How to get good at street photography

Street photography is an interesting description afforded to this "type" of shooting.

It's correct in a literal sense but in some ways it should be described as "social-photography" because what you capture is history.

Long into the future, when people glance over the street photobooks of the past, what they will see is a very distinct part of the world at a very specific time stored in an image. It will be a story told vividly and without the need for words.

That's the definition of street photography.

A good time for street photography is the busy periods like weekends, when people from all walks of life and ages are mixed up here and there in, for example city centres and parks.

Busy periods also constitute as festivals, exhibitions and live performances, which can be a rich source of "content" and full of interesting and usual images to capture.

For example, if we take Christmas time in a big UK city, you will not only have markets and stalls set up that are not usually there, but bands of people from all over the world visiting, creating a scene that can transfer superbly into a powerful photograph.

If you're looking to take pictures of particular people, talk to them, hear their story and find out what they're all about. Not only will they feel a lot more relaxed about being photographed, but you will, as a photographer, have a better understanding of your subject.

As with anything, being more informed allows us to make deeper judgements. You will find yourself being a lot more creative too.

The last tip is to throw out the rulebook. Street photography is not really suited to a slow and relaxed method of shooting, though, depending on time and subject, there are exceptions. Select a fast shutter speed, keep the camera in your hands and keep alert.

Although composition is still very important, if you are capturing fleeting moments of time, you will not be able to "perfectly" align your shot as you would in a studio. That's fine. You're after the story remember and can always frame and crop later.

Always have Eudor Welty's words in your head: "A good snapshot stops a moment from running away."