Street Portrait Photography: Tips and Techniques
by 
Lina Thorne • Updated · Posted in Photography
Without a doubt, people are an integral part of street photography which is all about capturing life. This genre can be challenging and rewarding, and when it comes to street portraits, it’s no different. In fact, it can be even more challenging if you decide to approach people and ask if you could take a photo of them…and you’re a bit of an introvert. It will definitely force you to step out of your comfort zone.
However, you can benefit greatly from taking photos of strangers. It can make you a better street photographer because a great street photographer needs to be invisible and unnoticeable. By taking candid photos of people, you will hone the skill of being invisible. Additionally, if you work up the courage to approach people, street portrait photography will teach you how to interact with them better and more effectively. It will help you deal with the fear of rejection and make you more confident, for sure.
If you’re interested in trying street portrait photography, but have some fears and doubts, this article might be exactly what you’re looking for. It might inspire you to muster up the nerve and finally start creating beautiful street portraits. It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or want to hone your skills, you will definitely learn some useful tips and techniques here.
Let’s get started!
Candid Street Portrait Photography
There are two ways that you can go about doing street portrait photography. You can actually approach people and ask them for a photo, collaborate with them. Alternatively, you can photograph people without asking them and thus, without them noticing you. As a result, you will get candid street portraits because people won’t be performing for the camera. When people think that no one is looking, they tend to show who they really are.
Candid street portrait photography poses a few challenges, though. It’s hard not to notice a camera; even a small one. You’ll need to be quick and take the shot before people actually realize what’s going on. Or you can utilize a couple of tips that can help you photograph people even if they noticed that you have a camera. Here they are:
Don’t bring your camera to the eye.
Instead, use the screen at the back of the camera to frame your shot, then carefully bring your camera to the chest or even hip level and take a few photos. When doing this, you shouldn’t look at the camera. In addition, you can use the silent shutter mode, if your camera has one, so people won’t hear any clicks and realize that you’re actually taking pictures.
Walk past your subject.
If you prefer using the viewfinder, this is a technique for you. Once you notice someone interesting, bring your camera to the eye and walk in the direction of the subject. Get closer to the subject, take the photo and walk right past them. Keep your camera where it is the whole time. The downside of this method is that you will need a relatively quick shutter speed because you won’t really be able to stop. You can slow down a bit, but don’t stop; especially right in front of your subject. Otherwise, it will be obvious that you’re taking pictures of them. Thus, you’ll need a quicker shutter speed to avoid shakiness in your images. This technique might not work well in low light conditions.
Pretend like you’re taking pictures of something else.
This technique works amazingly well for candid portraits. You need do the following: when photographing your subject, look in the viewfinder or at the back of the screen, take a couple of shots, and when you look up from your camera or put your camera down, make sure that you’re looking somewhere above or behind your subject. Your goal is to look right through people, pretend like you’re not seeing them, they are of no interest to you. You need to pretend that you were taking pictures of something else – a building, a landmark or something else, for instance. Remember that most people don’t know a lot about focal lengths and cameras. They have no idea how wide or tight your camera actually shoots.
You can go for semi-candid portraits.
If you have a bit of courage, you can actually try another technique. It doesn’t involve you approaching people, but you will get noticed. If you see an interesting subject sitting in a café, you can walk past the window and in the meantime make sure that your camera settings are correct. Then you can go back, stand right in front of your subject – only the glass of the café window separating you – and point your camera at them. It will take mere seconds for your subject to look up and notice you. That’s the moment that you need to take your shot. This way, your subject will look right into your camera. The strong eye contact in your shot will make it more interesting and powerful.
Naturally, this technique might be uncomfortable for some photographers. What’s important here is to lock eyes with your subject, acknowledge them and then smile. You need to thank them with your eyes and facial expression. Thank them without actually saying anything, which isn’t the easiest thing to do, so you might need to some practice.
Finally, remember that if someone asks you to delete their photo, you’ll need to do it. Don’t try to argue. If they ask you for this before seeing the photo, you can try showing it them; just in case they might actually like it. But at the end of the day, it’s important to be polite and respectful. So, if asked to delete an image, apologize and delete it.
Street Portrait Photography: Approaching people
Taking candid portraits might actually be a little less nerve-wracking, because there’s no need to interact with people. But it might actually be a good thing for you to pluck up the courage and ask people if you could take some photos of them. Undoubtedly, it’s difficult and scary, but it might not be as hard as you think. Not to mention that you won’t get rejected as often as you expect.
Here are a few tips for you if you want to start approaching people.
Be calm and friendly.
Remember that when you approach people, they don’t know who you are and what you do. The surroundings are also quite important here. If you’re in a crowded place, maybe there’s a landmark nearby, a stranger might think that you’re trying to sell them something. If you are in a relatively deserted place, you might be seen as a threat. There are always going to be some presumptions, which you’ll need to overcome as quickly as possible. When approaching someone, tell them that you’re a photographer and ask if you could take a photo of them. Your smile needs to be authentic. You need to exude friendliness. Make eye contact and don’t shove your camera in their faces right away.
