10 Street Photography Tips to Make Your Travel Photos Stand Out

Many people underestimate the role professional photographers play in taking good photos. However, most photographers will confess it took them a lot of time and practice to perfect their art. Street photography offers a unique challenge because it’s all about documenting spontaneous life as it happens on the streets.

There are many things to consider especially if you are a traveler looking to showcase aspects of the cities you tour. But even beginners can snap some great photos.The following tips will help you take excellent street photos at any place you visit.

10 key street Photography tips to make your travel photos stand out

1. Choose the right lens

This is a major deciding factor in the success of your project. A telephoto lens may be tempting to use, but its size makes it unsuitable for street photography. You want a lens that will capture the best photos while remaining inconspicuous so as not to draw attention to yourself. A wide-angle lens is perfect since it is smaller and allows you to get up close to the action.

2. Interact with many people

You meet many different people every day if you are a street photographer. Do not be afraid to talk to people or request photos. The more people you interact with, the more the chances you get to take good pictures. Even though some may not be comfortable with you taking their photos, interacting with them may change their mind or end up making you a new friend.

3. Camera settings

To get the best out of your camera, you need to adjust a few things so that the parameters suit the environment you are shooting in. For street photography, an easy set up for any camera is to switch it to aperture-priority mode (AV) and choosing the aperture and ISO manually. You can change the f-stop and ISO settings depending on the weather or time of day or night.

4. Get closer

Don’t be afraid to get close to your subjects. Since you are using a wide angle lens, you can get closer to get that perfect shot. Try walking through a busy street and look out for interesting subjects. Many successful street photos were captured by photographers who were there right on time.

5. Never leave your camera behind

You can’t be sure what you will run into when walking through the streets. When you are a street photographer, your camera is an extension of yourself. You have to take it everywhere and always be ready to take pictures quickly as soon as you spot something interesting.

6. Shoot during the day

Street photographers can agree that daytime photos are easier than nighttime photos. Natural light is by far the best source of light you can use for any photography job. Using flash at night can draw unwanted attention. Slow shutter speeds are not ideal for street photography. However, you can still take remarkable street pictures at night if you possess the required skills.

7. Learn anything you can

You must always be ready to try any new ideas you can to improve your skills. The best way is by learning from other good street photographers. You can follow travel photographers on Instagram and Facebook and learn a few tricks. There are also some reputable photography websites, where you can get tutorials and advice from professional street photographers.

8. Think outside the box

To take pictures that stand out, you need to add your personal touch to every photo you take. Remember there are no rules to street photography. Discover your unique style while keeping in mind it’s all about the quality of the story in the photo, not how it was taken.

9. Keep it simple

Don’t have too many elements in your picture. This makes it look messy and might distract from your story. Narrow it down to only one or two points of interest to make it easy for the audience to understand what they are looking at.

10. Have fun

This is the most important bit. Choose sights that you enjoy so that your audience can also enjoy looking at the photos you take there.

Author Bio:
Hi, I’m George. I have been a camera enthusiast from 2008. Cameraseals is my personal blog where I share most of my interests and experiences from using cameras. You will find helpful topics even if you’re a beginner or long-time user.