Facts that I love about street photography

In this blog, we’ll explore together why street photography is the best genre to start with and why you can start shooting it too—right now if you’d like. All the insights in today’s blog are purely my subjective opinion, but you might find yourself relating to them.

Facts

You don't need expensive equipment

One of the best things about shooting street photography today is that you can start without making a big investment in photography gear. Personally, I spent years shooting with my phone, experimenting with editing, organizing my photos into themes, and building my own archive. I enjoyed it so much that I bought my first camera and started improving my photography skills. Unlike most other photography genres, street photography can be done with whatever you have available—a phone, an old film camera, or a brand-new digital camera.

Faster learning from your mistakes

In my opinion, photography—especially in the beginning—is mostly about experimenting with techniques, analyzing your own photos, and learning from mistakes. To learn from mistakes, we need to go out and shoot as often as possible.

Let me illustrate this with an example and compare the learning process in different photography genres. Imagine you go out to shoot street photography with a specific idea in mind. You take the shot, but when you get home, you realize it didn’t turn out as expected. The next day, you bring your camera with you to work or on a short walk and try again. This time, you remember your previous mistake and avoid it. You nail the shot because you learned from your mistake almost immediately.

Now, compare that to landscape photography. Let’s say you want to capture a sunrise in the mountains. You spend a week planning your trip, drive for hours to reach the location, set up your tripod and camera, take the shot, and then drive all the way back home. After all of that you realize you made a mistake in your settings or composition. Unlike street photography, you can’t just fix your mistake the next day. You have to wait days or even weeks for the right conditions to try again—choosing the right location, checking the weather, and making another trip.

See the difference? In street photography, you can quickly learn from your mistakes, while in landscape photography, you might wait a month for another chance.

You can go shooting anytime and anywhere

What do I mean by being able to shoot anytime and anywhere? This type of photography is all about you.

Let me give you some concrete examples: In portrait photography, you need to arrange a model—whether it’s a friend or someone you’re collaborating with. In sports photography, you also need someone to be your subject. Often, you have to plan these shoots days or even weeks in advance, and if the weather doesn’t cooperate, for example, the entire session gets postponed.

With street photography? You just take your camera with you to work, and you go out and shoot. Whenever you feel like it, you can go and take photos—it’s entirely up to you and your motivation. You don’t have to rely on anyone else.

You can shoot local

Another thing I love about street photography is that I don’t have to travel far for it. I can do it in my own city—even on the street where I live.

I used to think that taking a great photo meant going somewhere far away, to an interesting location or destination. But the more I shoot, the more I appreciate my local surroundings. Moving around my own city allows me to bookmark locations and return to them whenever I want, depending on how the light changes throughout the year.

It also helps me discover my city in a whole new way. I thought I knew my city well, but thanks to street photography, I’ve come across fascinating details—buildings, streets, places, and even small businesses—I might never have noticed if I hadn’t picked up my camera and started exploring.

You don't need talent

Another thing I love about street photography is that you don’t need talent. It’s a numbers game—the more you shoot, the luckier you get. The most successful photographers aren’t necessarily the most talented but the hardest-working, spending more time shooting in a week than most people do in a month. This genre rewards dedication and time invested above all else, so if you want to improve, grab your camera and get out there.

No correct method

Many genres have certain rules or specific ways of doing things. If you want to shoot astrophotography, for example, you need to learn specific techniques. The same goes for architectural photography.

Street photography, on the other hand, doesn’t have strict rules. It is probably the most diverse genre, covering a wide range of styles, approaches, and subjects. You can shoot with or without people, capture bikes, sunsets, sunrises, or anything else that catches your eye.

This means you have the freedom to photograph whatever interests you.