23 Ninja Street Photography Tips For Your Next Photo Walk

Most budding photographers find it extremely difficult to make the transition from shooting inside the comfort zone of their home to actually pointing a camera at a stranger out on the streets. Street photography is often about guts. Street photographer Thomas Leuthard shares 23 invaluable tips to use on your next photo walk:

1. Wear dark clothes. Bright colors make you stand out.
2. Control your camera wirelessly.

wireless shooting of photos

Control your camera wirelessly to shoot discreetly.

3. Select the right shooting mode. For example, the less frequently used P mode allows you to focus on shooting and not fiddling with the settings.
4. Frame your shot and wait for the right moment

street photography framing tips

Frame your photos using the elements around you.

5. Shoot in burst mode. Sometimes selecting the right moment to press the shutter release can be tough. Instead, leave the decision making for a later time. Choose burst mode and maximize the number of frames to choose from later.

street photography burst mode shooting

Shoot in burst mode rather than single-shot

6. Wait for the decisive moment
7. Squint your eyes to see the luminance of a scene and then place your subject at the brightest spot.

how to check the brightest spot in a frame

Squint to see the brightest spot in the frame and place your subjects at that spot

8. Take an occasional break and post a shot or two on Instagram. This way you won’t bleed the feed later on.
9. This also gives you the chance to back-up your work so far and empty the memory cards.
10. Find new angles, including but not limited to getting down very low.

Shooting low in street photography

Experiment with your camera angle.

11. That said, don’t forget to shoot from high up.

Shooting from a high angle

Don’t forget to shoot from a high angle.

12. Use a tripod to find a new angle
13. Water when combined with slow shutter speed is always a winner.
14. Look for natural frames for your subjects
15. Alleys and doorways are great as natural frames for your subjects. Just get your composition ready and wait for the right moment.
16. Sometimes when only a part of your subjects are visible, the image becomes more interesting.

partial view of a subject in street photography

With only a part of the subject visible, the image becomes a lot more interesting.

17. Shadows can make intriguing images.
18. And so can reflections, when done right.

reflections in street photos

Reflections can make interesting images.

19. Don’t be afraid of people.

photographing people on the streets

Don’t be afraid of people.

20. Introduce yourself, promise to email them the picture and give them your card. You will have made another social media follower.
21. Never ever delete your photos. Storage is cheap. Simply back them up for future reference and feedback.
22. Black & white has an eternal appeal when it comes to street photography.
23. Don’t over-edit your images. If others can tell which Photoshop tools you used, you’ve probably done too much editing.

Finally, Leuthard shares this:

“Street photography is like fishing. Catching the fish is more exciting than eating it.”

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