okay to look stylish, the best camera bags for street photography are easily accessible, can fit your equipment, are discrete to a degree, and are of great quality in the face of various weather conditions.

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Best film for street photography.

While digital cameras are fantastic, there’s just something about the slow and deliberate process of shooting on film. This is precisely what makes it such a viable street photography choice.

You can use either fast (high ISO/ASA) or slow (low ISO/ASA) films, depending on your shooting style and technique. Fast for capturing a fleeting moment and slow for wide-angle photos. In addition, each film stock has colors and tones, but it is best to stick with one or two to keep your photographs consistent.

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Teach street photography.

Teaching street photography is a lucrative approach to monetizing your expertise. To get started, have a solid foundation of technical knowledge and share images that best reflect your unique perspective; these will help convince people to register for your class. You can accomplish the latter by refining your portfolio and Instagram profile, sharing some tips in video reels and stories, and deciding the field of photography you want to teach.

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Review photography products.

Many photographers rely on product reviews of photography accessories to choose what best suits their needs. You can leverage this by sharing your technical expertise and reviewing popular photography accessories such as cameras, lenses, and flashes on platforms like YouTube and earn money in the process.

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Market with your website.

In the same way that other creators earn money by selling their work on their websites, you can do the same as a street photographer. Building a street photographer website allows you to showcase your work in one place to potential buyers. This feature makes the buying process easy for customers.

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Art exhibitions and galleries.

As a street photographer, displaying your work in nearby galleries or putting it up for art exhibitions is a surefire way to make some cash. To stay up to date, you need to be brimming with creative street photography ideas to produce high-quality images that will undoubtedly grab attention.

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Sell on stock photography sites.

Stock photography sites are an excellent way to make money with your street photographs. With an audience of companies and businesses, you are paid before your photo is used. It helps to submit your photographs to numerous stock photography sites, detailing your work as thoroughly as possible. A few well-known sites include Shutterstock, iStock, and Unsplash.

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Use social media.

Social media is a platform for sharing, but as a street photographer, you can kill two birds with one stone by sharing your work and earning money. Most professional photographers promote and sell their work on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. It’s a win-win!

Learn It All

20 Street Photography Tips Every Beginner Should Know

Most street photographers begin shooting street photographs for fun and slowly accumulate technical knowledge & experiences over time. Although photography shooting isn’t rocket science, the learning curve for street photography can be steep.

To flatten that curve, we have provided 20 street photography tips for beginners.

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Work with what you have.

There are models of high-end DSLR and Mirrorless cameras ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars that are amazing at getting different types of photography jobs done. Unless you’re a very seasoned photographer, a standard camera with the cost of a few hundred is quite sufficient. There’s no need to spend a fortune on a camera for beginners. At this stage, it is more about learning composition and exposure than fancy camera features.

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Getting familiarized with your gear.

Streets are often busy with loads of activities and elements in the surroundings changing at a lightning speed. Taking the time to learn about the camera settings you hold in your hands will equip you with good knowledge and know which camera setting to adjust to get those street shots.

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Street portraits.

Street portraits are good photographs to take as they tell a unique story and convey hidden emotions to which many people can relate. It can help to find an honest way to compliment the subject before taking a shot. You’ll likely discover that people will often respond positively when you are genuinely interested in their appearance.

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Social skills in street photography.

Focus on social skills first if you are not comfortable approaching and interacting with people. Approach people with a mindset to make friends, and don’t be shy to ask people for permission to be in your street photo shots in some situations. People are often flattered when approached to be included in the photos.

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Strike up a conversation.

Think about whom you are approaching before striking up a conversation. Commenting on the weather is often a good icebreaker in any situation to start a conversation with anyone. Pay attention to the vibe of a person or a group, and be respectful of other people’s personal spaces during conversations.

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It’s about you.

Street photographs often serve as mirrors that directly reflect the photographers’ current mood at the moment when they took the shots. Looking deep within and getting to know yourself will unleash creative potentials in your street photographs that you may not have noticed otherwise.

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Observation, observation, observation.

Skilled photographers are well known for their outstanding ability to observe environmental objects and watch how people interact with them. Start with activities that people routinely do. Let your instincts guide you in visualizing what might happen in your frame, and then snap the shots when the right moment comes.

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Let them come to you.

Avoid spending energy and time chasing after objects in search of good street photographs. Instead, only linger around certain busy street spots and let the actions come to you. This way, you’ll always stand ready and have ample time to capture those unexpected but classic moments.

Top Street Photography Hashtags for 2022

Street photographers, knowingly or not, carry a lot of responsibility in their hands. It’s also important that these images get seen and these stories get told. Hashtags are an easy and effective way to get reach for your street photography. Get in front of your audience by using the top street photography hashtags for your niche.

