Ever felt overwhelmed when taking photos in the streets? A lot of us probably experienced that. The buildings, people, cars and lights… There is so much going on in the same place and time, and we’re not sure what to focus on. Here I have compiled some elements that you can look for when practising street photography, from contrast, sense of order, visual interest, to humor. These are definitely not strict rules, and your images don’t have to always include each or all the elements, as this will make you more stressed when taking photos. Take this as a guide, and practise whenever you can, then things will become intuitive and you can break the rules.
Contrasts
Light
Let’s start with the obvious – light, a crucial component in photography. It illuminates the scene with a desirable ambience. But not all lights are equal, some are more harsh like the midday one, some bring a softer look to the images like the sunlight in golden hour, thus the contrasts created will look different. Not to mention the artificial light sources like LED screens and neon shop signs that bring colored light and cinematic ambience in situ. On rainy days there will be reflections of light in the puddles on the ground. When photographing, it is best to identify the effect you want, and then go out in different periods of time of the day accordingly and experiment with different angles to get the best results. Note that if you can’t go out and shoot at the preferred period of time of the day, e.g. midday instead of golden hour, utilize the light source as it is instead of forcing yourself to capture the look you want, e.g high sharp contrast, not the warm soft look. A good street photographer, no matter hobbyist or professional, should learn to create images by adapting to different light sources.
Shadows and silhouettes
The flipside of light is shadow and silhouette, which can bring a sense of mystery to the images, and even become a main subject of the composition. Basically for the best shadows on the ground, it will be best to go for the golden hour, where shadows are long, unlike the ones in the midday which are shorter. However, also try to experiment with midday light, which can create strong contrasts in more shaded areas. For the silhouettes, whether sunlight or artificial lights, identify its location and shoot the opposite way to get the back-lit subjects.
Structure
Repetition
Repetition is an element that gives images with a sense of order effectively. It is also one of the popular ways to create minimal compositions. To achieve the look, you can search for objects that look similar or same, e.g. windows, plants, buildings, and then zoom in for a clear focus against a clean background. You can also seek a pattern among these objects to create an impactful composition.
Leading lines
Leading lines in an image guide people where to look at and what to look for, giving a sense of anticipation. It can also help divide the image into different parts, creating clean composition. When taking photos, try to look for pavements, edges of buildings and walls, staircases, slopes, shorelines, rails etc. The list could go on, but you get the idea, it can be straight or curvy. This will create a solid composition and add perspective to the image. Symmetry in general brings a sense of calmness, while asymmetry gives a bold dramatic composition.
Visual interest
Layering and framing
Layering and framing in photography can add visual interest to the images, in the sense that it gives a point of visual reference or context to the subject. It can inform the viewer more about the place the subject is located, and even add new meaning. To add the frames and layers, try to take one step back to see the overall environment when taking pictures. You can look for window frames, doorways, corridors, rails, which add a layer to the image. Sometimes street ads with attention-grabbing images and text can add a new meaning to the image, you may use them to be one of the layers of composition, if used well, it may display humor and meaningful symbolism.
Scale and distance
While scale / distance is also an element of contrasts, i.e. subjects of different sizes create visual contrast, I put it in the category of interest as it can give different levels of detail in storytelling, from telling the overall situation to feelings of people. You don’t have to always zoom in to strangers’ faces to tell a story (which I won’t recommend), but when playing with distance and scale, you can think about people’s gestures, expressions, sizes of related objects, and how they relate with each other to tell the details of an event / situation.
Colors
Color is a crucial element in creating visual interest as it’s bold and evokes innate feelings. Bold or primary colors (red, blue, yellow) are some good starting points, then you can work with contrasting pairs (warm vs. cold, black vs. white) to create intense feelings. You can have a quick look at color theory and the meanings and emotions associated with, which gives you a general use of color.
Apart from objects with colors, you can also look for ambient lights, e.g. neon signs, lights from shops, sunlight from golden hour, the tinge of blue hour etc., which are mentioned earlier in this article. These light sources can alter how the color of subjects look, and evoke an appealing mood.
Humor
The last one could be hard to come by, but with constant practice, patience, and sometimes a bit of look, you can create humor in your images. These include coincidence, juxtaposition of two or multiple objects, people’s expressions and reaction to an incident or unexpected situation, or anything that interests and surprises people, in a visual or cultural context. To start with, depending on the location you take photos, you can focus on man-made objects like sculptures, traffic signs, shop signs, balloons, steam pipes, ads / billboards… anything that interests you or is designed to capture attention. Then you stay around it to observe the place and people for a while, like the interaction between it and people, and move around to experiment with positions of the object and people, and capture the images.
For now, that’s all I can think of when it comes to street photography elements. I hope this can make street photography less intimidating. The more you practise and are willing to break free from your comfort zone, the more likely you will enjoy street photography and make progress. That’s all for now folks, until next time!