Epic Street Photos: 10 Tips To Great Photos in Public Places
Street photos in public places showcased in this candid Floating Markets image.
Making street photos in public places is exciting but tricky given privacy concerns. With so many years experience as a travel photographer I’ve discovered unique ways to reconcile this dilemma and create really great photos in public places.
In most countries, permission isn't required to make street photos of people in public places. However, it’s polite to ask permission prior to photographing a stranger. It's also a good idea to research local religious or cultural taboos regarding inappropriate behavior when photographing people.
While some argue that, by definition, street photos featuring people need to be strictly candid, many great travel photos are created with the permission of those depicted.
Table of Contents:
1. Great Candid Photos Are Often a Collaboration
There’s a special quality to candid photography that sets it apart from more formally posed portrait photos. And I’m not just talking about photos made with the subject unaware of what you’re doing.
The defining factors in creating beautiful candid photos are why and how you go about making those photos.
Frankly, I believe you’re either a photo maker or a photo taker.
When it comes to people based photography my own preference is to make interactive portraits that come out of a collaborative approach between myself and the subject.
I’ve hardly ever photographed a truly candid image. Although, in practice, I’ve made many photos of people that have the look of a candid moment.
As a case in point, I photographed this lovely food vender, selling produce from her traditional long-tail boat, at the popular Damnoen Saduak Floating Market near Bangkok in Thailand.
I gestured to her with my camera in a way that sought permission to make a photo. She nodded, got back to business and this photo followed almost immediately afterwards.
Knowing I had permission to make my photos allowed me to proceed with confidence, in the knowledge I wouldn’t be interfering in the vendor’s busy day.
It’s a collaborative approach, even when few if any words are spoken.
It’s worth noting that, in circumstances like this, it’s either unnecessary or impossible to pose or direct your subject.
But you need to understand what you’re doing. In this case I was able to build the composition around three colors: red, green and yellow.
There’s also a nice moment when the woman simultaneously handles several red peppers. I remember being impressed with the speed and dexterity with which she did so.
Being able to record that moment in time, as she expertly handled the peppers, is a gentle nod to the concept of the Decisive Moment in photography.
But that particular gesture also acts as a visual bridge, connecting her red shirt with the peppers on the opposite side of the frame.
Best yet is the light on her face, also due to good timing and a contributing factor to the decisive moment underpinning the success of this photo.
You see it was a very bright day, which meant her thick, bamboo hat put her face into dark shade. That would have been enough to ruin the photo.
However, having learned this lesson, more than once, and suffered so many disappointing results along the way you, inevitably, gain an understanding of light and how to successfully use it when making photos.
What’s more, you instinctively know the limitations of your camera’s sensor to manage high dynamic range scenes.
It’s this kind of experience that should result in you photographing less often, but really committing yourself to the task at hand when the subject, scene and dynamic range are better suited to making great photos.
That’s not to say I don’t photograph under poor lighting conditions. I do, when there’s no other choice. But I’ll intervene, direct and often move my subjects into better light to achieve the desired result.
But, outside of a commercial photo shoot, that kind of intervention is unlikely to happen at a busy place like the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, particularly when you’re photographing someone in a traditional long-tail boat.
In this case I simply waited until the moment was right to make the photo. That involved the vendor lifting her head up enough so I could see her face, illuminated by reflected light, while so expertly bagging those peppers.
I moved on happy in the knowledge that I’d created a beautiful image in a way that was respectful to the person photographed.
Street photo of a mime artist in San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2. Travel Photographers Please Do Your Research
Travel provides us with a veritable treasure trove of opportunities for great photos. Markets, festivals and parades all offer unique possibilities and challenges for the enthusiastic travel photographer.
Needless to say, many of these possibilities involve photographing people. But when is it appropriate to photograph someone you don’t know? And is permission required before you start making photos of people in public places?
Whenever I’m considering an overseas trip I always consult a guidebook, or do some research online, to determine any local sensitivities towards photography.
It’s just so important to undertake your own research, particularly when traveling to foreign locales, prior to making candid street photos featuring people in public places.
Sensitivities may relate to a variety of factors, including the following:
Religious or cultural beliefs
Age, particularly in the case of minors
Gender
Marital status
Social, political or security concerns
Some of my research led me to the understanding that candid street photography is illegal in Saudi Arabia.
Not knowing this fact could place the photographer, whether professional or simply a tourist snapping away with their mobile phone camera, in serious trouble.
Once I have a general understanding of any local expectations and taboos relating to photography I can then decide whether a travel photography trip is worthwhile.
This research also enables me to determine whether my photography is likely to concentrate on people, landscape or architectural subject matter.
