AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY + DIGITAL SEPTEMBER 2015 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 47
LEFT
A couple sits by the river taking in the
cityscape from Captain Burke Park, under
the Story Bridge at Kangaroo Point. I liked
the atmosphere created by the street light
and the lights reflecting on the water. Canon
5D Mk II, 17-40mm @ 20mm, 3s @ f/14, ISO
3200, tripod. Converted to monochrome,
contrast, noise reduction and sharpening in
Photoshop CS5.BELOW
Rays of natural light hit the street as a woman
carries her produce to market in Hanoi,
Vietnam. I waited for my subject to walk into
frame to be highlighted by the beam. Canon
5D Mk II, 70-200mm @ 200mm, 1/2500s
@ f/2.8, ISO 400, handheld. Curves, levels,
contrast and sharpening in Photoshop CS5.HOT TIPS Shoot the Street
02
The best settings
I find the quickest and easiest way to set up my
camera for street photography is to switch the camera to AV
(aperture-priority mode) and select the f-stop (aperture) and ISO
manually. The camera will then decide for itself what the shutter
speed (exposure) should be set to. On a bright sunny day, a good
place to start is around f/16 with an ISO between 200 and 400.
If your camera shows you a shutter speed higher than 1/200s
you’re ready to roll. Take note of the shutter speed your camera is
reading and make adjustments to aperture and ISO accordingly.
If your camera is giving you a shutter speed that is below 1/80s
chances are it’s going to blur your photos (though this can be a
good effect in the right situations). If you need to overcome this
for the type of image you want, simply increase your ISO and/
or open up your aperture (set a smaller number like f/4). If you’re
new to photography you can always set the camera to P mode
(program or auto) and let the camera figure out the settings.
You can still adjust the EV (Exposure Value) if you want to either
over- or underexpose your shot. This is useful if you’re shooting
‘run and gun’ (in a hurry, with no time to think), but you’ll have
little control over what the camera is doing, so this isn’t always
the best option. Program mode does a pretty decent job, but
I wouldn’t rely on it in low light where there’s a high possibility
your shutter speed will be too slow to freeze any action.03
Use your feet
By using a wide-angle lens you’ll be able to get nice
and close to your subjects. The advantage of this is the wide angle
will give the viewer a sense of being ‘right there’ in the moment.
You’ll also blend in with the crowd as part of the environment,
rather than standing across the street looking with a telephoto
lens. A lot of successful street photos were taken within a couple of
metres of the action – sometimes only centimetres away. Taking
a walk through a busy street, market or park can result in some