It's my hope that some of the ideas in this post may resonate with you and help elevate the level of your street photography work. I'm not going to be discussing things like 'proper' composition, or the 'best' aperture to shoot at, or even the right type of gear to use. All of those elements are part of a vast array of stylistic choices at your disposal. Instead, I'll be talking about a general type of approach I find necessary for street photography.


I've found it true that like no other form, the nature of shooting street photography (particularly human interaction) requires: presence.


In wedding photography there is a degree of predictability in determining major cultural moments to capture. Still, there exist hundreds of split-second interactions/glances/etc that are part of the greater story. They come fast. Capturing them no doubt requires a heightened level of awareness and sensitivity.


I think what makes street photography so difficult to engage in, is not so much a matter of the overwhelming number of moments, but rather the opposite. Extraordinary moments tend to disguise themselves as mere ordinary moments. Pulling them apart from the monotonous is what takes this deeper level of awareness.

As an aside, I've recently really been moved by the way David DuChemin writes about 'Vision' in his book Within The Frame:


Vision is everything, and the photographic journey is about discovering your vision, allowing it to evolve, change, and find expression through your camera and the print. It is not something you find and come to terms with once and for all; it is something that changes and grows with you. The things that impassion you, that anger you, that stir you—they are part of your unique vision. It is about what you—unique among billions—find beautiful, ugly, right, wrong, or harmonious in this world. and as you experience life, your vision changes. the stories you want to tell, the things that resonate with you—they change and so does your vision