Street Photography: Capture the Life of Your City

Rating: 6/10

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Street Photography: Capture the Life of Your City

Rating: 6/10

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High-Level Thoughts

The heuristics for good street photos are great, but all of the editing is done with VSCO filters which was kind of annoying. Wanted to learn more about doing the editing myself.

Summary Notes

Four main types of shots:

Lookup: Looking up at the buildings, sky, etc.Street portrait: Capturing someone in the cityMoving objects: Getting a nice blur on a car, subwayNight Photography: Everything at night

General

When you’re walking, take portraits. When you’re at a red light, take motion blur.You can copy and paste lightroom edits!He mostly uses VSCO presets for editing which is a little annoying, wanted to learn more about creating those effects.

Street Portraits

Typically worth avoiding touristy shots, streets with tons of stores on them.Find an interesting composition with the buildings around you, then wait for people to walk into it. Look for great walls, framingYou have the right to take people’s pictures in public, don’t worry about it

Lookups

Primarily looking for:Interesting skyScale, how big it is and how the lines convergeShape of the buildingNegative spaceInteresting juxtapositions like an old brick building next to a new glass oneMake sure you get the lines rightCheck for reflections in the glassInteresting brickA wider angle will help you catch more scale of the buildings

Motion Blur

Two ways to do it:Object moving with a static environment (long shutter speed)Object still with moving environment (long shutter speed w/ pan)It’ll help to have something to rest your camera on to keep it steadyFor panning, pick a focus point on the object to keep the center of your camera on

Night Photography

Three previous styles just at nightTry to use artificial light to create interesting photos.Motion blur can be more interesting at night with the car lights streaking.

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