It’s true that it can be difficult to know when it’s okay to photograph a stranger and if you need permission to do so when photographing in public places?
What’s more, laws regarding making street photos in public places may very depending upon the country or local jurisdiction in which you’re photographing.
I’m no lawyer, so I advise you to do what I do. Undertake research that’s relevant to the destination in question.
That research should include what’s legally permissible, as well as what’s considered to be culturally appropriate behavior, when it comes to approaching people and making photos in the part of the world you’re considering visiting.
My approach is to undertake some research to gain a general understanding of any local expectations and taboos that might relate to the kind of street photos I’d be most likely to make.
In some cases this research could cause me to choose different subject matter or to photograph in a completely different genre.
While it’s never happened to me, there’s always the chance that my research will determine that the trip I’d envisaged simply won’t come to pass.
The best solution might then be to set my sights on an entirely different destination. Given I travel to make photos, that’s not a particularly radical approach.
Fortunately, prior to undertaking a journey to Argentina, my research suggested that it was acceptable to make street photos in public places.
Buenos Aires, while it was once a rich and grand city, has suffered from years of government mismanagement. Things are looking much brighter under the leadership of President Javier Milei, but my visit preceded his time in office.
With that said, I choose the highly touristed areas of La Boca and San Telmo in Buenos Aires for my street photography adventures.
I deemed that, with the exception of pick pockets, it was both safe and acceptable to make street photos in these popular urban neighborhoods.
I think there’s a reasonable argument, though not necessarily a legal one, that local folk are probably more likely to be accepting of candid photography in a public, highly touristed part of town.
Nonetheless, I made sure I got permission from the street performer in San Telmo before making the above photo.
Given the fact that he was a mime artist, posing as a statue, I didn’t directly approach him as I was concerned that would tip passers by off to the fact that he wasn’t actually a statue.
Instead, I lifted my camera up while, simultaneously, tilting my head downwards in a polite, somewhat submissive gesture.
This is an approach I’ve used for many years where distance, physical barriers, street noise and/or lack of a common language makes it difficult to talk directly with the person in question.
In this case, permission was given and understood through a wink and a subtle nod from the performer.
This allowed me to approach him and photograph from a relatively close distance, eliminating the chance that people would walk in front of me and spoil any of the potentially great photos I was about to make.
Employing a wide angle lens, quite close to the primary subject, also enabled me to ensure the performer appeared relatively large in the frame, while still allowing me to include quite a bit of the surrounding environment in the photo.
In this case that’s important because, rather than isolating the subject from his environment, I’m using the surroundings in this street photo to add to the story that’s being told.
In addition to interesting subject matter, it’s the relationships explored in the image that make it so compelling.
Differences in gender, age and perceived disparities in wealth and lifestyle are evident between the two people. These are just some of the dualities I love to explore in the street photos I create.
Notice to how the surroundings, including part of a window in an exclusive antique shop, also suggest a contrast between old world grandeur and the kind of tagging we associate with our contemporary society.
Street photo of a woman in a colorful public place in Kolkata.
3. Making Portrait Photos In Public Places
When it comes to people-based photography, my own preference is to make interactive portraits that are created out of a collaborative approach between myself and the subject.
I’ve hardly ever photographed a truly candid image. Although, in practice, I’ve made many images that have the look of a candid moment.
Take a look at this environmental portrait of a woman in a Kolkata backstreet. She was both aware of my presence and happy to be photographed. In fact she very much wanted me to make her picture.
Isn’t it great that our digital cameras allow us to share the beauty of the moment we’ve just recorded by showing the subject the image within seconds of us having created it?
That’s exactly what I did, and I can tell you the experience brought a lot of joy into her life. Needless to say, the fact that she was happy also made me happy.
I think what makes this particular image unique is that, while somewhat posed, it has the look and feel of a candid moment that’s been recorded.
That’s due, largely, to the seemingly haphazard composition that underpins this photo. But the fact is, the composition is very deliberate.
I wanted to include some elements from the environment to help tell the story of the woman I was photographing. However, it was essential that she dominated the picture.
The solution was to position her close to the middle of the image, to include the towels on the left hand side of the frame and part of the elderly man’s face in the bottom right hand corner of the picture.
I suspect most camera club judges wouldn’t understand the reason for making photos in this way.
The fact is that, as well as adding a sense of humor to the image, the composition underpinning this photo is based, primarily, around color and angles.
Notice the brown hues of the towel and the people’s skin and how that contrasts with the cool bluish hues in the window frame and wall behind them. This color contrast works to amplify the strength of both the warm and cool colors in the image.
