5 Tips For Street Photography In A Small Town

[@davidgates3044]

My best shots in our small town are during festivals & celebrations that bring people out but where the crowds are small enough that you can make your way through without too much trouble. Those shots can be just as interesting as the ones I get in a city.

[@montagdp]

It's a lot easier to shoot in a small town when it's a quaint one on the Mediterranean compared to the average suburban town in the USA, for example. My solution is to just not do much street photography, but you have given me some ideas nonetheless, so thanks.

[@RolandKaufmann]

I was going to say this as well. That small town is actually super interesting! Walk through a million houses that look the same… that’s where creativity goes to die 💀

[@TheDemonsunleashed]

As someone who grew up in a small town like that I would have to agree to an extent but I would say that there's always something to go and shoot and even if you're going to the same location over and over again there's always something different. William Eggleston complained to his wife that Nashville TN (in the 50's) was too ugly and his wife told him to go and shoot the ugly. William Eggleston is now regarded as one of the greats. If what you see is boring shoot what's boring you never know.

[@TheDemonsunleashed]

Too a lot of Non-Americans our suburbs are different and unlike anything where they are from which can potentially be interesting to them!

[@montagdp]

@@TheDemonsunleashed point taken, but Nashville is a decently big city. Unless people want to see a Walmart parking lot, there's just not really much to shoot where I live that qualifies as street photography. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely other genres available, like landscape, wildlife, rural, maybe even urban decay if I really get creative. So I'm not complaining, just saying that for street photography my options are very limited unless I travel an hour or more. My comment was more directed at the subject of the video, which featured a beautiful Mediterranean town, which is a far cry from what I consider the average small town.

[@deadtothewxrld]

Industrial trash world certainly has a lovely looking legacy, doesn’t it? I love living in America, but when I visited Italy, my idea of what a town should be was turned on its head completely. I wish I had such interesting streets to shoot on,

[@judylindo6874]

I live in a rural area (60 miles from NYC) and have started a project depicting life on a family owned farm. I started with high hopes of completing it in a year, to cover all seasons, but reality has set in and it will be 2 - 3 years before it is completed...but I am having fun shooting and planning.

[@MarcWynter]

Another tip I've heard is to "try be a tourist in your own town." For me what that translates to is to try to do the touristy things and visit those spots or treat it like you have a friend in town you want to show around. Coincidentally, I'll be in Portugal (São Miguel Island and Lisbon) but in September

[@marc.s.moisan]

My trick is simply going out in all conditions. Whether it's raining, snowing, cloudy, sunny, morning or night. These slight differences can greatly affect the way the way you shoot.

[@Ricalex67]

Great seeing this Roman! Both yourself, sean tucker AND alex kilbee have helped me understand that its all well and good travelling across the uk to photograph london, but there is always something closer. London has also taught me i like shooting on the streets, but a project is just starting, with help of a trip to the tate gallery. Architecture and detail shots giving proof humans have been in any place, without being in the shot is a direction i am travelling on even if it will mean going out at unsociable times when not many people are around. Thank you for your help through your videos

[@jillgallagher8982]

Your videos are always a huge inspiration to me Roman, I really want to thankyou so much for all your explanations. I still have so much to learn in photography and when I listen to you, you totally encorage me, huge thankyou!

[@sumolegal3809]

You sir gave me a lot of knowledge about photogtaphy with such an ease and understanding. I barely started last weeks with photography and thank to you, i am learning everyday new things such as camera settings, editing game, composition etc. And in the same time you are such a chill guy so its a pleasure to watch your videos. Wish you the best!

[@nickdatriple4081]

Great sharing of thoughts Roman! I’m taking notes and I think those can apply to anyone that live anywhere tbh. It’s all essentially different ways of changing your perspective as a photographer which will ultimately get you better

[@wendeeisme]

I live in a small town called Kuching, in Sarawak, one of the states in Malaysia. This is a place often forgotten by Malaysians even 🤣When I run out of things to shoot, I like to revisit places that I've been to before, hoping to find new things that I may have overlooked previously. To my pleasant surprise, I always do find something new, at a different time of the day, the light hits the scene differently and that is a delight, at least in my opinion.

