Street photography for wedding photography

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What is street photography?

Unposed moments from the world, they don’t have to be on the street. They can capture a sense of person / place or just make you think. I think there are two types of street photography, moment based and composition / lighting based, the best street photography (like the best wedding photography) has elements of each.

If you are not familiar to street photography, dive in and learn. Here are some resources that I have found useful over the years

Books

I highly recommend buying photography books. I’d start with these:

Street Photography Now

Magnum contact sheets

The Street Photographers Manual

Alex Webb – The suffering of light

Buying street photography books is a real passion of mine. Some of my favourites photographers include these below, get on Amazon and order some….

Trent Park, Matt Stuart, Elliot Erwitt, Vivian Maier, Joel Meyerowitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alex Webb, Don McCullin, Diane Arbus, Richard Kalvar

Online: youtube, blogs + websites

A wealth of resources and inspiration is available online. Just google Street photography in YouTube and you can get lost in videos for months. A few of my favourite resources…

• Nick Turpin’s Youtube channel. Watch through Nick’s lens as he shoots street.
• Eric Kim’s blog – a wealth of resources here.
• APF – they have a great facebook / flickr community 
• In public
• Street Hunters

Flickr

I’ve been a flickr member since 2009, but have really started using it the past couple of years. Groups such as APF and Urban Picnic are curated and let you see some outstanding images.

Instagram

This seems the place to be at the moment. I post a selection of street and personal work, and have a separate account for my wedding images. But it’s the process of looking through my feed at other images that I really enjoy. Check out some of these guys:

Koci, Rinzizen, Magnumphotos, Edkashi, cityexposed, time_lapse, fisheyedreams, maciejdakowicz, ka.me.ra, davidalanharvey

You can find my work on Instagram at adampriley + featured on The8Street 

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Relating Street Photography to Wedding Photography

Street photography is about capturing individual images, with a story contained within, or questions asked. In this respect it is very familiar to wedding photography – although it’s important to convey the wider story of the wedding, and your focus is inevitably more on specific people. I find street photography a challenge, and many days of shooting street can be frustrating. But when you get a good image it is worth it.

All the images below are completely unposed street and wedding images taken by me, I’ve broken down some tips on how the two can relate to each other below.

Improving your composition

Wedding photography is not just about shooting what is happening in front of you, but trying to capture that in an image that has artistic merit. I believe that the composition of street (and wedding) photography should not be overly reliant on rules. But knowing how and when to use them can help create a better images. Simple rules like using frames, placing subjects on thirds and layering can all be practiced in street and applied in wedding photography.

Framing – A frame within a frame is a simple way to enhance an image. There are so many opportunities at a wedding, doorways, windows, mirrors, people. Frame your subject to focus attention on them.

Rule of thirds – placing your subject on a 3rd of the image can increases or decrease tension.

Busy Frames/Layering – Something I’m always trying to do in wedding photography. Ensure that no heads overlap, a challenge in busy bridal prep. Adding layers to an image will give a sense of depth. Something Alex Webb does spectacularly.

Environmental Portraits – Not just a portrait, but an unposed moment that has a story, a sense of place or who the person is.

Being ready – You should know your camera gear inside out, and be ready to capture an image in a split second. You never know what is going to happen at a wedding – the same is true on the street! Always have your camera turned on, exposure correct, and focus ready. Moments are over in seconds.

Seeing Light – Seeing light is one of the key aspects for any photographer, I’ve found it takes practice. Street photography is that practice for me. I now see changes in light automatically without thinking, just out walking the dog I can appreciate it! At a wedding it’s easy to be absorbed the moment and completely forget about the light. Often a simple sidestep will allow you to use the light to its full advantage.

Being observant to your surroundings – Our surrounding change constantly, and generally we tune out all the adverts and background noise – especially at a wedding. But using these elements can give your images an extra dimension. A sense of story or inject some humour. Keep an eye on the background, if you see something interesting, keep it in mind, another element might come along.

Spotting the unusual – Keeping your eyes peeled and being observant is my favourite way to shoot street. I walk and walk, hoping to find something unusual or funny. Some sort of everyday life that everyone else seems to pass by. Training your eyes and mind to do this makes spotting it on the wedding day so much easier.

Patience – Being patient is key to creating many great photography images. Seeing an image in your head before it happens, or spotting a scene of interest and waiting for something or someone to enter it to give it that extra element. I have stood in one area for an hour waiting for all the elements of a street image to come together (and often it doesn’t!), but when it does, it’s a great feeling. We don’t always have the luxury of such time at weddings, but keeping your eyes open and studying a scene waiting for an extra element often pays off.

A different view – It’s easy to shoot a wedding day from standing height all day. But moving around, shooting over balconies, capturing images from floor level or holding your camera above your head to shoot all provide a different viewpoint on the story.

Reflections – Reflections can be a little overdone by wedding photographers, but I still think there is place for good reflection images, they can add that extra element that makes your shot interesting. Looking for a different type of reflection shot (not just a bride looking at herself in the mirror) will be made easier by spotting these types of scenario in a non wedding environment.

Details – The small things are a big part of the wedding day, look for the little moments and details on the street too.

Silhouettes – An easy thing to practise, look for interesting silhouettes + shadows to tell a story.

Excluding elements – when framing a scene, it’s important to try different compositions, eliminating certain elements can add mystery to the image and give a “what’s going on here?” question to the viewer.

Getting close – getting close to your subject can add depth and bring the viewer into the frame

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Finally…

Shooting street is a very personal experience. It’s one of the only types of photography that includes people, and can be taken solely for the pleasure of shooting…there is no one to please or brief to fulfil. Waiting for that moment to come together, and capturing it when it does is why so many people do it.

Enjoy the process of shooting street, and don’t be focused on getting “likes” online. Slowly the skills you learn on the street will spread into your wedding photography.

Read more about my next street photography training day and get in touch if you have any questions.