Despite the strong vertical lines in the window frame, there’s a gentle diagonal that links the color of the man’s face, via the woman in the middle of the frame, with the brown towel on the left edge of the picture.
Can you see how the angle of the woman’s arms, leading down to her large hands, creates a framing device with her face and neck.
Due to the shape that’s created, her skin becomes a subject in itself, while her dress becomes a space or background onto which the skin has been placed.
You can imagine that might be how a painter would approach structuring a likeness of her on canvas.
If you’d like to know more about the craft of creating great environmental portraits do take a look at the extensive guide I created titled Fantastic Environmental Portraits: How to Master People Pics.
4. Don’t Be Sneaky When You Make Photos
It’s silly to think that, unless you’re hidden from view with a very long lens, that you’re unable to photograph someone in a public place in a way that appears candid.
The fact is that your camera and, in particular, the size of a physically large lens, announces your presence and advertises your intentions.
Some folks probably think that by sneaking around they’ll be able to catch or snatch a photo.
Chances are the locals have formed much the same impressions of your intentions and, by implication, of you.
There’s a reason my people photos look the way they do. It’s because, rather than snapping pics from behind a bush, I actively interact with the people I want to photograph.
Once contact has been made and trust established, it’s extremely rare for anyone to refuse my request to photograph them.
5. Do You Make Photos Or Take Photos?
I understand what I’m about to say might seem like semantics. Nonetheless, words are powerful and words have meaning.
Personally I don’t like using any of the following words when it comes to my own photography.
take
shoot
capture
I make street photos in public places based upon a totally different mindset and I aim to approach the event in an open, honest, empathetic and authentic way.
Rather than taking anything from anyone I seek to bring my own unique character, personality, experiences and expertise to each and every interaction.
I’ve written an extensive post on this topic which I believe you’ll find interesting. It’s titled Words Related To Photography I Hate.
Given I’m the photographer, I need to keep control of the situation. However, I make sure I do so in a way that’s enjoyable and stress free for the person being photographed.
That means being polite, enthusiastic and making my photos quickly and efficiently with a minimal amount of direction.
I abhor the aggressive and, on occasions, predatory nature I’ve seen other travel photographers take when making street photos in public places.
Porter, loaded with goods, walking a hard road in winter on Huangshan.
6. Etiquette For The Concerned Street Photographer
There is one lesson, in particular, that I learned as a child which has stayed with me throughout my life and largely determines how I interact with people and how I go about making street photos.
I remember my dear old mum rebuking me, more than once, with this simple statement.
“How would you feel if someone had done that to you.”
Perhaps that’s a question the long lens brigade should ask themselves the next time they try to capture or shoot someone unawares, from behind the bushes.
Yet all concerned, compassionate photographers want to create photos that reveal something of the essence of the subject in question and, in doing so, explore the human condition.
“The compassionate photographer has to balance the subject’s desire for privacy with their own needs and those of their audience.”
Let’s examine this photo I made of a porter, on an extremely cold and windy mountain pass on Huangshan Mountain in China. To suggest his was a hard road would be an understatement in the extreme.
There was only a few seconds available to me, after seeing the porter emerge out of the mist, to gain permission and make the necessary adjustments to my camera to be able to create such an epic photo.
I very much wanted to tell the story of how hard life was for this hard working man. But, given the surroundings, there was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to create an extremely evocative photo.
It’s a descriptive photo and the difficulty of his job, set against the cold beauty of the environment, is really what the photo is about.
I don’t speak Chinese and, even if I did, I doubt he would have had the energy or the time to converse with me.
I’d traveled to Huangshan Mountain specifically for landscape photography. Needless to say, I had no idea that opportunities for great people photos would be possible.
One thing I knew instinctively. He wasn’t about to lay his burden down and allow me to set up a photo. I had to act decisively, to take the opportunity in the few short seconds I had available to me.
That meant making a candid photo, whether or not that was my preference. But I still wanted to have his permission to do so.
Huangshan is a cold and spectacularly beautiful location during winter. That said, I found toiling up and down thousands of steps, in search of epic photos, to be a hard and grueling experience.
But boy oh boy was it worth it. I was rewarded with one of the greatest adventures of my life and a portfolio of photos with which I’m really very happy.
But as hard as it was for me, I can’t imagine how tough carrying back breaking loads on Huangshan Mountain must be for the porters.
And then there’s the workers sweeping ice and snow off the steps, keeping it safe for tourists like me to traverse the mountainous trails.
I only saw a few dozen people during my three days trekking across the top of Huangshan Mountain. And I spotted most of them in hotel restaurants at dinner time.
