The Beginner’s Guide To Shooting Street Portraits (Part 1)

Taking a portrait of a complete stranger is extremely liberating. However, to do them successfully, street portraits take skill, confidence and good intuition.

I’m often asked about my process when it comes to photographing strangers. How do I approach someone? What if they say no? Should I shoot in manual mode? These are just a few of the questions I receive as people want to start their own journey in street portraiture. Determined to support you, I’m putting together a 3 part guide to help develop your approach to street portraits.

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How To: An Introduction to Street Style Dance Photography

Dance photography is absolutely gorgeous; how do you get into it?

It’s quite easy for many photographers to scroll their Instagram feed and double tap any dance photography they see. The reason why is because it’s all pretty magical. Like everyone in the photography community says and does though, everyone wants to do it. But how? To figure this out, we talked to photographer Kien Quan and Omar Robles–arguably two of the bigger dance photographers on Instagram. In two separate interviews, we took a look at their work and asked for digestible quotes to help out other photographers.

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Review: Magnum – The Art of Street Photography (Online Course)

The highly anticipated first online course from Magnum – The Art of Street Photography – has arrived.  

Magnum, arguably the worlds’ number one photography collective, has put on workshops all around the globe. Over the years, their A-list photographers have taught their skills to new and experienced students.

Now, for the first time, Magnum have delved into the world of online teaching –  focusing first on street photography. The course has almost 3 hours of content which is split into 10 lessons. Inside you’ll see appearances from the likes of Bruce Gilden, Martin Parr and Susan Meiselas – as well as a host of other industry-leading experts.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the highlights…

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How to Create Stunning Lighting on Location Using Speedlights

Planning to shoot on location anytime soon? Get an idea on how to make those speedlights work for you with these lighting tips.

One of the things you’ll learn as a portrait photographer is that lighting definitely still has its place when shooting on location. If you want to give it a try soon, Trevor Dayley has put together a quick video with lighting equipment maker MagMod to help you get an idea on how you can use speedlights to achieve stunning outdoor portraits.

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How To Develop Your Photographic Voice

Buying a camera is the simplest part of your photographic journey – switching it on is the second. But to develop your photographic voice takes time, experimentation and a deep analysis of your self.

New photographers often want to imitate those that inspired them to first delve into the world of photography. They look at images from the past masters and confirm to themselves “I want to take photographs just like that”. They buy their first camera and tell the whole world that they are going to be a photographer. First, forcing family members to sit and pose, and second, taking photos of every sunset that they witness. But like any relationship, the honeymoon period only lasts for so long. Over time you need to become more confident in who you are and what you can do. You need to find your place in the photographic world, and it needs to hear your voice.  Doing so isn’t easy – how does one go from replicating the work of others to truly finding out who they are as a photographer?

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The Approach: How to Do Bath Tub Shoots with Models (NSFW)

The iconic bath tub shoot is one that photographers should try at least once.

For years the bathtub shoot has been a fantastical and magical idea for many photographers. Those of us who draw our ideas from cinema, the bathtub can come from lots of 90s movies including those like American Beauty. Then there were those of Marilyn Monroe amongst others. Doing these shoots of course requires planning, ideas, work, and figuring out things like spaces available. To me, these style of shoots are mostly a result of my restless mind and my endless urge to create something and improve my portraiture skills, like a fine art series or a short-term project but without an artist’s statement or intention. Most of these style of shoots are a collaboration between models, stylists, and myself so everyone has something to add to the shoot.

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This Big Tip Will Help You with Fashion and Portrait Photography!

Been looking for your next fashion photography inspiration? This short video featuring Australian fashion and beauty photographer Max Papendieck will give you just that.

Whether you want to do fashion portraits as a hobby or you want to do it professionally in the long run, it always help to get some tips and be inspired by those who are already successful in the field. In this quick video by Henry Thong, we get our fashion photography inspiration from Australian fashion and beauty photographer Max Papendieck, who has photographed a good number of high-profile personalities for an impressive list of brands and publications.

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Natural Light vs Off Camera Flash for Outdoor Portrait Photography

Learn how to work with both natural lighting and off camera flash outdoors in this quick portrait photography tutorial.

Spotted a picture-perfect location for some portrait photography projects and practice? Working with natural light isn’t your only option to get some impressive shots. In this quick video, find out what you can achieve with both natural light and off camera flash, and decide which look you want.

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Breaking the Rule of Thirds in Seascape Photography

Screenshot image from the video by Adam Karnacz.

One of the first things photographers and photography enthusiasts learn is composition, in particular, the rule of thirds. Out of the many composition techniques out there, the Rule of Thirds is arguably the most popular. We’re advised to stick to the rule of thirds by default because it makes our photos a lot more pleasing to look at. However, we are free to break the rule if, and only IF, the situation calls for it. And only if you understand this rule by heart, of course.

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Adam Karnacz on Using Color to Elevate Landscape Photography

Screenshot image from the video by Adam Karnacz. 

Filmmaker and landscape photographer Adam Karnacz is back with another educational video to help you improve your landscape photography. This time around, he talks about how one can use and control color to elevate their landscape photography.

In the 17-minute video, Adam highlighted five aspects – planning, composing with color, black and white and monochrome, post-processing, and printing – to help you wield color to your advantage. He emphasized that no matter whether one prefers vibrant and saturated colors, or muted colors, or monochrome or black and white, “…what is happening with the color in your image, you should be in control of because we don’t want that happening by chance.”

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How to Think in Black and White When Shooting Street Photography

In a world rich in colour and vibrancy, it’s time to think a little more black and white.

