Street Photography York

The following pictures were taken during a recent 1-2-1 Street Photography training course. Street Photography is just awesome. The idea is to just capture whatever is happening all around us. Spontaneity is the key here. It's amazing what you can actually see around us, if we're prepared to stand and observe.

York was the place of choice today. The weather was bright and as it was a week-day the City wasn't as busy as I expected.

The key to good Street Photography

The key to good Street Photography is to try and be as inconspicuous as possible. Try to photograph subjects without their knowledge. Not an easy task when you're 6'4" tall.

A good tip is to remove the battery grip if you have one connected. This will just make the camera smaller, making it less noticeable in your hand. Use a Wide Angle or Fish-eye lens. These lenses are great to ensure you capture as much of the scene as possible and ensure a sharper picture. Due to the construction of Wide Angel and Fish-eye lenses the tend to keep everything in focus. Shoot using manual focus. In tight areas like the "Shambles" in the York's City Center I find it best to focus about 3 feet away and then lock to focus. A Wide Angel Lens will keep everything sharp!

Try shooting from the hip and try shooting from low angles. Shooting from the hip won't bring attention to yourself and low angles will offer an unusual perspective.

Street Photography York

Try and tell a story... It's not imperative but if you link your surroundings with people, it can make pictures more interesting. An example of this is the picture of students dressed in white lab coats shot against the shop called "New Look" Also the picture of the Market Trader relaxing shot against the poster "I am Batman" These tie-ins may not work every time, but it's great to look out for the unusual or funny, and when it works it's brilliant!

Black and White is usually best suited to Street Photography, although it's a choice only you can make. I prefer B&W and very rarely present my work in colour - I just prefer it that way.