[@Rick-rf7om]

Spot on, Roman. Street photography's all well and good but is at times overly cliched. I mean, how many 'street' photos do we need to see of someone walking past a wall? Great video - thanks.

[@nmsgoncalves]

You have to come to Cascais(Lisbon area) during your stay at Portugal . I'd be happy to show you the Villa. You'll love it. Lots of pitoresque places to photograph. Amazing beach at Guincho to catch the sunset (and some awesome waves) and Sintra just around the corner.

[@streetfoxes]

Wonderful video Roman! Very insightful as always

[@charliejg]

"...well, I was born in a small town...." Ha! Small towns are really full of stories, especially those with specific historical significance or that arose for specific industries. Sometimes is the decay of an industry and the associated buildings. Sometimes it's the simple way of life in rural small towns. Good video... There was a question I was going to ask you about after re-watching your video about aperture priority, but you answered it in this video with a clip of you putting your camera into aperture priority. Really enjoyed this one because it reminded me of some things you've said in earlier videos that motivated me. Thanks and have a great week!

[@melusineasmr2685]

Every summer I spend some time at a family house on the french countryside and feel like it's boring and there's nothing to capture. What sparks my creativity while I'm there: really paying attention to the light and waiting till it's exactly how I want it, shooting film which I never take time to do in my daily life because I feel like I need to come back with social media worthy shots (I know, I know..), changing the subjects I photoraph like more nature (fruits, animals, etc), stills inside while I usually shoot outside, etc. Writing this I realise there's something with time going by at a different pace...

[@990drifter]

Great advice and useful pointers Roman, I see you're still living the dream mate, keep it coming, be safe.

[@garykuhlmann8149]

Great video! Thanks for sharing. Your last couple of points about getting specific and working on projects reminds me of one thing I try to keep in mind: It's not the place that makes one's photographs interesting--it's the photographer. As Robert Adams said, "No place is boring, if you've had a good night's sleep and have a pocketful of unexposed film."

[@FlatWaterFilms]

I remember when I was into shooting wealthy old neighborhoods. One time a curious gentleman stopped and questioned me. He said once he was into taking pictures of all the doorways. Another time a gentleman was taking photos of anything that had an owl in the scene.

[@RiazOozeer]

always heading out, it might feel tiring and saturated before that but it's never the same experience, light always doing what it does but differently!

[@m47d48xt]

In Portugal I would recommend Coimbra as an interesting town with a lot of history. (Easy trip from Oporto)

[@snapsbyfox]

Cheers!

[@jared_quackenbush]

Great info man! Been stuck with this in my new city. This really helped.

[@Reinavera73]

Gracias Roman.

[@MaartenSFS]

I think that these are sound strategies regardless of where one lives. When I lived in a small city in China (but bigger than the capital of my country!), I employed quite a few.

[@412foto]

to me, street photography involves people in the photos. Even in a smaller city like I am in (Pittsburgh) this can be challenging as there are not that many people on the city streets and frankly, the ones that are, are boring! So for me, the keys are traveling elsewhere and leveraging busy times/areas...outdoor markets, special events, parades, etc where there are more people and might be more interesting things happening vs walking down an empty street.

[@00Shaiya00]

Unique point of view! Amazing video

[@tyreegause7293]

Love your work brother, inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and start shooting

[@simonowl7164]

Another great video Roman always an inspiration....

[@rugosotv]

Always feel like going out to take photos after watching your videos, always inspiring! :)

[@lucianoadami7231]

Sempre belle le tue foto complimenti , non ne sbagli una .

[@EduardodeOliveira]

Hey Roman! Great video! Once you are in Porto consider visiting Aveiro. It's one hour away by train and I'm convinced you will like. I'll be there then so if you want to go for coffee of something, gimme a shout!

