The best street photography settings (and when I use zone focusing)

Out on the street, you rarely have time to fiddle with buttons. Someone steps out of a doorway, glances back, and two seconds later it's over. If you're still focusing, you've got a photo of someone's back.

My street photography settings are mainly about having the camera ready before anything happens. You set them before heading out, or when you stop somewhere to wait. After that, you'd rather not have to think about them.

In this article, I'll go through the settings that make a difference on the street. I'll also explain when I use zone focusing. You'll find a short version of these rules of thumb on my Street photography checklist. If you'd first like to read about what matters beyond the technical side, try the fifteen lessons it took me years to learn. There's hardly anything about buttons in there. There's a reason for that.

Shutter speed: 1/250 second or faster

If I had to pick one setting, this would be it. Everything moves on the street. People walk, cycle, turn their heads. And you're not always standing still yourself.

My rule of thumb is 1/250 second or faster. That freezes someone walking without their hands or feet blurring. For faster movement, such as cyclists, running children or someone walking close past you, 1/500 or 1/1000 second is well worth having.

When the light drops, a slower shutter speed is tempting. At least it keeps your ISO down. I'd do it the other way round. A bit of noise is hardly ever a problem. A blurry face is.

Sometimes you want to show movement: people drifting like ghosts past a stationary building, or a cyclist you're panning with. Then you deliberately choose a slower shutter speed. I'll come back to that later. The difference is in making that choice. You want movement in the photo because you chose it, rather than because your camera picked a slower shutter speed as it got darker.

Aperture: go for depth of field

For portraits, you often want the widest possible aperture for that soft, blurred background. On the street, it's usually the other way round.

You want depth of field. There's little time to focus precisely, and the surroundings often matter just as much as the person. The building, the shop, that second person in the background looking in exactly the right direction: you want to be able to see them.

My checklist says f/4.5 or smaller, meaning a higher number. For most situations, somewhere between f/5.6 and f/8 works well. In daylight with plenty of light, f/8 is a good starting point. As it gets darker, move towards f/5.6 or open up further. You accept a little less depth of field.

A smaller aperture is forgiving, too. If your focus is half a metre out, your subject will often still fall within the sharp area at f/8. At f/2, that would ruin the photo.

ISO and auto ISO

Keep ISO as low as possible, says my checklist. That's right, but on the street, "as low as possible" means something different from what it means in a studio. ISO comes last. First, choose a shutter speed that's fast enough and an aperture that gives you enough depth of field. Whatever ISO you need after that is what you need.

That's why auto ISO is so useful on the street. Set your camera to manual or aperture priority, choose your aperture and let the camera handle ISO. Set a minimum shutter speed as well. On most cameras, you'll find that in the auto ISO menu. Set it to 1/250 second, and the camera will raise the ISO before choosing a slower shutter speed.

Set a maximum ISO you're happy with, too. Modern cameras can handle a lot, especially in black and white. Noise tends to look more like grain than a distraction.

I use a Fujifilm X100V, a compact camera with a fixed lens. Exactly how auto ISO works varies between cameras and brands. Have a look in your own camera's menu. Fifteen minutes spent finding it will save you a lot of fiddling about on the street.

Manual, aperture priority or automatic?

The mode you choose matters less than you might think. As long as you know what the camera is deciding for you.

Manual with auto ISO is very predictable on the street. You set your shutter speed to 1/250 and your aperture to f/8. The camera only controls ISO. That way, you know you're freezing movement and getting the depth of field you want. Walk out of the sun and into the shade, and the camera adjusts without you having to do anything.

Aperture priority works well too, as long as you've set that minimum shutter speed in the auto ISO menu. The camera then chooses the shutter speed, but never slower than the limit you've set.

There's nothing wrong with fully automatic mode. It's just that the camera sometimes chooses a slow shutter speed or a wide aperture. You lose the two things you've deliberately set above. I'd use it to get started, then move on from it as soon as possible.

Zone focusing: when I use it

Now for the part that makes the biggest difference for me in certain situations. Plenty of people find it daunting because it sounds technical. It's simpler than it sounds.

With zone focusing, you focus on a distance rather than a person. Set your camera to manual focus and turn the focus ring to roughly 3 metres. With an aperture of f/8 and a focal length of 28 or 35mm, roughly everything between two and five metres will be acceptably sharp. The exact size of that zone depends on your camera, your lens and how fussy you are. But that's the general idea.

Anything that happens within that zone is in focus. You don't have to wait for autofocus to find something or choose which face it should focus on. You see something, raise your camera and take the photo.

That's why I use it. It removes a step between seeing and photographing. On the street, that's the step where things most often go wrong. Autofocus is fast, but sometimes picks the wrong thing. A zone doesn't choose. It's just there.

