Is Street Photography All About the Equipment?

To do street photography, you truly don’t need a whole lot of equipment. It can be done easily with very simple gear. But making something truly extraordinary can require much more advanced gear. However, it will also require a completely different creative vision. Street photographers like Alessio Trerotoli, for example, do stuff like double exposures. And most Leica cameras can’t do that. But most of all, you have to harness the things that Generative AI can’t do.

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This tip comes from an article we worked on a decade ago with a quote by Yanidel. “Probably not to focus too much on equipment. For the last four years I have been shooting with the same system (M9) with basically two focal lengths (35mm – 50/). Though the temptation to upgrade (GAS) is sometimes there, at some point you realize that lack of skill, vision or even time are the major reasons of one’s shortcomings, not owning the latest camera. Spending the money on travel or shooting time is the best way to progress quickly. Still, the equipment discovery phase is probably a step that a beginner has to go through to find what best fits its shooting style and vision.”

While this is all true, I also really believe that methods and techniques can come from the photographer — but not all techniques are possible with all cameras. I think that street photographers sometimes need to stop simply capturing scenes and instead working to create them.

Why?

Well, we’re living in an age where authenticity is everything because everyone thinks that generative AI can replace us. So we should really choose the cameras and lenses that suit our creative vision. For example, Olga Karlovac, who shoots blurry street photography, doesn’t really need a whole lot. Some photographers only need something like a lens filter.