[@snapsbyfox]

Yeah I heard about it and will have a look! Cheers

[@krillinmuro]

Love your content always so information and motivational. Work truly is art it is so beautiful you really have an eye.

[@uvp5000]

I enjoyed your suggestions, thank you.

[@TheWillRogers]

Being an American, this is basically a travel advertisement for small mediterranean towns lol. I saw more benches and tables in one shot than my city probably has in total. I understand it's a bit better on the east coast of the us, small towns are denser. Here on the west coast, i've stopped taking my camera with me when I go on walks or runs around the city.

[@serrz8203]

Great advise!! By the way, your project in Nuremberg is lovely!! Good video of your colection. One question, you always compose with the cámara away from your eye? Never use the vewfinder, always in the back screen ?

[@Jonathantuba]

What about if living in town, documenting through the seasons and all changes that take place over time.

[@broderalias]

Nice one! Subscribed.

[@bunmeng007]

Good tips. Should go out with a goal or a theme

[@wilfs1196]

Absolutely went nuts with the camera during our European riverboat cruise vacations on the Danube, Rhine & Douro in Portugal. Loved shooting the European architecture & historic old villages as estopped at afferent village every day. In one village I mainly shot doorways as each one had their build dates inscribed above the doorways, many going back to the 1500 & 1600 s.The sizes of the cathedrals was astounding & what it must have taken to build them in that period. Then Covid came along. Already planning the next one. Spent several days in Porto & a couple in Lisbon. Great memories. Of all the photos in my computer files, the riverboat cruises get all of my attention.Canada is still in it's infancy spared to Europe.

[@traceybartlam7737]

Great ideas. I live in a small town that’s not that inspirational so recently travelled into Birmingham as it’s looking good for commonwealth games but maybe I should look closer to home too

[@martinagiusstreetphotography]

Words well said

[@piszczello]

Some good points but I think the message would hit better if you were talking from a dull, small town near Coventry in October or or some suburbs in US rather than a beautiful mediterranean town in height of summer. Some places truly are boring to photograph and not much will change that.

[@snapsbyfox]

That's a different topic entirely mate. How to shoot in boring places. For that, I would need to go back to somewhere in the UK and do it there.

[@piszczello]

@@snapsbyfox I'd look forward to watching that! Here's an idea for a future video: take two trips to a small town, or a place that's deemed "uninteresting". First trip, get all the obvious shots out of the way: the one landmark in the town, the vista, etc. On the second trip, the challenge is to make more shots that do not include the locations or frames from the first visit. I think what most people struggle with is the repetitiveness. Enjoy your holiday!

[@trevorbrooks813]

Hi Roman, another interesting vid, thanks. I'm wondering how often you use the screen vs the viewfinder?

[@snapsbyfox]

Screen 80% of the time tbh if not more. Cheers

[@Floxiiik]

those are actually good tips, I live in a dead ass shit village (under/around 9k ppl here) but the only cool thing here is the motocross track, but I'm not sure if I can get cool shots with my xh1 and kit lens

[@yurifu]

Very useful coz I am starting to get bored of photographing in HK😅

[@MTO_KT]

Lovely

[@markl2815]

I take photos for a laugh, I don’t think “I’m a street photographer” I just see things and take the picture …. Most will say “like the a-z challenge” but that’s good. Overall the tag or “street” is too much for me. I frankly don’t give a sh1t myself Just take what you see and get better at seeing things …. Look at ecclesaton etc which I’m not sure I like but it’s there and does ask questions so it’s just a new option. Ffs unless you get paid, it’s meant to be fun

[@Janihonkalaxx]

You cannot say "change your camera" to anyone! Its not fault in camera, if there is something problem!.. what is that city, about 5-6 min?