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Top Neon Street Photography Hashtags

One of the most popular subjects in street photography is cool signage, specifically neon signs. Whether you’re chasing the best vintage neon signs or just capturing the bright lights that your city has to offer, these make for great images on their own or as backdrops in your street photography. Try adding these hashtags to your neon street photography images:

#neonstreets #cyberpunk #neonlights #neonvibes #neonflex #neonsign

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Top Night Street Photography Hashtags

Shooting the same scene during the day and at night can produce two wildly different images. There’s just something magical about low-light shooting. Some streets go quiet, others come to life, but either way night street photography is an enduringly popular niche. These hashtags can help get your night street photos noticed:

#nightphotography #nightscape #nightphoto #nightshooters #nightimages #nightphotographypros

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Top City Street Photography Hashtags

Street photography doesn’t necessarily have to be all about urban life, but cities are definitely one of the most popular settings for this photography type. If your street photography is all about capturing the essence of city life, you’ll want people who love city photography to see your images. These hashtags will help city lovers discover your work easily:

#cityscape #citylife #cityphotography #citypics #cityscapephotography #citygram

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Top Fashion Street Photography Hashtags

Street photographers know that you don’t have to be in a super trendy or fashionable part of the world to take advantage of this incredible style. If you shoot street photos of people, you’re sure to capture some photo-worthy street style while you’re at it. People love discovering these looks because they tend to be creative and inspiring while still being wearable. Tag your street fashion photography images with these:

#streetfashion #streetstyle #bestofstreetwear #streetlook #dailystreetlooks #streetwearaddicted

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Top Travel Street Photography Hashtags

You don’t necessarily have to travel to create a portfolio full of street photography; you can capture the street scenes wherever it is that you live. However, to those discovering your work, your hometown may be a travel destination. That’s why it’s a good idea to use some travel-related hashtags on your street photography images. Of course, these are also great to use when you’re traveling:

#streetphotographyjournal #streetlifephotography #travelphotography #travelgram #travelphotographyguide #travelphotographylovers

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Top Urban Street Photography Hashtags

The term urban photography is sometimes used interchangeably with street photography, but it’s really a subset of it. While street photography can broadly include all kinds of aesthetics and doesn’t necessarily have to be taken in a city, urban photography is associated with cities and with a specific raw aesthetic. Think busy urban areas and raw architectural elements and textures, such as brick. Try these hashtags on your urban street photography:

#urbanphotography #urbanandstreet #igstreet #streetizm #streetpic #streetvision

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Top Black and White Street Photography Hashtags

While street photography can offer all kinds of captivating palettes, sometimes the black and white treatment is the way to go. Black and white can make your images look more elegant and timeless or more moody and gritty, depending on the scene and your editing style. Tag your monochrome street shots with these:

#bnw_addiction #moodygrams #everything_bnw #photocommune_bnw#bnw_demand #_bnwart_

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Top Architecture Street Photography Hashtags

One of the most interesting subjects to shoot as a street photographer is architecture. Whether you’re into the charming features of old buildings or the dramatic silhouettes of modern ones, shooting architecture is endlessly expiring. Make it easy for other architecture lovers to find your work by using these hashtags:

#architecturephotography #architecturelovers #facadedesign #archilover #architexture #archi_lover

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Top Graffiti Street Photography Hashtags

If you’re into street art, there’s no shortage of cool graffiti to capture in most cities. Graffiti has been elevated in recent decades and is now appreciated as a serious art form alongside more established kinds of visual art, and there’s a huge community of fans to prove it. Get in front of them with these hashtags:

#graffitibombing #lovegraffiti #graffitiphotography #graff #graffiti_magazine #graffitiworld

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Top Fine Art Street Photography Hashtags

Street photography offers plenty of moments where you can take shots that would be right at home hanging on someone’s wall or in an art gallery. If you take this kind of street photography, you can sell your images as fine art prints. To find potential customers, use these hashtags on your fine art street photos:

#streetart #streetarteverywhere #urbanart #contemporaryart #photographicart #fineartphoto

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Top Portrait Street Photography Hashtags

Who doesn’t love a good portrait? Whether you shoot candids of people you see on the street, or you like asking passersby for the opportunity to capture them, as a street photographer there is always a new interesting face to photograph. Tag your portraits with these tags:

#streetportrait #lensculturestreet #candidstreet #streetportraiture #streetlife_award #streetstorytelling

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Top Event Street Photography Hashtags

When streets come to life thanks to events or festivals, that’s a great time to get your camera out. These hashtags are popular for images of street events, but in addition to these, you’ll want to find out if there are any event-specific tags that people are using, and make sure you add those to increase your chances of getting seen.