The modern world is spoiled for choice when it comes to cameras, gadgets, and editing tools that bring out the beautiful colours in your photographs. I just got the Fuji XT2 and I’m learning all about those famously addictive ‘Fuji Colours’. But even in modern times, there is still a demand for that classic black and white look.

If you’re thinking of taking the colour out of your work, here are some tips on how to think in black and white when shooting street photography.

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Learn the Optimal Camera Settings for Stunning Landscape Photography

Thinking of getting into landscape photography? Learn about the best camera settings and shooting techniques in this quick video tutorial.

Anyone who has ever wanted to nail a beautiful landscape photo will know that it’s never as easy as pointing a camera to a stunning scene and pressing the shutter. There’s a lot involved to getting the colors, tones, and sharpness right to give justice to the beauty of the scene. That, of course, means getting your camera settings right. If you’ve been wondering about the optimal settings and shooting techniques for landscape photography, you’re in luck, because we have just the quick but useful video tutorial for your reference.

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Where to Focus When Shooting Landscape Photography

Wondering where is the focusing sweet spot when it comes landscape photography? This quick video tutorial holds the answer!

One of the most crucial things about landscape photography is setting your focus right to get everything in your frame in sharp focus. This allows you to give your viewers an accurate representation of what you saw in the scene. Not quite sure how to achieve this? We have just the right video tutorial for you.

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How to Get Out of a Rut with Street Photography and Continue Growing

Street Photography is as much about psychology as it is about skill and creativity.

There is a mental process that goes into making photographs of everyday people in the street. Confidence is a huge driving force in getting strong, compelling visual content. When confidence is high, so is your creative flair. However, there will be times when you’re not your best self, and a high level of creative productivity is not always sustainable. Almost unknowingly you fall deep into a rut and your photography suffers. You can all of sudden feel stuck, and find that you are asking yourself, “how do I get out of this?”

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Video: How to Become Henri Cartier Bresson (And Zone Focus with Your Fujifilm Camera)

Zone focusing with your Fujifilm camera is pretty easy, but there are two big ways to do this.

Recently on our Instagram TV channel, we showed how photographers can zone focus with their Fujifilm cameras. Believe it or not, it’s pretty simple. However, it depends a whole lot on the lenses you’ve got attached to your camera and can also depend partially on your EVF or screen.

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How to Get More From Your 85mm Lens for Portraiture

Using an 85mm lens is pretty much as simple as mounting it and shooting. But here’s how you can get more from it.

The 85mm lens is a darling of many photographers due to its design. It is a short telephoto focal length and one of the best options when it comes to portrait photography. Many photographers enjoy its versatility; an 85mm lens can shoot street photography, candids, portraits, and landscapes if you’re in the right place. And like most of photography, getting the most from your 85mm lens requires you to be in the right place at the right time while making the most of your subject matter. For example, did you know an 85mm lens can deliver a variety of looks even though it is arguably the best option for portraiture? Let’s dive in.

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The Noob Photographer’s Introduction to Wrap Around Lighting

Wrap around lighting is one of the best ways to do more with less when it comes to portraiture.

When I first learned about wrap around lighting many years ago, I discovered it by accident. Wrap around lighting is a technique used by many photographers to envelope their subject in a lighting that is both flattering and efficient. Lots of portrait photographers do it, and one of the aims is to try to mimic the look of the sun and clouds in certain situations. So today, we’re giving photographers a bit more of an introduction to how to do it.

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Sand on an ND Filter Made a Nice Bokeh Effect on This Long Exposure Photo

Who knew an accidental sprinkling of sand could work some bokeh magic on a long exposure shot?

During one of our routine rounds on Reddit’s photography threads, we spotted a post by Brandon Nguyen on r/photocritique asking for thoughts on one of his long exposures taken at Lake Tahoe. There doesn’t seem to anything out of the ordinary about that at first, except for the bit about sand making a “neato bokeh effect” on his shot.

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How to Take the Best Photos of Fireworks That You’ve Ever Made

Experiencing even a small fireworks show is a purely sensual delight.

For the eyes there is the synchronized bursts of color and lights arcing across the sky, compounded by the light reflecting off the smoke, nearby buildings, and low clouds, but there is more to it than visual spectacle. If you are close enough you can even feel the concussive whump of the shells exploding overhead, smell and taste the acridness of fire and burnt chemicals. For the ears there are the irregularly syncopated booms and bangs of launch and explosion accompanied by the sliding whistle and sizzle of individual stars, and at the end the sheer fusillade of sound followed by silence at the show’s end. It is this sort of whole body experience that makes the show exciting- that and the primal psychological yin-yang attraction to and fear of controlled danger. As a photographer, I see it as my job as trying to transmute that full range of experiences into a visual document which communicates the excitement I felt, across time to someone who was not there. That for me the great challenge.

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How to Shoot Fireworks with Film: An Analog Photography Tutorial

Photographing fireworks on film surely does require more work than when shooting digital.

With pyrotechnics, the stars of the show are quite literally shooting stars (“stars” being the fireworks industry’s term for those bits of flying sparkly fire). As in any performance, stars need a stage, and in a photograph the stage is everything else in the frame: the dark sky, buildings, or monuments, even your fellow audience members watching the show.

Although shooting on film eliminates digital photography’s near immediate feedback loop, it has other advantages. If you use color transparency film, you give up dynamic range with film and the ability to easily manipulate color in exchange for sensationally saturated color against a very dark background. The challenge is to get the exposure right while shooting without resorting to post-shoot processing manipulations. On the other hand, ISO 100 to 400 color negative films have an inherently large highlight range and lower contrast which is great for recording the color and details of the bright but short-lived streaks.

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