Category Archives: Tutorials

For the longest time I was convinced that street photography looked better in black and white. It makes sense; Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Bruce Gilden and all the other masters all shot in black and white, and if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me. During the course of this winter I was definitely feeling bored with my photography. I thought it might be the lack of good shooting weather and the general blah of the winter months but then I started thinking more about my self-imposed monochromatic style. I wondered if it was truly a choice or whether it was a crutch I was leaning on that was keeping me from growing as a photographer. Well a while ago, completely by accident, I re-discovered color which prompted me to go back and take another look at some of my favourite black and white images. Continue reading →

In my last tutorial, I talked about all of the photographic benefits of shooting from the hip, and while I got a lot of positive feedback about the techniques themselves, many people were concerned about the social aspects of hip shooting. They felt that they’d love to try it, but they were worried that they would be perceived as being surreptitious, sneaky or sketchy for shooting without raising their camera. I completely understand where they’re coming from, but in the end, the key is to remember that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with shooting from the hip; you’re not doing anything wrong or illegal. If you can convince yourself of that you’re halfway there. The other half is learning how to defuse confrontations before they start. Continue reading →

If you’ve been following along with my street work, you’ve probably noticed I do most of my shooting from waist height and there are a couple very good reasons why. In a previous tutorial we talked about visualizing the shot, if you haven’t read it, you should give it a quick read before we continue as most of the stuff I’m going to go over this time is dependant being able to “see” what your camera sees without looking through the viewfinder. Shooting from the hip isn’t exactly a new concept; photographers have been doing it since before street photography was even considered a genre. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s exactly what it sounds like, taking a picture without raising your camera to your eye, its use stemming from the hand gun technique of the same name.

The main reason many street photographers use this method is to maintain a low profile and keep people from reacting to a camera being around, trying to preserve the natural moments in life of people immersed in their environment. I’m definitely of the school that thinks street photography is best done as candid as possible; otherwise it’s just an unnatural pose that happens to be on the street. Continue reading →

Whether you shoot from the hip or bring your camera up to eye level, being able to pre-visualize a shot is one of the most important skill every photographer should learn. Unless you’re shooting in a studio with all the time in the world to play around with lighting and focal lengths, being able to know, even roughly, what your camera’s going to see ahead of time is a must. Even in the studio, time is usually money, and being able to create a shot in your mind before you even touch a camera will save you both; if you can switch focal lengths or lighting in your head you only have to do it once physically. Continue reading →