Shutterfinger

You Can Shoot Street Photos With a Tele Lens

This was shot in Midtown Manhattan with a 28mm lens, which on a Canon 60D produces a normal field of view. I'm using this photo mainly for comparison (and also because I like it). The photos below are all shot with an 85mm f/1.8, which provides a 135mm field of view.

One of the most widely held shibboleths of street photography is that you can't shoot with telephoto lenses. Why? First, because the masters of street photography didn't use them. Second, because telephotos supposedly place you too far away from your subject for the required "intimate" feel of street photos. I'm here to tell you that it ain't necessarily so.

Let me make clear that I'm not referring to the long, large telephoto zooms you'd typically use for sports, scenic, or nature photography. These definitely tend to spook people and make it look as if you're on some sort of surveillance mission. Their extremely narrow angle of view makes it hard to get a quick grab shot. Their size and weight literally makes them a pain in the neck to carry around for more than a few minutes.

What I'm referring to are short telephotos, such as 85mm or 100mm on a full-frame camera or 50-70mm on APS-C. These are generally referred to as "portrait" lenses, but there's no law that says you can't use them for other things. They are particularly useful for cropping out visual clutter. They thereby simplify your compositions. If you're into the "street photography esthetic," however, you have to be careful not to crop out too much, otherwise you  lose the sense of context that tells the viewer you're making a social as well as visual statement. 

As far as technique goes, my suggestion would be to shoot at ISO 400, even in bright sunlight, and to keep your shutter speed no lower than 1/500 second. You want to be able to shoot fast, without worrying much about camera or subject motion, even if your lens has image stabilization. Also try to keep your aperture in the neighborhood of f/4.0 to f/5.6. That way you'll have enough depth-of-field to compensate for minor focusing errors but not so much that distracting backgrounds are in sharp focus.

Would I shoot all or even most of my street work with a telephoto lens? Definitely not. I'm more comfortable with shorter focal lengths and generally prefer the results. This mean I can't put one to good use if I'm in the mood. It also doesn't mean that you can't use one if you want to. Go for it. You just may find you love the results.

There's No Law Against Color in Street Photography

Once I saw this background of bold and colorful graphic shapes, it was a matter of waiting for the right foreground to walk past. I couldn't have dressed this gentleman better if I had tried.

I recently sold my Nikon D7000 and used the proceeds to buy a Canon EOS 60D, which I personally find to be a superior camera for my purposes; the primary purpose being street photography. The EOS 60D focuses faster and with more consistent accuracy, it has all the buttons and controls I need, and they are all in the right places. I could go into more detail about the EOS 60, but at the end of the day it's just a camera, a tool, and the tool that's right for me might not be right for you, so please don't give this more attention that it's due.

What I really want to talk about is the common belief that street photography and color are incompatible. This is largely based on the fact that the early masters of street photography all shot with black and white film. They established the style, others mimicked the style, and thus it perpetuates itself.

This shot is all about the primary colors: red, blue, and green. The framing, contrast, and lines are what hold it together.

There are, of course, photographers who do practice street photography in color. Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, but not many seem to be good at it. The problem is that the street environment is generally messy and cluttered. It offers an overwhelming assortment of shapes, colors, people, buildings, and objects to choose from. That's why it's hard to shoot a street photo in color that--again, I'm expressing my honest opinion here--doesn't look like a hot mess.

That's not to say it can't be done. My technique, which you see mirrored in the accompanying photos, is to isolate. One way to isolate is in how you frame and crop your images. Another way to isolate is to use high contrast lighting as your friend. Expose for the highlights and use the resulting deep shadows to hide distractions and create graphic compositional elements.

This is an example of how contrasting colors (red and green), color contrast against a dark background, and the contrast between curves and straight lines work together to create a graphic theme.

It also helps to have a basic understanding of color theory, such as the difference between complimentary and contrasting colors, the effect that ambient lighting and adjact colors have on color perception, and so on. You have to have an idea of your options and what's possible before you can hope to achieve it. I'll grant you that this is easier said than done, but knowledge, effort and passion are what it takes to set your work apart from the rest.