These are the dark areas you’ll find in the daytime. Shadows created by large buildings or trees can be down to -2 stops of light than the well-lit areas.
Low Light
After sunset, areas may still be visible, yet too dark to capture.
Dark
This is when only the brightest objects are visible at night-time.
Use a Slow Shutter Speed for Low Light Photos
So how do you shoot in low light? It all starts with shutter speed,
which helps determines the amount of time light can enter the camera.
The lower your setting, the more light will come into your sensor.
But a slow shutter speed also causes motion blur, especially without a tripod.
So how do you take with a sharp photo with low light?
As a rule of thumb, the average person can take a sharp, blur-free image by setting the speed to a fraction of the focal length when shooting handheld.
For example, to take a photo at 30mm, you would set the shutter speed to 1/30 of a second. Any slower and motion blur is likely to occur.
It’s worth noting that this rule is only relevant to full-frame cameras. If you use the same 30mm lens on a crop sensor, you’ll need to use 1/45th of a second instead of 1/30th due to your sensor’s crop factor.
Image Stabilization Allows You to Drop Your Shutter Speed Down
When it’s dark, sometimes 1/30th or 1/40th of a second wouldn’t
suffice to capture correctly exposed pictures. But at the same time,
going any slower also causes motion blur.
So how do you solve this issue when hand holding a camera? The answer is ‘image stabilization‘.
Image stabilization is so effective that it can allow up to 4.5 stops
of compensation. In other words, it lets you shoot at 1/15th of a
second or lower without motion blur.
This impressive feature works best in conditions with visible light.
Find Ways to Stabilize Your Camera Without a Tripod
If you are capturing a low-lit scene and do not have a tripod, a few methods help keep your images well exposed and sharp.
One is to stabilize your camera by using your camera strap around your neck. Making it taught allows you to minimize camera shake.
To add additional stability, you can also rest your back against a
wall. Doing so eliminates even the slightest movement you make while
shooting.
But the best solution is to set your camera on a table or a ledge to ensure it doesn’t move while you’re taking photos.
These techniques work best in low light conditions.
Use a Tripod for Shutter Speeds Lower Than 1/60
The techniques I showed you on how to avoid motion blur when shooting handheld aren’t foolproof. Even a slight camera shake from your hands can ruin our shot.
So if you don’t want to take any chances, just use a tripod. And
always bring it any time you want to shoot some low light photography.
Use a Fast Lens for Low Light Situations
The choice in a lens is crucial when it comes to the maximum achievable aperture.
Choose the widest possible apertures to capture images in the dark.
An f/1.4 value will give you four times as much light as f/2.8.
Most kit zoom lenses find their limit at f/3.5-f/5.6 for maximum aperture. Meanwhile, professional zoom lenses often have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or wider.
High-end prime lenses can be expensive. But you can also buy cheap options such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II if you’re still starting in photography.
Many prime lenses
can reach f/1.4, and even some of the most specialist lense can drop
down to f/0.95. The wider the aperture (the lower the f-number), the
faster the lens is considered to be.
Go for a Wide Aperture to Let More Light In
The aperture is the hole the light passes through in your lens. The
wider it is, the more light comes in. Bear in mind that the wider the
aperture, the lower the f-number and not the other way around.
This step isn’t particularly useful if you’re still using your
standard kit lens because of it the maximum aperture of somewhere around
f/3.5. Unfortunately, that value won’t let in enough light for good
results. I suggest buying that cheap prime lens we talked about earlier
since it has a maximum aperture of about f/1.8.
Setting your lens at f/1.8 lets in 4 times more light than f/3.5.
That means you get to expose your photos faster to avoid motion blur.
But you also need to remember that a wide aperture will produce a shallow depth of field.
So if you’re taking photos of groups of people in dim environments,
don’t use f/1.4 or f/1.8. Doing so would make the background and some
faces blurry. Instead, use a higher value such as f/8 to ensure
sharpness.
Adjust Your ISO to Get the Right Exposure
If you’re struggling to get the correct exposure just by changing the
shutter speed and aperture, the best thing to do is to raise the ISO.
ISO is responsible for changing your camera sensor’s sensitivity. The
higher the value, the better your camera can take pictures in dim
situations.
But ISO is also tricky to manage because the higher the ISO, the more digital noise
you’ll have in your photos. Typically, I don’t raise my ISO above about
1600 because the images start looking muddy and unusable if I go any
higher.