The body language and the energy that you exude are extremely important. Smile – not just with your lips, but with your eyes, too. Communicate with your whole body that you mean well.
Don’t be afraid to flatter people.
Don’t go overboard with it, of course. But when approaching someone, give them a compliment. You can say something like: “I think you look very interesting.” You can tell them what you like about them. For instance: “I saw you smiling just now. You have a very beautiful smile” or “The color of your dress matches the color of your eyes. I think your eyes look very beautiful.” The most important thing is to be as genuine and honest as possible. In most cases, this will put people at ease and warm them towards you.
Go with the flow.
You need to adapt to the situation and to the person you’re having an interaction with. Some people will be naturally talkative and be willing to make some small talk with you. But there are also going to be people that are more closed-off. They might agree to you taking a photo of them but will barely say anything. Remember that every interaction is going to be different. You need to be able to read people at least a little bit. Maybe learn a thing or two about human psychology.
Be curious and ask questions.
It goes without saying but if you see that a person is reluctant to give you answers, stop asking questions. Be polite and respectful. But if a person is more than willing to chat with you, then go ahead and ask away, learn more about them. You might be surprised, but a decent number of people actually like to talk about themselves. In fact, some of them might secretly wish to be asked about their lives. If there’s a mutual connection between you and a stranger, don’t rush to leave. The more you learn about a stranger, the better portraits you might take.
Pick an easy target first.
If you’re just getting into taking street portraits, it might be a good idea to start with a subject that’s already willing to be photographed. For example, you can take pictures of street performers and street musicians. They are already out there performing and, thus, probably like the attention and feel comfortable being in front of a camera. You can also look out for people who take pictures of each other with their phones. For instance, say, you see two young women, one of them is taking picture of the other with a smartphone. Try to approach them and ask for a photo. In this case, there’s a high chance that people would be actually happy to pose for you.
Don’t give up too quickly.
It’s okay if you feel scared and uncomfortable when approaching people. It’s a gamble, after all. You’ll never know what you’re going to get. You will inevitably hear “No” from some people, and getting rejected is difficult for everyone. Remember, though, that the more you get rejected, the easier it will get. Over time you’ll get better at approaching and interacting with people as well as dealing with rejection. But the only way to get better is by practicing. Keep trying until you see some progress.
Don’t take it personally, either.
In the majority of cases, people will refuse to be photographed because they are busy or feel uncomfortable in front of a camera and don’t like how they look in a photo.
Remember about the technical aspect.
Before approaching someone, make sure that your camera settings are correct or close to being correct. You don’t really want to fumble with the settings in front of a stranger. This is also important for you to get a good portrait. You asked a person for a few minutes of their time, so it’s better to use this time wisely.
This goes without saying but if you ask people for a photo, it’s only right to send the result afterwards. Give them your phone number or social media handle. They need to have a way to contact you and get their portraits.
Be intentional with your subjects and surroundings.
You need to make sure that every detail in your frame draws attention to your subject. A harmonious color palette will make your shot more visually appealing and impactful. This harmony can be achieved by being intentional with the subjects and the surroundings. When you are out and about, look out for subjects whose clothes matches the surroundings color-wise.
Use Watermarkly to Edit Street Portraits
Watermarkly’s website can help you with some basic image editing.
If you’re just starting out, you might get nervous and shy to get closer to people. As a result, when you come home, you might notice that some of your images are too wide for your taste. Surely, in street portraits the surroundings are also important, but the focus should be on the subject first and foremost. If you realized that this isn’t the case for some of your images, don’t worry. You can crop portraits to improve them. For instance, if the pose of your subject seems a bit awkward, you can crop in closer, so the awkwardness will be left out of the frame. With our Crop Image tool, you can crop a batch of images in a matter of minutes.
If you want to blur some of the faces in your photo, you can use our Blur Face tool for that – it will detect faces automatically and then you’ll be able to unselect some of the faces in the Objects section. It’s very easy and simple, and you’ll protect the privacy of people who didn’t give their consent to be in your images.
Watermarkly’s website can also be used to watermark photos – it’s a great way to protect your content and promote your brand! – resize and compress images, convert them to JPG or some other popular formats, and much more.
Conclusion
Give street portrait photography a try and you’ll see how rewarding it can be. If you decide to approach people, it can push you out of your comfort zone; and that’s where growth usually happens. Asking people for photos can help you with overcoming the fear of rejection and making you more confident. It can give you the chance to experience some beautiful moments of connection and unexpectedly fun interactions. Candid portraits can be quite powerful, too, as you will have the chance to capture something raw and real. People won’t pose for you or put on a mask to hide their nervousness. Hopefully, this article helped you overcome your fears and doubts as well as gave you some courage and inspiration.