Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
*The “Capture Color Series” covers different tips and lessons on Color Street Photography
Some people message me asking how to get the effect where subjects are exposed, while the rest of the scene is in black darkness (Like the photo below). Some even ask if it’s photoshopped to get that effect, which it’s not. So I thought I’d make a post to answer those questions and show you how to do yourself.
This is a popular look in Street Photography today because it adds drama and really makes subjects, colors and contrast pop out at you. It magnifies the intensity of color and contrast too. It also helps your eye focus on specific elements, while taking away any unwanted distractions, like a messy background.
The truth is it’s easy. There’s no Photoshop, flash or complicated tricks needed. It’s all natural light and it’s very simple.
You only need 3 things. The right natural light, the correct camera settings for exposure, and the subjects in the right spot against the light.
So if you want to know how to go out and practice this effect in your Street Photography, I’ll break it down in 5 easy steps.
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Budapest, Hungary at the Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal. This is one of the main train stations in Budapest and lies at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Váci Avenue. So it’s in the heart of the city where there’s always a lot going on in the surrounding area.
I was staying only a couple blocks from here so I’d walk by it daily and usually stop to photograph around the streets outside of the station, where there’s good light and plenty of people. It’s not the largest station in Budapest, but sometimes I’d also take a quick walk inside to see if anything was going on.
From the distance, I noticed an older woman dressed in a long black wool coat with a pink wool hat. She was walking down the platform and with the sunlight and shadows, you could really only see her hat, almost like it was floating. So I hurried down the platform to get a closer shot. I tried to capture her with the floating hat effect, but also so you could see her long shadow in front. Then she walked into the shadow and onto the train, while I went back outside to capture more of Budapest.
After my detour to Rome, I made my way back to Eastern Europe in Belgrade, Serbia. The city isn’t known for its beauty, but in many ways it has something more than a pretty picture can give. It’s gritty and real. You can feel its dark past, but see its bright future. It quickly became one of my favorite cities in Eastern Europe.
So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Belgrade…
* “Master Profiles” is a series profiling all the great photographers of uncontrolled life. Unlike the rest of the blog, I’m doing these in a straight profile format to make it easy for quick access to facts, quotes and knowledge on all the masters. I’ll also group them together here every time I add a new one.
Lee Friedlander (1934-present)
American photographer known for his influential photos capturing the urban “social landscape.”
After the short detour to Rome to film the Street Hunt episode, it was back to Eastern Europe for more Street Photography. This time in Belgrade, Serbia.
“Belgrade” actually translates to “White City,” but I’d find “Gray City” to be more fitting. Belgrade is not the most beautiful city in the world, but it brings its own character that becomes beautiful in its own way. The city has been somewhat of a battleground over the years and this dark past still shows today. At the same time, you can see the positive transition the city is currently enjoying.
It’s also a very walkable city, which is great for exploring this unique Balkan city by foot. So here are my first impressions of Belgrade, from my personal Street Photography perspective…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Belgrade, Serbia by the Zeleni Venac bus station. This is a major terminal station located in the city center so it always busy. You get some interesting characters in this area so I spent a good amount of time here just people watching.
One part I really liked was the pedestrian tunnel that goes underneath the above road and opens up to the bus station. On a sunny day, the light is perfect for highlighting the people coming out of the tunnel, against the black shadowed background.
On this day, I was standing outside of the tunnel watching to see if I could capture anything interesting with the light, when I saw this man in a tan sports jacket walking from the darkness. Then I noticed a woman not far behind him wear a tan jacket of her own. She was walking in a slightly different direction than him so I tried to frame the shot with them slightly separated, while capturing them the exact moment they were both in the right light.
*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, sample walks, safety concerns, street tips, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
Capturing life both candidly and in focus is one of the most difficult, yet most important skills to master in Street Photography. Life moves fast, life is unpredictable and life can happen at any moment around you. Other genres and subjects in photography allow you the freedom and time to set up each shot perfectly. Candid life doesn’t. Since it doesn’t get ready for you, you have to be ready for it.
So how can you make it easier on yourself to capture life in focus the moment it happens? By removing the need to focus your camera on the scene before making the photo. And how can you do that? By learning how to zone focus.
In my opinion, learning how to Zone Focus can be one of the most valuable skills you learn in Street Photography. It’s why I use this technique 90% of the time when I’m shooting Street Photography.
I’ve mentioned Zone Focusing in past articles and it usually brings questions from readers. It can sound more confusing than it actually is if you only give a quick overview. So I wanted to make a comprehensive guide covering all things pertaining to Zone Focusing. The how, why and what of Zone Focusing. Hopefully this guide can answer everyone’s questions and more, but if not, you can always ask me below in the comment section.