Use a Large Sensor Camera to Capture More Light
The sensor
is what captures the information that makes your image. It goes without
saying that the larger the sensor, the better the quality and resolution.
Smartphones and point-and-shoot cameras typically have the smallest sensors. The next in line is the Micro Four Thirds,
named after its size as compared to a full sensor. And the most common
one is called the APS-C, which you can find in most consumer DSLRs and
mirrorless options. At the top of the line is the full-frame sensor,
which is inside professional cameras. At 35mm, it’s more or less the
same size as 35mm film cameras.
So which camera is best for low light photography? The quick answer is a full-frame camera such as the Canon 5D Mark IV.
Due to its sensor size, it can easily capture scenes with less noise.
In return, it allows you to increase the ISO without having to worry
about too much digital noise.
Shoot in Raw to Add More Exposure Stops
You need to shoot RAW all the time because it offers more flexibility when it comes to editing your image.
So why use RAW in low light photography? The most straightforward
reason is that it lets you add 2/3 stops or more to your exposure
without affecting the quality of your file.
AF Assist Will Help You Use Auto-Focus in Low-Lit Situations
Shooting in dim conditions may mean that your camera will find it
difficult to auto-focus. Sometimes it’s just too dark for the camera to
determine how far a subject is.
Thankfully, any modern digital cameras
have an “AF assist” feature. The AF assist lamp is often in front of
the camera. It turns on to illuminate the scene if it’s too dark.
You can activate this feature on your camera’s menu. It will
automatically turn on when you half-press your shutter in dark
environments.
Zoom In While in Live View to Focus in the Dark
Your “AF Assist” may not work in some situations, especially if your
subject is too far away. In this case, a flashlight may help illuminate
the scene to get a focus lock.
It would also help a lot if you turn on Live View and zoom in on the subject digitally to let you see the details better.
Using your screen as the guide, twist the focus ring manually until your main point of interest is sharp.
Now all you have to do is press the shutter and voila!
Play with Flashlights to Create Colorful Effects
Even when your camera is stable, any movement in front of the lens
will still register as a blur. The photography process that uses
controlled use of light is called light painting.
Ever wondered how to take photos of light streaks, here’s what you do:
Place your device on a tripod and choose a slow shutter speed
(between 2 to 30 seconds). Get in front of the camera and trigger the
shutter using a remote or a self-timer. Once you hear the click, start moving your flashlight around to create patterns.
Use Flash to Freeze Images
If you can recall, slow shutter speeds cause motion blur while fast shutter speeds freeze motion. So, where does flash fit in this scenario?
The beam that a flash produces is powerful enough to let you shoot
with fast shutter speeds. That means that you can use 1/250th of a
second even if it’s dark and still get sharp pictures.
But just because you’re using a flash, it doesn’t mean that you can
set your ISO back down to 100. If you do, you’ll start to lose
background detail in the dark.
I like to leave my ISO on about 400, as I feel it gives an acceptable
amount of grain and detail. All cameras are different, so play around
with yours to see what works best.
The pop-up flash on your camera often produces unflattering results.
Nonetheless, it still works well if you want to freeze motion.
If you’re using an external flash, it’s best to bounce the beam off of a wall or ceiling. But you can also use a diffuser to make the light appear less harsh.
Like everything else, practice makes perfect. By understanding the
various types of lighting conditions, you will see what is possible and
where the limitations lie. Taking photos in low light conditions is one
of the most exciting areas you can cover.
Street photography is a diversified and very exciting photography
genre. It’s hard to master it because you need to be talented in many
photography fields.
We have created with this guide that includes everything you ever need to know to become successful in street photography.
What is Street Photography?
It’s a difficult question to answer because this photographic field
is all-encompassing. It can involve architecture, landscape,
portraiture, black and white, long-exposure and even macro.
To many photographers, street photography is everything. Fashion,
documentary, and at the most basic, real. Street photography aims to
capture people in public places, warts and all.
Urban photography connects to street photography. But not any
photograph taken on, off or from the street counts as urban photography.
Landscapes are not street photographs and neither are studio portraits, for example.
Urban photography takes into account specific compositional
guidelines. The speed of capturing images and also different camera
equipment separate photographic fields.
Street or urban photography covers a very wide range of styles and subjects. It does so while embodying its own techniques.
No other area of photography is so diversified. The public space is
an ever-changing environment, and it needs a wide range of themes to
capture it.
Only in street photographs would you want shot-from-the-hip. Or even
blurry, out of focus, images. They still work in telling a visual story.
