Australian_Photography__Digital_-_September_2015_

07

Light the night

Night photography on the street offers some great

opportunities for unique images. It’s not as easy as shooting

during the day; you’ll need to be mindful of using slow

shutter speeds and you’ll have to understand how to avoid

blur (if that’s what you want to achieve). High ISOs and wide

apertures can compensate for very low light. You could also

take a tripod with you if you plan to make long exposures,

but sometimes that’s just another thing to carry! By using

a fast aperture lens (f/2.8 or faster) you’ll be able to shoot

low-light scenes and still freeze the action. When you’re

shooting at night try to find interesting lines, shadows

and compositions to give your image a bold visual impact.

Silhouetted subjects are also interesting and can create nice

compositions with the shadow filling the foreground.

08

Good ideas

Powerful ideas and emotions can be portrayed

through the simplest of compositions. Most people wrongly

associate street photography with people or portraits on

the street. You don’t always need people in the frame, or to

capture interesting juxtapositions, or fit as many different

people or objects into the frame as possible. It might be

difficult in busy places, but take a walk down a quiet alleyway

or side street and search for different subjects. You’ll find

there are opportunities for all kinds of images, with or without

people. While I was in Vietnam I spent time wandering the

streets photographing bicycles, which I have turned into a

small series titled ‘Transportation’, and it’s been quite popular

amongst the photo community. This wasn’t my intention,

but by doing something different I was able to stand out in the

photography scene.

09

Quality isn’t everything

Some photographers might disagree with me on this

point, but from my experience shooting on the street I haven’t

been concerned with image quality as much as I am when I’m

shooting landscapes or commercial images. You should strive

for high image quality where possible, but arguably with street

photography it’s not as important. Composition, light, drama

and the story you’re trying to tell are more important than image

quality. If your images capture those four elements, then you’re

on the right path to becoming a better street shooter. Sharpness,

low noise and immaculate image quality are worthless if you have

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