But during those long days on the trail, I kept my camera handy and was constantly adapting it’s settings to the changing light. I just had to be ready for the possibility that a great photo opportunity like this might present itself.
Expressed as succinctly as I can, here’s how I photographed the porter.
I saw the porter emerge from the mist.
I asked for permission to make his photo by raising my camera and, simultaneously, bowing my head.
I received a nod in reply.
I made a couple quick adjustments to my camera to achieve correct exposure and focus, and to ensure that I’d be able to freeze the subject, given the modest pace at which he was moving.
I made a single exposure.
I smiled, as a way of thanking him, as we passed each other and continued on our respective journeys.
Now that, my friend, is living in the moment.
Two girls step anxiously into the waters of the Hooghly River, Kolkata.
7. Candid Photos Are The Exception To The Rule
I always try to ask permission prior to making photos of people, even in public places.
But there are exceptions to the rule, which I want to explore as a way of helping you manage similar situations when making street photos during your own travel photography adventures.
There will be times when you see something interesting that’s about to happen.
If you wait until after you’ve been granted permission to make the photo, you’ll miss the moment.
Frankly, I don’t think any of us should be so dogmatic in our opinions or approach that we prevent ourselves making truly great photos that have the power to bring positive change to our world.
In this case the best option might be to make the photo and then approach the subject, or their guardian, and explain why you felt it best to make the picture without first asking permission.
Usually that’s because you felt the moment you saw unfolding before you was unrepeatable.
In such circumstances I feel it’s important that your explanation be framed, in part, as an apology.
That’s exactly how this photo of the two young girls stepping gingerly into the waters of the Hooghly River in Kolkata came about.
I was there and anticipated the event unfolding. The only way to document the moment was to immediately react and make the photo.
I love the eerie, somewhat surreal nature of this image and the visual balance in composition that’s achieved between the girls and the crows on the other side of the picture.
To me the photo explores the crossing, whether spiritual or actual, between two worlds: the world of the known and the world that exists on the edge of our everyday experience.
I think that, if your intentions are pure and you’re not photographing someone in a derogatory manner, given local laws and cultural sensitivities, that it’s generally reasonable to proceed and discreetly make some photos.
However, it’s a decision each of us has to make for ourselves. And no two situations are exactly the same.
One advantage we have these days is that, by showing the photo you’ve just made to the subject and/or their guardian, they’ll likely realize you mean no harm.
That’s so much better than being accosted by someone wanting to rip the film out of your camera.
I have, on the odd occasion, emailed copies of candid photos to people I’ve photographed. I’ve done so as a way of thanking them and as a way of gifting them with something of genuine beauty.
However, where children are involved, I’d only correspond directly with the child’s parents or guardians. I think that’s a very important practice.
I know I can be trusted and that my motivations are pure. But I have no idea as to the motivations or intentions of the next person with a camera and a smile.
Sadly, that fact probably impacts on the way most of us relate to children we meet along our life’s journey.
I really love kids, but I’ve learned to keep a slight distance to help ensure they won’t become too familiar, too quickly with other strangers they meet.
It’s not my preference, but I do think it’s the responsible approach to take.
It’s true that, after photographing a stranger unawares, it can be tricky approaching them or their guardian and explaining why you’ve done what you’ve done.
The interaction could go either way and it’s a matter of acting in a way that you feel best fits the situation at hand. At such times I generally trust my intuition.
However, your courage, tact and preparedness to show the images you’ve made will open up a dialogue and may even provide you with an opportunity to ask permission to make more photos.
One of the beliefs that underpins my own philosophy towards photography is that your camera should not be a physical barrier between you and the world.
I believe your camera should be a passport into lives and places beyond your normal, everyday experience.
It’s true to say that, without a camera in my hand, I’m actually quite a shy person.
But my belief that the camera is a passport has made it easier for me to take more risks and push myself harder to approach and interact with strangers than would otherwise have been possible.
And I have no doubt that my life has been made so much richer because of this belief.
8. How To Make Street Photos In A Politically Correct World
Each of us is responsible for the decisions we make and, to a degree, the consequences of those decisions.
However, it’s my view that if your motivations are pure and your intentions are to produce beautiful, life affirming images then, more often than not, you should be able to do so.
But, again, be aware of local politics, regulations and taboos. And do be sensitive to the mood of the individual you'd like to photograph.
Clearly, there are some folks who, on a particular day, just don’t want to be photographed.
A good street photographer, working in public places, should be tuned into the mood of those around them and be able to adapt appropriately.
Not only is it polite to leave folks alone that don’t want to be photographed, it can also be good for your health.