You do need to learn to judge distances. Three metres is roughly two big strides plus an arm's length, or the width of an average pavement and a bit more. Here's a useful exercise: focus at three metres and walk down a street. For each person you see, judge whether they're within your zone. After a few goes, it becomes second nature.

A nice bonus: you don't even have to hold the camera to your eye. Because the focus is already set, you can shoot from your chest or hip. Whether you want to is up to you. I like having the option.

When autofocus is useful

Zone focusing isn't a religion. I'd say I use autofocus about 80% of the time. I take my time. Sometimes autofocus simply works better.

When your subject is outside your zone, for example. Someone ten metres away, or very close for a street photo that's more like a portrait. Autofocus is also useful when it gets dark and you need to open your aperture right up. At f/2, your depth of field is so shallow that zone focusing barely works.

If you've got time, autofocus is fine too. If you're waiting at a scene for someone to step into a patch of light, you can focus on that patch beforehand. That's really a combination of the two: you use autofocus to set your zone, then leave the focus where it is.

If you're using autofocus, choose a small focus point that you position yourself, or a mode that recognises faces. A large automatic focus area is just as likely to focus on a lamppost as a person on the street.

Exposure compensation when shooting into the light

Your camera meters the light and tries to make everything a neat shade of grey. Usually, that works well. When you're shooting into the light, or have a brightly lit wall beside deep shadow, it often goes wrong.

The shadow turns mid-grey and the highlights blow out. Exposure compensation lets you adjust for that. Do you want silhouettes against a bright background? Or a patch of light to stay bright while everything else goes dark? Set your exposure compensation to minus one or even minus two stops.

It works the other way too. A white wall, snow or a brightly lit shop window can tempt your camera into making everything too dark. In that case, nudge the exposure compensation towards the plus side.

After a few photos, check your screen or histogram. You don't need to check every shot. When the light changes, one glance is enough to check your setting.

Shoot in RAW

This might be the easiest setting of all: set your camera to RAW. Or RAW and JPEG together, if you like your camera's JPEGs.

A RAW photo contains much more information. That lets you rescue a photo that's slightly too dark or too light. You can adjust the white balance afterwards. You can also convert a colour photo to black and white later, with much more control than a JPEG allows.

On the street, there's not always time for a perfect exposure. RAW gives you some room when you haven't quite got it right. I edit my photos in Capture One, but any editing program can handle RAW.

Panning: the cyclist in the photo

The photo in this article shows a cyclist in focus while the background streaks past. That's called panning. I think it's one of the loveliest exceptions to the 1/250 rule.

Choose a slower shutter speed. I always use 1/15 second myself. Follow your subject with your camera at the same speed as they're moving. Press the shutter as they pass in front of you. Keep turning, even after the shutter has closed. Turn from your hips, rather than just moving your arms.

Because you're moving with your subject, they stay reasonably sharp. Everything that's standing still blurs into streaks. The slower your shutter speed, the stronger the effect. And the more photos go wrong.

That's part of it. Panning takes plenty of attempts. A cyclist makes a good subject because they move in a straight line at a fairly steady speed. Stand beside a cycle path, choose a spot with a busy background and give yourself fifteen minutes.

A settings cheat sheet for the street

You don't have to remember all of this. Here are a few starting points. They're not rules, just settings you can head straight out with. For all three, I'm assuming RAW, zone focusing at roughly 3 metres and the lowest ISO that works.

Sunny day

• Shutter speed: 1/500 second or faster
• Aperture: f/8, or f/11 in bright light
• ISO: your camera's lowest setting
• Watch out: use negative exposure compensation when shadows are harsh

Shade, or a street between tall buildings

• Shutter speed: 1/250 second
• Aperture: f/5.6
• ISO: auto ISO, with a minimum shutter speed of 1/250
• Watch out: your focus zone is a little narrower at f/5.6, so judge your distance more carefully

Overcast

• Shutter speed: 1/250 second
• Aperture: f/5.6 to f/8
• ISO: auto ISO, with a minimum shutter speed of 1/250
• Watch out: soft light is forgiving, but can look flat, especially in colour

And then you forget about them again

The best thing about good settings is that after a while, you stop thinking about them. You get your camera ready, head out onto the street and give all your attention to looking. That's what you went out for in the first place.

That's why we get out onto the street quickly in my street photography workshops. I explain things as we go. A prime lens between 28 and 50mm will serve you well. You can join with your phone too. The conceptual street photography workshop also includes my Dutch-language book Straatfotobijbel, with 101 tips and exercises to carry on with at home.

Would you rather work on your settings at your own pace? Book a 1-on-1 workshop in a city of your choice. We start with coffee, then we both take photos so you can see how it works in practice.