Street photography checklist
Street photography asks for preparation, but not too much. You want to be ready without it becoming a chore. This checklist helps you forget nothing and hit the street with a clear head.
The difference between a missed photo and a good one is often in the details. A flat battery, the wrong settings or a full memory card can ruin your day. But thinking too hard about gear and settings takes you out of the moment as well. The trick is to be prepared so thoroughly that you can forget you are prepared.
This guide runs through everything worth thinking about. From technique to mindset, from before you leave to after you get home. Use what works for you and leave the rest. Street photography is personal and everyone develops their own approach. This is a starting point, there are no rules.
Before you leave the house
Check that your camera is charged and take a spare battery. Nothing is more frustrating than a flat battery in the middle of a good session. Make sure your memory card has room, and format it beforehand if you can. Check that your lens is clean, because smudges on the glass only show up at home, and by then it is too late.
Think about which lens you take. A 35mm or 50mm works fine for most street photography, but choose what suits the way you work. Too much gear becomes a millstone, so keep it simple. A camera and one lens is usually more than enough.
Look at the weather and the time of day. Soft light during the golden hour gives beautiful shadows and colours, but harsh midday sun creates interesting contrast too. Rain makes streets shine and reflections appear everywhere. Every situation has its own possibilities.
Camera settings
Set up your camera before you start shooting. Choose a shutter speed of at least 1/250 to freeze movement, faster if people are running or cycling. An aperture around f/4.5 or higher gives you enough depth of field without everything disappearing into the background. Adjust ISO to the situation, but keep it as low as you can for the best quality.
Use continuous autofocus if your camera handles it well, or switch to zone focusing if you want to work quickly. Manual focus works too, but takes more practice. Test your settings with a few frames so you are not fumbling when something happens.
Shoot RAW if you have room on your card. You get more editing latitude in return, and that is valuable in street photography where the light keeps changing. JPEG is fine too, but then your settings need to be right straight away.
While you are shooting
Walk calmly and observe before you raise your camera. Street photography is about seeing moments before they happen. Watch for patterns, light, shadows and human interaction. Train yourself to anticipate where something interesting is about to occur.
Do not plant yourself in one spot waiting for something to happen. Move through the city, change your angle, try different perspectives. You photograph a busy market differently from a quiet alley. Adjust your approach to where you are.
Be respectful towards the people around you. You do not have to be sneaky, but do not be pushy either. Most people have no problem with a photographer in public space, but nobody is waiting for a camera in their face. Use your common sense and read the situation.
Composition and timing
Watch for lines, patterns and shapes in your frame. Street photography is often as much about geometry as it is about people. A good image combines both. Think of the rule of thirds, but break it when that works better. Rules are tools, not laws.
Wait for the right moment to press the shutter. Too early and you miss the action, too late and it is gone. Experience helps enormously, so do take several frames if you are unsure. Better ten too many than one too few.
Look at your background before you press. A wonderful subject is ruined by clutter behind it. Move a metre to the left or right and suddenly everything falls into place. Small adjustments make big differences.
After the shoot
Download your photos as soon as you can and make a backup. Hard drives crash, cards go missing. Two copies is the minimum, three is better (one of them online). Your work deserves protecting.
Look at your photos with fresh eyes, not straight after you get home. Waiting a day helps you select objectively. Be strict and keep only what really works. Ten good photos say more than a hundred mediocre ones.
Learn from every session. Which situations worked well? Where did you miss moments? What would you do differently? Street photography is a skill you develop by doing and by analysing. Keep growing.