#streetfestival #streetshow #streetfest #streetislife #bestofstreet #streetmoment

Professional Street Photography Guide

From French photographers experimenting with street photography through painstakingly long exposures to the mass proliferation of street photography through advances in technology, street photography has always been a compelling genre of photography. It focuses on the observation of human behavior in the public sphere. Street photography has a storied history, made through various technological changes and by captivating photographers and artists. There are many different types of street photography, including fashion, urban, portrait, street art, and fine art street photography, and many techniques involved that make the genre and different street photographers unique. Issues around privacy and consent have also entered the dialogue around street photography. Read on to find out more about the genre, it’s history, types, techniques, and styles.

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Best Street Photography Cameras and Lenses, According to Street Photographers

As a photographer, you’re often tasked with shooting subjects who are knowing participants in your shoot, such as portrait clients or models. When capturing street shots, you’re in a completely different situation. Rather than directing your subject, your job is to sit back and capture the street scenes you come across, often without interfering with them. With many styles of street photography, people won’t even notice you’re shooting. Look through some examples of street photographers on Zenfolio and you’ll notice that their subjects are generally going about their days unaware of the camera pointed their way.

That’s why the camera, lenses, and gear you choose as a street photographer are incredibly important. The right setup will allow you to be completely discrete and unobtrusive, while still capturing high-quality images. Key features to look for when shopping for a street photography camera or lens are speed, silence, and size. The ideal kit will be small enough that you can easily handle it all day and it won’t stand out to people passing by, quiet enough that people won’t hear your shutter every time you take a photo, and fast enough that you can trust your images will come out sharp and clear. Check out our pro-approved list of the best street photography gear out there.

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Street Photography FAQ’s

What is the purpose of street photography?

The purpose of street photography is to convey a moment in public space, often of a person or people interacting with their surroundings. It can function as an observation or even historical and cultural documentation of public life. Depending on who you ask, a street photographer may have a different view, depending.

Why is street photography important?

Street photography is important because it documents people and how they interact with their environment, in many ways similar to photojournalism. It differs slightly based on the intention of the photographer, as street photography is more about curiosity, inquiry and happenstance, whereas photojournalism is likely shooting as a means to an end, premeditated in a way.

How to take street photography?

Look for subjects that interact with their environment when venturing out to the streets in search of perfect frames for your shots. Try framing up your shot and waiting for the subject to walk right into the frame, and shoot at a higher f-stop (aperture) if you want more things in focus.

What is the best lens/focal length for street photography?

The best lens is the type you know the most. As beauty is in the beholders’ eyes, the best lens/focal length will vary from one street photographer to the other. Ask yourself this instead: “what style of street photographs are you shooting?” You can then decide which focal length to use to give you the type of results you want.

How to start street photography?

Start street photography with a mindset of documenting what the urban environment looks like with your interpretations. Go wherever the light is. There are usually lots of spaces to work with wherever the harsh light and shadow meet. Photos with attention to the light and shadow will often produce compelling compositions.

How to take good street photography?

Taking good street photography requires practice. An easy way to get your creative juice flowing is to get into a rhythm, warm up your eyes, and be mindful of how you see the world around you. Seek out street photographers that you like, emulate their styles, and add your unique twists.

What aperture to use for street photography?

There is no correct aperture for street photography 100% of the time. Determining what aperture to use will depend on how blurry you want your backgrounds to be. Many photographers will recommend an aperture of f/5.6 and f/8, but it will depend on the environmental light conditions and the type of photo you want.

Where to take street photography?

One of the advantages of street photography is that you will never run out of objects to shoot in an urban environment. From trains in subway stations, bustling farmers’ markets, and tall buildings springing from the skylines to landmarks of tourist attractions. The options are endless. The weather may be the only limiting factor.

How to pre-focus for street photography?

To pre-focus, switch the camera mode from Auto-Focus to Manual Focus. Use your hand to press the focus ring on the lens and turn slightly to the right & left until the image is in focus. Visualizing a scene and guessing the distance to the subject will help you better pre-focus.

How to carry your camera for street photography?

Street photographers often carry their cameras in small bags or compact backpacks to hold all the shooting gear. For safety, many would use a wrist strap attached to their cameras to prevent dropping accidentally. Some photographers use a neck strap when a wrist strap isn’t available.

How to shoot from the hip in street photography?

To shoot from the hip, you need to hold your camera to your waist level and snap photographs without looking through the viewfinder. Using wider lenses (24mm) with a shutter speed of around 1/500 of a second (or faster, depending on how fast you or the subject are moving) could often give you street photos with fewer blurs.

How to be a better street photographer?

Avoid second-guessing yourself; simply take the photo and ask questions later. There is a reason why your instincts take you there. Always have the camera ready to snap a shot, and don’t delete your less-than-favorite photos right away because you may not realize how great they are until you revisit them months later.

 

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