How I Figured Out My Street Photography Style
When I started out in street photography, I would take a bunch of photos and come home empty-handed more often than not. And it still happens. It’s part of the process. But I really wasn’t getting the results I wanted when I started out.
I think one of the main reasons was that I would just go out without having anything in mind as to what street photography style I was going for. I didn’t even really have a subconscious idea either.
On some level, I think this is totally fine because it’s all part of the learning process. But I knew I had to more clearly define the style I wanted for my images.
Once I knew what styles I gravitate towards in street photography, the better my sessions got. I started coming home with more keepers that I could be proud of. This is how I went about defining my street photography style.
I Studied the Works of Great Street Photographers
There are so many amazing and talented street photographers out there. I’ve been collecting street photography books for over a decade now.
This is kind of a captain obvious thing to say, but street photography books are the best way to consume street photography. Instagram is a good place to discover street photographers and promote your own work, but looking at street photography on a small screen is just not it. Street photography books not only let you see the photos in large prints, but they also let you see the photos in a cohesive collection that takes on a life of its own.
By collecting a lot of photo books by street photographers, my eye for composition improved. And by looking at so many photos from many different perspectives and styles, I was able to start formulating my own opinions on style and what I liked. I developed better taste in my preferences.
Like any art form, I think street photography is pretty subjective. What some people think is amazing, I may think is utter dog shit (which is frequently the case when I’m scrolling through Instagram). But I don’t think you should formulate very strong opinions on what makes for good or bad street photography until you put the work in and study it.
There are many others, but below are some street photographers I would recommend looking into.
I Took a Lot of Photos
There’s no better way to learn something than to jump in and do it.
One thing that really helped speed up the process of getting better at street photography was actually doing wedding photography. Wedding photography gave me the opportunity to learn composition and how to compose frames with multiple subjects and layers. The great thing about it was that people were very open to being photographed because they knew I was an event photographer who was hired to be there. It also helped that I worked as a second shooter for a great photographer who had similar influences as me and did street photography as well. Although he could be a major asshole at times…
Obviously, I also did a lot of street photography. There’s not much better than being out on the streets taking photos. I’ve gone through phases when I photograph a ton, and then there have been times when I’ve been held back from doing street photography for various reasons. I’ve found that the important thing is to stick with it and get out there and photograph and not let things that are in my control hold me back.
There will always be bad days when I feel like I’m not taking any good photos, but in general, the more I photograph, the better I get. Now that I have a clear idea of the type of photos I want to take, the easier it is to find those scenes on the street. And that intuition, skill, or whatever you want to call it, came from taking a lot of photos.
These days, I realize that I love the process of doing street photography, even if I don’t come away with any good photos. I have a constant need to get outside, and street photography is the best reason to go outside and be active.
Creating photography I can be proud of has been a process, and I needed to put a lot of work into it. I’m lucky in that I enjoy the simple things like walking so much. It may seem unrelated, but this is partly what has allowed me to be consistent with my street photography, and ultimately, narrow in on my style.
Photo Analysis and Editing
I learned just as much from doing street photography as I did from analysing and editing the results of my endeavors.
There are a lot of composition guidelines you can take into consideration when analyzing your street photography, but I tend to go more based on feel. Street photography isn’t a science; it’s an art form.
So while I appreciate concepts like the rule of thirds and leading lines, they’re far from the end-all be-all for me. I keep composition concepts in mind when I’m analyzing and editing my photos, but I have the final say.
When I edit my street photography, these are some things I look for:
Composition: The first thing I look for is just a general, “Does this photo work?” I look for whether the frame is balanced in a visually pleasing way.
Layers: I prefer my photos to have multiple layers that lead my eye through the frame.
Good light: I like warm light that contrasts with deep shadows.
Interesting moments: While I don’t need “decisive moments” for my street photography, I welcome them if they present themselves before me.
Emotion: If my photos evoke a feeling or emotion in me, I feel as though I’ve done a good job.
I think that the more I’ve analyzed my work, the more discerning I’ve become. I’ve raised my standards over the years. Now that I’ve taken so many photos, I think it has given me more freedom to be more honest about the quality of my photography.
I Took What I Learned and Applied It
The important thing I’ve learned over the years of doing street photography is that I have to go out and do it. I have to remind myself sometimes that the work isn’t going to create itself. There are so many distractions that I’ve let get in the way to dampen my motivation for doing street photography.
What I sometimes forget is that I feel so much better doing street photography than almost anything else. The hardest part is taking that first step out of the house.
Once I got better about recognizing this in myself, I was able to put everything I’ve laid out here into practice. And that’s what’s required to get better at street photography or anything else, is to practice, practice, practice. Then analyze, refine, and iterate.