[@adrianbeese2150]

Had 10 days in Noli 2019 loved it, stayed in the old hotel that used to be part of the town walls

[@Jeimedia]

I relocated to Africa from London where I’m doing street photography for anyone who might be interested to se. Thanks

[@macallanvintage]

The real point is “skin colour” matching. If you are a Brit native of Manchester and visit India for a month, shooting everyday and everywhere, NO ONE there will bother you. They would even SMILE to you and some would even want to pose for you. Endless millions of opportunities for superb photos. But if you are doing the same thing in Manchester, its much more challenging as you might be stopped and questioned, and attract rude stares. Similarly, an Indian photographer doing the same thing in India might also encounter such issues, compared to his WONDERFUL experience in China where the Chinese dont give a damn what that “Indian tourist” is doing. If you are an American in Thailand, you can literally do whatever you want, as many cultures idolise the white man. Conversely, if you are from Nigeria and doing such street photography in Footscray (Melbourne) at night, taking photos of people, shops etc, you could be asking for BIG trouble while the Oriental guy or Anglo guy would be very safe. It all depends on the place (not its size) and the matching to how YOU look. If you look like a white Anglo, you already have a huge advantage in most countries.

[@sgpork]

Yea this is true. Becos discrimination and sterotyping still exsist. Sadly.

[@macallanvintage]

@@sgpork Absolutely true. Hence, when we go far away to another culture thats very different from us, the “shy-est” street photographer will feel so much more confident and at ease, and capture so many more stunning shots. Try doing that in your own town or city or neighbourhood, and its very different.

[@tvariuness]

also 2:50 is a great shot

[@andrewharvey8638]

Great video Roman cheers I'm taking the chang of gear literally managed to get a lumix gf1 due to not being able to carry around my canon 700d, so travelling light but exploring new possibilities and techniques and limitations which can only improve my photography and after all that's one of the pleasures of taking photographs.

[@cityproofdad]

Wildlife and macro arevfun as well

[@greeceinfocus]

People should think about the subjects they are shooting and why people should watch their photos. For example there is nothing more boring than to shoot walking people on the street and people with their mobiles. Nobody wants to see that

[@sgpork]

The worst are just shots of people’s backview and thats it. No story no meaning. But with good bokeh/lighting . Many people would still think its a great shot.

[@Molybdan42]

Oh yeah, there are sooo many boring, dull "street photos" ... good street photography is hard!

[@greeceinfocus]

@@sgpork Good street photographers are not hunting for photos. They are able to catch interesting scenes immediately. Many youtubers make this mistake. I would never wait for a person to enter my frame because there is good lighting

[@greeceinfocus]

@@Molybdan42 Good street photographers know that the best scenes are coming to them. They never hunt for photos

[@snapsbyfox]

As long is you are enjoying yourself and having a good time taking those photos, then it's all that matters. Everyone has an opinion on what is boring and what is not boring and everyone is an armchair expert these days. So if you enjoy taking photos of people just walking past, then do it and ignore everyone else.

[@tolgaturgut6530]

if someone struggle to get any shots from somewhere beautiful like this one so no one should claim themselves as photographers. :)

[@be8059]

Dude, where is this town? In italy ?

[@snapsbyfox]

Yeah, Noli

[@romanzumdiek]

😍

[@ruudmaas2480]

Still lifes.

[@tvariuness]

as someone who has traveled to 50 different countries and done photography in small towns, slow places, xcetera it is important to understand when you are engaging in street photography verses when you are doing travel photography. taking photos of architecture and ppl in a new place is travel photography. i don't understand the need we have to basically call damn near everything street photography when it's not. the way i shot kinsale in ireland is very different than the way i would shoot 5th ave in nyc. it's okay if something is not street photography if you're getting great shots. it just happens to not be street photography but it can be any number of things. travel photography is actually its own distinct category because you must convey the locale and culture more so than you would in normal street photography. some very specific skillsets are needed to do that well. so just calling it street photography it's not only ignorant but it's lazy and it diminishes what you should be focusing on.

[@snapsbyfox]

So who sets these rules? Is there like a street photography god who sits there and decides what is street and what isn't?