It’s also one photography area where you need to be aware of many things. Read as much as you possibly can about the law.
Understanding what you can and can’t photograph is essential.
Especially as there are strict ethical codes and unwritten laws to
follow.
Like urban photography itself, the camera choices for it are very
diverse. The possibilities come down to what you are going to
photograph, your budget and your own style.
Focusing on people, capturing them fast and candidly requires one type of camera. Photographing empty spaces, another.
This article
goes through eight of the best cameras to use for street photography.
It looks at rangefinders, digital cameras and mirrorless options.
Lenses, like camera options, come down to what you want to photograph.
Are you aiming to get into people’s faces like Bruce Gilden, who uses
a 28 mm lens? Or are you going for something that keeps you a little
more hidden, like a telephoto lens?
Either way, lenses are the tool that defines your relationship with
the subject. They also offer you emphasized the depth of fields.
This article helps you understand what lenses are available. Knowing the benefits of each is very useful.
One of the great things about being a street photographer is that
it’s not time-dependent. If you miss that perfect, morning light, you
can still shoot.
Whether harsh or muted, reflected or fired from a flash, there is no bad light in street photography.
Shards of light, falling through buildings in a metropolitan city
like New York. Light bouncing off windows and creating a dappled look on
the pavement in Paris. These are only a few of my favourite possibilities.
The number one rule of street photography is: always have a camera on
you. The usual DSLR, point-and-shoot or mirrorless systems are
possible. So is your smartphone.
Nowadays, smartphones have the capacity to photograph using a large
pixel size. This means good quality and instantly sharable too!
There are also tons of downloadable apps that can help you adjust the settings. Some even replicate old film styles.
Mobile shooting is its own niche within the expansive world of photography. This article gives you the low-down on how to use your device to capture great images.
There are benefits to photographing digitally (immediate images) over using film (subject selectivity).
Digital photography allows you to make sure you have the photographs.
This is before you move on to your next location. There could be 10
shots or 1000.
Film, compared to digital, is slow, costly, time-consuming and
problematic. But it still has a huge following in the photography world.
Read here to get the best out of your photographic film.
Because you are taking your camera everywhere with you (rule no.1),
you will need to put it somewhere. Especially when you aren’t using it.
A bag is also very important to keep your camera safe. Both from the weather and theft.
It is the storage unit for all your camera gear and accessories. Best to have them all neatly compartmentalized in one area.
Pockets or separators within bags are very helpful. They keep your equipment from getting damaged and knocked about.
Some will even have space for laptops and reading material. On top of
these, all those little things you have no idea what to do with (tripod
heads, cables, etc.) also need space.
What this article recommends is to use a bag that is spacious yet compact.
Read more to find out why and other tips for choosing the best camera bag for street photography.
One question you might need to ask yourself is “Am I going to photograph in color or monochrome?”
Black and white images have very definitive qualities. You’ll find
ones that you won’t find with color photography. And vice-versa.
They might focus more on contrast. Or the varying degrees of detail
in the mid-tone greys. These fall between the blackest and whitest areas
of your scene.
Some photographers shoot in black and white and revert back to color during post-processing. Others do the exact opposite.
If you are using digital (and Raw)
this decision can be changed at a later stage. But film photography
doesn’t offer the same freedom. Unless you digitalize the negatives.
Have a run through this article to see where color might be a better choice over black and white.
Whether you are shooting from the hip or going for a more set-up
shot, life on the street is fast. You will need a high shutter speed to
capture all this.
Something else that might help you get the images you want is not to move too much.
If you spend a decent amount of time in one place, you might find that the action comes to you.
This is very helpful, especially if your location has a high-interest value. These could be leading lines or natural frames.
These are only a few of seven great tips to help you progress with your street photography. You’ll be on the way to create images you are happy with.
There are ethics in most areas of photography, typically when photographing people.
This could be travel, documentary or fashion photography. Street
photography is no different. You might be photographing people in the
public domain.
Empathy and respect should be the watchwords of photographing people
on the street. You are putting yourself in their sphere of influence and
into their everyday life.
Some people will not want their picture taken. They might ask for you
to delete your images. Others may even become confrontational.
Be aware of your surroundings. Take time to look around and getting a feel of a person before you photograph them.
Put yourself in their shoes. This is the best piece of advice from this article on street photography ethics.
Photographing the street covers many themes. There are many styles to go about doing so.
If you wanted to follow in the footsteps of Doisneau, then you would be part of an unobtrusive style.
