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102 Things I Have Learned About Street

Photography

 by Eric Kim on February 27, 2012

It now has been around 5 years that I have been shooting street photography- and I have

learned an incredible amount through trial and failure. I made this recent list of things I

have learned while shooting street photography– and some of my personal opinions.

Remember, take everything in this list with a grain of salt! I simply made this list as

 both a way for me to self-reflect, and hopefully you can find some of these tips helpful.

You can also see my old posts, “101 Things I Have Learned About Street Photography”

and “100 Things I Have Learned About Street Photography“. As you can see, many of 

my opinions have changed over the course of 2 years. Keep reading- I hope you enjoy!

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1. A photograph is like a sentence. Aim to write a book.

2. Always smile and say “thank you” when shooting on the streets

3. Shoot with your heart, not with your eyes

4. Shooting with friends will make you feel much more comfortable on the streets

5. The most versatile focal length is 35mm

6. Don’t rely on autofocus – use zone focusing

7. Have a drink to loosen yourself up before shooting on the streets

8. Have at least 3 backups of all your photographs (hard drives all eventually fail)

9. If you shoot film, keep your images organized

10. The best critique is never online—always in-person

11. Don’t ask people what they like about your photographs, ask them what they don’t

like

12. Having one camera and lens is bliss13. Buy books, not gear 

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14. Style isn’t something aesthetic

15. “Shoot who you are” – Bruce Gilden

16. Harness the power of groups/collectives to spread your photography

17. Don’t focus on aesthetics in your photos—but rather the message

18. Shooting film is magical

19. Never upload your photographs immediately—let them marinate for at least a week 

 before sharing them

20. Good projects often take at least a year to complete

21. Post-processing your images digitally should never take more than a minute

22. Printing your photographs out large is immensely satisfying

23. Share your knowledge & technique with others – never hoard it yourself 

24. It is better to shoot everyday for 10 minutes than to shoot once a week for 10 hours

25. Only show your best work 

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26. Photo-sets with over 25 images are exhausting to look through

27. It is great to constantly experiment with your technique and gear—but once you

find something that works reasonably well stop and stick with it

28. When in doubt, ask for permission

29. People love to be complimented while on the streets

30. Don’t take photos of people who look pissed off or walk extremely quickly. These

are the people who often get upset when you take their photograph

31. If shooting digital, always shoot in RAW

32. Look at other forms of art for inspiration

33. Take photos of people’s faces, not their backs

34. Eyes are the windows to the soul. Get photos with eye-contact in your images.

35. Your photos are only as good as the photos you look at. Avoid the internet and look 

at photo-books for inspiration36. Giving helpful critique to others will make you a better judge of your own work 

37. “If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough” – Robert Capa

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38. After a whole day of shooting, I am lucky if I get 1-2 good photographs

39. The more time you spend on online forums, the less you will shoot

40. Don’t think too much while taking photographs. Avoid “paralysis by analysis”

41. Don’t chimp while shooting on the streets (checking your LCD screen). You will

lose many decisive moments42. “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” – Seneca

43. You can get luckier in street photography by spending more time out shooting in the

streets

44. Don’t crop. Get it right in-camera

45. Look for the light

46. You will take the best photographs in the least-likely places

47. Always carry your camera with you everywhere you go. Everywhere

48. The smaller your camera is the less intimidating you will look 

49. Don’t shoot from the hip if you have a camera with a viewfinder. Use the

viewfinder—that’s why it’s there

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50. Good composition alone doesn’t make a good photograph. A great photograph

needs soul.

51. Don’t let inspiration be your main source of motivation for shooting. Go out and

shoot even when you don’t feel like it—and the streets will re-inspire you

52. Street photography doesn’t have to have people in it

53. “Creepiness is proportional to focal length”. Don’t shoot street photography with a

telephoto/zoom lens

54. The best place to shoot street photography is your own backyard

55. Crouch often when shooting to get at least eye-level (or lower) to get a natural (or 

unusual perspective)

56. The lighter your camera bag, the more you will enjoy shooting

57. Don’t forget to look down and up when shooting58. When in doubt, click 

59. Don’t try to just take photos of interesting people, but try to take photos of 

interesting gestures

60. It is better to take an extraordinary photo of something ordinary, rather than taking

an ordinary photo of something extraordinary

61. The way people react to street photography (all around the world) is often more

similar than dissimilar 

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62. There is no perfect camera for street photography. Every camera has its own

strengths/limitations

63. Learn to memorize a focal length so you can frame your shots before even bringing

up your camera to your eye

64. The best combo: one camera and one lens

65. Focus on hands – they communicate strong messages to the viewer 

66. Contrary to popular belief, most people don’t get pissed off when you take photos

of them (most people actually quite like it)

67. Street photographs are well-balanced with an odd-number of subjects (1 person, 3

 people, 5 people, etc)

68. “Realize that most of your photographs are crap” – Charlie Kirk 

69. Shoot to please yourself, not others

70. The best response to internet trolls who criticize your work (without helpfulcritique) is to ignore them completely

71. If you have the opportunity, don’t just settle for one photograph. Take multiple

 photographs if possible. “Killers shoot twice” – Thomas Leuthard

72. If you don’t ask for critiques, nobody will ever give it to you

73. If you are going to ask someone for permission for a photograph, always preface

your question with, “I know this may sound weird, but…”. Works like a charm.

74. If you don’t make time to go out and shoot, you will never go out and shoot.

75. Learn to judge distances well- so you can prefocus before you anticipate the shot

(1.2 meters is roughly two arms-lengths, and 3 meters is roughly half the distance of a

room)

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76. Spend less time arguing over the definition of street photography, and go out and

shoot more

77. You only remember 5-10 photographs from some of the most famous street

 photographers who have ever lived. Aim to take 5-10 great photographs before you die.

78. Photography is incredibly difficult

79. If people notice you taking a photograph of you, tell them, “Ignore me—pretend

like you don’t see me” and most people will laugh it off and continue doing what they

were doing

80. If confronted by a person on why you took their photograph, take a step toward

them and be open and honest about your intentions. Stand your ground and know your 

rights.

81. Simplify your photographs. Less is more.

82. Don’t put watermarks on your photographs. It cheapens your work.

83. Street photographs don’t sell84. Travel as often as you can to open up your views to the rest of the world and society

85. Always carry an extra memory card and battery (in war two is one and one is none)

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86. Don’t always hunt for shots—if you are patient enough, they will come to you

87. Shoot at ISO 1600 or above (keep your shutter above 250ths/second)

88. f/8 and be there

89. Black cameras draw less attention to you

90. It is more interesting to take photos of rich people than poor people

91. Never delete any of your photographs (you can rediscover hidden gems later in the

future)

92. Silver Efex Pro 2 is the best black and white conversion software for digital

93. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretsky

94. Don’t aim to take pretty photographs, aim to take meaningful photographs

95. Don’t be sneaky when shooting—you will get in twice as much trouble if you get

caught

96. A great street photograph both has strong composition and story

97. When it comes down to it, composition isn’t as important as the story

98. 99.9% of the photographs online are crap

99. Love your critics

100.Offer to email your subjects their photographs (they love it)

101.Break the rules

102.Make your own list