7 Cool Tutorials On Street Photography

Tutorials are basically an artistic sidekick for many people (regardless of field), and will be yours with this article, fellow street photographers. Beginners, amateurs, hardened veterans—whatever level – best bet they learned from somewhere or someone, tutored in-person or indirectly. That’s not to say there aren’t those who learned entirely on their own! We’re certain they exist out there. But in this age of information overload, it’s hard to tell what to do, what not to do, and so on. Don’t you want to learn lessons others earned over a lifetime to elevate your work now? That’s where we come in with these cool street photography tutorials.

We’ve compiled a list of seven tutorials made of some of the best the street photography field has to offer. With these, we hope to let your street photography bloom to a new shade of awesome.

Mastering Street Photography Composition

Starting off, we have a behemoth of resources. All are compiled, created, and provided for free by Eric Kim. It has over 17 composition lessons, several articles on techniques like using leading lines, color theory, video lectures and much more. This is one of the best places for those who want a deep dive into, not just street photography, but photography in general.

shadow street photography — Photo by Rene Bohmer

Capturing Emotion In Street Portraits

If reading tons of articles doesn’t suit your taste, here is a great hour-long video lecture by Kenneth Hines. It goes into depth about the criticality of emotions in street photography, and it provides several practical tips. Street photography as street portraiture: a purely artistic approach to this field. This is your one-stop video guide on how to interact with strangers on the streets and create deeply moving street photos.

old man buying oranges — Photo by Bannon Morrissy

Understanding Light In Street Photography

A quick, simple, and concise blog post written by Diane Wehr. Anyone who wants a fast way to learn the basics of lighting, how it plays into street photography, and how to deal with different light situations can have a short read-through. You’ll also learn how to add drama and mood to your images!

man crossing the street — Photo by Lerone Pieters

The Art of Layering In Street Photography

Ever heard of layering? No, not the layers in digital art (though it exists there too!). Layers are the different planes of interest containing elements that compose a picture. You may know these as the foreground, middle ground, and background. Well, regardless of if you know already, or are interested in learning more, John Lewell has a treat for you! In a two-part series, he tackles how to capture interesting layers, introducing depth and complexity, and more. Bolder, striking photos are coming your way with this!

layering street photography — Photo by Tom Podmore

Storytelling Through Candid Moments

Another short and sweet one! This 7-minute delight focuses on the stunning black-and-white photography of the late German photojournalist Peter Bock-Schroeder. Street photography often involves candid shots that tell stories about people, their lives, and their surroundings. Through this video, you’ll develop the anticipatory skills to capture very fleeting and transitory moments in everyday life using a single frame.

man with an accordion candid — Photo by Marcos Gallardo

Editing And Post-Processing For Street Photography

Adobe Lightroom is a popular editing software among photographers for how versatile and simple it is. The mobile version works on the go on most smartphones which makes it the perfect choice for most situations (save for extreme edits).

The provided tutorial written by user Sebastian tackles the editing workflow and many of the basics. You’ll learn how to work with everything from exposure and white balance to fine-tuning tips, techniques, and styles (black-and-white being a staple for many street photographers).

tram at night orange lights — Photo by Benjamin Suter

Nighttime Street Photography Techniques

Last but not least, we have a 19-minute video tutorial by Brian Lloyd Duckett on the StreetSnappers YouTube channel. He talks about the right camera settings for nighttime street photography and how to balance it against others. Whether it is low lighting, long exposures, or artificial lighting, you will quickly grasp how to create stunning night scenes with this in-depth tutorial.

As a teaser takeaway from this tutorial: Fast prime lenses can help with nighttime street photography with ease and speed.

Note: Fast prime lenses will help to shoot street photography at night with great ease.

Before you leave, we’d like to give a few tips of our own:

Use faster shutter speed in well-lit areas for moving objects. This is especially useful for capturing busy streets!
If you want motion blur or stop motion effect, Aperture Priority mode can be an effective tool. It lets you manually set the aperture and automatically find the right shutter speed and ISO.
Try shooting from your hip! This provides discreetness with your shots. But even if you’re free to shoot in public, remember to keep it ethical and consensual afterward by asking for usage permission.

Street photography isn’t just about the right camera or technique. It is about capturing the essence of life in public spaces while respecting those around it. Be mindful of local laws and customs! We hope the tutorials provided guide you on your path to blooming into your own unique shade of legendary street photographer. Maybe you’ll one day pass it on and raise the next generation of street photographers. Happy shooting!