It’s my view that photographers who aggressively assert their right to make photos of strangers in public places are problematic.
Whether they’re legally allowed to make those photos or not is, to my mind, somewhat academic if you’re dealing with a seven foot tall individual with fists like hammers.
There are a lot of people who are passionate about street photography, which they see as the art of photographing strangers unawares.
I have no problem with that and recognize the skill and dedication required to create great images under technically difficult and rapidly changing situations.
But want I don’t like, and what I refuse to support, is the aggressive nature by which some street photographers defend their right to photograph other people in public places.
Frankly, I feel that kind of attitude is harmful to the genre of street photography and, more generally, to the profession photography industry.
Here’s my approach to photographing strangers.
Candid street photo of girls playing in a public place, Bali, Indonesia.
9. It’s Not A Crime To Use A Big Lens For Street Photos
Let it be said that, while it’s by no means my preference when making street photos in public places, I’m not trying to diminish the appropriateness of the telephoto lens for wildlife, sports and certain types of surveillance photography.
In fact I have a lovely Sony 200mm-600mm F5.6-6.3 zoom lens which I employ for a lot of my own wildlife and sports photos. It’s a high quality lens that’s great fun to use.
Likewise, I’m not ignoring the way a telephoto lens can help to emphasize a subject by separating them from their surroundings through a narrow field of view and a very shallow depth of field.
After all, that’s exactly what I achieved in this candid photo of three young girls at play around a tree in Bali, Indonesia.
I suspect part of my reasoning for deciding upon a black and white rendering of this image was to express the timeless beauty of such a moment and to explore the innocence of childhood.
Another important point I want to make, to avoid any possible confusion, is that I’m definitely not criticizing anyone for making candid street photos, with a wide angle lens, in public places.
That endeavor takes courage, commitment and a range of well developed techniques.
I studied photography, at a tertiary level, for nine years. During that time I was exposed to the work of some of photography’s greatest street photographers.
My favorite street photographers include the following:
I’m simply questioning the motivations some photographers have for photographing strangers, and pointing out the beauty of an interactive portrait and the positive aspects associated with engaging, one-to-one, with people outside of your own, everyday experiences.
10. Make Beautiful, Life-Affirming Street Photos
The reason why you make photos is critical to the success of your photography.
If you’re out in the world motivated by a need to make photos that, quite deliberately, showcase everyday people in uncomplementary and unflattering ways then I think you need to ask yourself why it is you do what you do.
By contrast, I make photographs that celebrate the beauty of our world and its people. Empathetic by nature, I approach people with humility and allow my honest and affable disposition to shine through.
Rather than taking, capturing or shooting photos, I work hard to create beautiful, life affirming images that explore the human condition. In the process of doing so I invest my own unique character, personality, experiences and expertise into the interaction.
At the end of the day we are all responsible for the decisions we make and the actions that follow. In that regard we are very much responsible for creating our own reality.
Photography is a wonderfully creative endeavor that has the potential to greatly enrich our lives.
If you’re motivated to look for hope and beauty, even in the darkest places, the photographs you create will stand apart from those made by others seeking the sensational, the sleazy and the sordid.
Frankly, I don’t see why they bother.
Conclusion: What Makes A Great Street Photo?
I love making all manner of photos, in all manner of places. I love making street photos just as much as I do undertaking portrait and landscape photography projects.
As luck would have it, travel photography enables me to immerse myself in all of these photography genres, all while exploring some of our world’s most exotic and intoxicating places.
Street photography can be a daunting experience for the uninitiated. With that said, you might want to hook up with a friend for your first few adventures photographing people in busy public places.
There’s something to be said for there being safety in numbers.
You’ll decide, soon enough, whether making street photos suits your temperament. But do give it time. It’s not an easy endeavor and you can’t be expected to know what you’re doing without quite a bit of practical experience.
Along the way you’ll determine what kind of street photos you most enjoy creating.
Is it photos of people walking in and out of shadows as they cross city intersections?
Maybe candid photos of people reflected in shop windows is what most floats your boat.
Perhaps your images are more surrealistic in nature, concerned more with exploring ideas, meaning and metaphors more so than the actual people depicted.
It might be that you become a disciple of the Decisive Moment where subject, environment, light, composition and gesture most inform the photos you create.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and the greatest street photographers don’t just walk into the light of understanding.
They work their way up and out of the shadows, through trial and error and by regularly critiquing the quality of their photos and the meaning inherent to their best images.
And, like all great photographers, they’re always considered with creating their next, best photo.
That being said, my most important piece of advice for enthusiast level photographers wanting to photograph people in public places is, where ever possible, to do what I do.
Ask Permission First.