The opposite would be following the style of Bruce Gilden. Getting into people’s faces would be very obtrusive.
Are you looking for more of a documentary project of life on the streets, or something more fine art related?
The former focuses on speed and realism. The latter would need time finding locations and setting up shots.
In this article,
the writer goes through many different possible styles. With this, you
can narrow down what kind of street photographer you aspire to be while
giving you tips and ideas.
We have already covered the ethics of photographing people. But how
do you do it? You might be a little timid at the beginning and stick to
shooting from afar with a telephoto lens.
It takes guts and nerves of steel to close that gap when
photographing people. And that’s okay. Take it slow and build up the
courage. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Once you do get close enough, you might even realise that most people
either turn away or play up to the camera. This stops all ideas of candid street photography fast.
This article has great tips on photographing people. Either asking and setting up portraits or adopting a more stealthy approach.
Rain and other harsh weather conditions can add power to your street
photography. It can turn a dull street into a sea of reflections.
These, in turn, bounce back images of the passing people and the
buildings above. It adds a stunning textured effect to otherwise plain
windows.
The people’s reaction is also a great theme to capture, which you
might find easier than other areas. You’ll see the public will
concentrate on staying dry, not you with the camera.
The weather shouldn’t stop you shooting. Grab an umbrella, take a camera you can put in harm’s way (Ricoh GR II rather than your Leica M) and get out there. Read our ten tips for shooting street photography in the rain.
Reflections in and around the street are everywhere. You can find
them in shop windows. They are present in all kinds of transport, such
as cars and buses.
Look at the pavement after a rainy afternoon. These are great ways to show the city bouncing towards you.
One huge benefit of these is that you can find ways to include two
scenes in one. You are able to make what is almost a double exposure.
You get two scenes for the price of one.
A great way to take advantage of these reflections would be a self-portrait project. Use Vivian Maier’s images as inspiration.
This article gives you an in-depth idea of what to look for and how to shoot them.
We get it, people can be a drag. You saved up enough money to be able
to travel far enough to photograph your favourite landmark. The time
has come.
Except, it is already swarming with people. These people ruin the
shot, and it wouldn’t be the same with them in it. It’s no good hung on
the wall now.
We have a solution for you. Use a long exposure and an ND filter to remove those waves of people. Read our article here on how to do it.
Lines are a great way to help compose your images to give them that
extra wow factor. Lines can draw your eye to a subject. Or take it away,
out of the frame.
They can also give a sense of direction. This in itself is movement in a still image and interesting.
These lines are everywhere. If you stand under a very tall building
looking up, all the lines converge. You will notice your eyes will
follow them to the top.
A long street, handrail, or zebra crossing are all examples of what
is available. You only have to keep your eyes open and look around.
This article gives great tips on what to look for and how they dramatize your image.
Natural frames are a great compositional tool. And a great way to
frame your subject. These exist everywhere, from doorways and windows to
arches and vegetation.
It is all about focusing on your subject. By framing them, you isolate and highlight what you want the viewer to focus on.
Street photography is all about photographing your surroundings. This
technique helps you use the street as a tool or element in creating
captivating images.
Our article gives you examples and tips of successful natural frames and how to get the best out of them.
Photographing people on the street is not easy. Even when you take
the courage to get close enough, the people do not react how you want.
They shy away, pose or start interacting with you. Worse, they could become confrontational or even violent.
One great tip to avoid this is to shoot-from-the-hip.
This term means to photograph without using your eyes to compose the
photograph. This is a faster, sneakier way to take images, but way less
accurate.
Some photographers use what is known as a TLR (Twin Lens Reflex
camera). This allows you to frame by looking down into the viewfinder.
The camera doesn’t go up to your eye level.
This is a great way to take candid photographs because people focus
on eyes and faces. Bringing a camera to your face cuts the eye contact
between you and strangers. It would be almost impossible to miss that
you are photographing them.
By shooting from the hip, you end this problem. But, it’s a
compromise between a candid photograph and a well-framed composition.
Learn more about how to shoot from the hip from this article.
Using juxtaposition is a great tool in the world of picture-taking. These work very well within the theme of street photography.
The basic idea is that you place two or more contrasting objects next to each other.
This can be something physical, like light and dark areas of a scene.
They can also be something more ideological. A homeless person
sleeping outside of Louis Vuitton is a juxtaposition. So are old and
young people with happy and sad emotions.
The two subjects add photographic weight from their presence. They offer a balance or imbalance.
