The Ultimate Skill for Better Street and Travel Photography

I find people fascinating, and when I see someone interesting when I’m out and about, I often want to photograph them. And I do. Many photographers have commented about this and would love to do the same but don’t feel comfortable or confident doing so.

I thought this a long time ago too. Actually, the idea petrified me. I’m rather introverted and prefer to keep myself to myself. But one day, when I took on an editorial photography job for a travel and lifestyle publication that involved a lot of meeting and photographing people, I had no choice. I was thrown in the deep end and was forced to figure it out. It turned out it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

My approach is simply to talk to people. I quickly discovered that if you show an interest in people and ask questions, most people are very happy to chat. Once I’ve put them at ease, I explain what I’m doing and ask if I can take their photo.

It does depend on the person and the situation, though. You need to be able to “read the room,” as it were. Here are two examples from this past week.

Street Photography

The first example is when I was walking along a beachfront on a very warm, sunny day and saw these two elderly ladies both holding umbrellas and enjoying an ice cream. I simply walked up to them, stopped, and said, “You both look so lovely with your colorful umbrellas there. That would make a great photograph. Would you mind?” They smiled and said yes! A quick snap, and I said, “Thank you so much. You both have a lovely day!” For this photo, they could clearly understand why I wanted to take a photo without the need to explain myself.

The next photo is of a local chap—a Buddhist—who is known in town for writing positivity messages on the beach early in the mornings if the tide is out. I recognized him sitting outside a cafe and introduced myself. What caught my eye and compelled me to approach him that day was his colorful clothing against the colorful backdrop. The colors worked well together. I asked him if he was a local, even though I knew he was. My approach, which I use a lot in these situations with locals, is to explain that I’m documenting the town and want to include as many local people as possible in my project. I actually spent about 10 minutes asking about what he did and why, and listening to his story, before I lifted the camera. For this photo, it would have been slightly weird for me to have walked up to the chap like I did with the ladies and simply said, “You look interesting. Can I take your photograph?”

Photographing people on the streets is daunting. Depending on where you are, many people are wise to the popularity of street photography and can be very suspicious of photographers walking around. An area of Toronto where I do street photography has become very oversaturated with street photographers, many of whom have little in the way of manners or respect. This gives all of us a bad reputation and has led to many angry confrontations.

The worst thing you can do is sneak around looking to grab a photo and, if someone notices you, immediately look away and pretend you’re not photographing them. If you’re noticed, it’s best to make eye contact and smile. If they smile back, gesture that you’d like to take a photo. If you’re close enough to them, say something like, “I couldn’t resist a photo. I just love that hat!”

Some will say interacting with people on the street isn’t proper street photography. They can think what they like. I simply don’t care about photography police and their self-imposed rules. I photograph people on the street without them knowing all the time, looking to capture interesting candid moments. Equally, I’ll engage with people too. Both approaches can produce great photos that document life on the streets.

Travel Photography

When traveling to a new destination, you’re often experiencing a culture different from your own, which is interesting to capture. Capturing the cultural essence of a place involves people. In tourist spots, many people are dressed up and pretty much performing for tourists, so they are used to being photographed. Regardless of this, it’s still best to get eye contact and gesture to ask if it’s okay to take a photo. That little act of politeness and respect can go a long way. I’ve been in this situation many times, and once I’ve demonstrated I am respectful, it becomes so much easier to “direct” your subject for an even better photo. This may involve positioning them or yourself to take into consideration light or background distractions.

The secret, I believe, is lots of smiles and positivity. People receive the energy that you put out. So, if you're nervous and uncomfortable, people read that. Develop confidence and a positive mindset, and it's amazing what people will do. I have seen photographers be too full of themselves and entitled, and that's not good either.

The bottom line is to be positive, thoughtful, respectful, and kind. These things make up the most important photography skill set I've learned, and they have made my photography all the better for it.

The Best Way to Start Practicing

The best way to ease yourself into photographing people in a public place is to attend events like street festivals. Most people are out to have a good time, and having people with cameras taking photos is part of the fun and expected. People are often dressed up to be seen and make a statement and are more than happy to have a photo taken if you ask them.

Another way to get used to engaging with people that gives you a little more flexibility to “direct” people, I’ve found, is living museums and reenactment events. These events have many folks in period costume. I’ve taken a portable light and light stand to these events, and no one has ever said no when I’ve asked them if they would spare five minutes for a quick portrait shoot.

Below is a video I made recently where I share some thoughts about building confidence to photograph people on the street.