These images work because they invoke emotion or a feeling from the
viewer. They show the world we live in and how life is so contrasted.
Two conflicting subjects bring out the extremes in each other. Either
colour, theme or physical shape – there is no end to these ideas. Check out these 27 best examples of juxtaposition.
Negative space refers to the area that surrounds the subject or
subjects in your image. The technique of using negative space
effectively is about creating the right balance.
Here, you concentrate on the relationship between the subject(s) and
the background. You can make the background almost feel like it is
receding away.
Positive space refers to the primary subjects of a photograph. Positive and negative space can dance well together.
For more information on how to create and utilize negative space, read our article here.
Once you start looking for patterns, you’ll start seeing them
everywhere. Everything has a pattern if you are close enough or far away
enough to see them.
Many of the best street photographers are adept at recognizing (and
often breaking) patterns. They can be both man-made and natural.
Architectural photography is an excellent genre for finding
geometrically perfect patterns. Finding the patterns and showing them
off is a challenge in itself.
We know about the main ideas of composition. Rule-of-thirds, leading lines, and contrast are the standard.
But as the street is ever-changing and very dynamic, it requires competent compositions.
Step out of the box a little. Don’t be afraid of trying something new and even going against the general compositional rules.
You might find that it works for you and your style in creating something unique.
Be bold, direct and shock people. Use lenses you are not used to. Try
perspectives you haven’t tried, such as lying on the floor and shooting
up.
The outcomes will surprise you. They might just be the best images
you have ever taken. Check the rest of the composition tips for street
photography here.
The biggest thing that sets street photographers apart is their style. Each street shooter has a different background and aim.
Technical abilities, skills of observation and talent help to hone and separate them.
If you are a street photographer who is more interested in fashion and style, this article is for you. Here you can find the top ten street style photographers on social media today.
Have a look at their work. I guarantee you’ll take something away from it; either a name, an idea or a concept.
Lightroom is one of the easiest ways to post-process your images. It
has everything you might need, it is fast and can house many presets to
do the work for you.
It also acts as a library for all the photographs you take, accessible at the click of a button.
This article
helps run through the whole process from start to finish. Starting by
selecting your images in the library module and ending with the finished
result.
You will be very happy with your images, even after only tweaking them a little bit.
Presets are a great addition to any photographic workflow, not only
street photography. These preset manipulate your images in a quick and
efficient way.
This means you can focus more on photographing and still get the best out of your work.
It is also a great advantage to have a series of works with the same look and feel, which you can do effortlessly.
This article
gives shows you ten free presets and lets you know what the changes are
to your images. You are in control, every step of the way.
You might be photographing the street. Then turn your camera to point
it at a building that seems interesting. As soon as you do, a security
guard comes to tell you that you need to have permission.
Photographers in the past have seen harassment and police searches.
This could be down to them photographing things others tell them they
shouldn’t.
This is where knowing your rights really help you as a photographer.
These laws are to help you be creative and as free as possible, but you
need to know them.
Wherever you might be, there are rights and laws protecting photographers. They also aim to protect the people in public spaces.
This article links to pages looking at the rights and laws in different countries. Ranging from Australia to the USA.
Every country has different laws on photography. Some are very
strict, like Brazil. Here you need consent to photograph, share and use
images commercially.
Others are very relaxed, such as Singapore. Here, photographic consent is not needed, apart from a few exceptions.
Use this list for a basic idea of what gets frowned upon and what is OK. In some countries, the risks are just too great.
North Korea is a good example. It is difficult to get the opportunity
to photograph there. You might find yourself banned from sharing such
images online.
The freedom of panorama is the legal right to publish pictures of
artworks which are in public space. This is an exception to copyright
law and differs from country to country.
These artworks encompass sculptures, buildings, or monuments in
public space, and under copyright. You are still able to photograph
these without a problem.
Some countries are very strict when it comes to their artworks. A few
have made it illegal to share these images on social media.
For example, you can take as many photographs of the Eiffel tower in
the daytime with no problem. But at night time, it is illegal.
You can’t share images of the tower’s illumination as it is a separate installation.
Educational platforms such as Wikipedia will have images deleted if
the law doesn’t change. This could affect your workflow and creativity. Check this article to learn more.
Photo by Agamitsudo
Street photography is a fantastic mixture of urban, portrait,
architecture, landscape and documentary photography. You can choose to
focus on one aspect. But it is even better to try yourself in different
fields.
