Can I shoot like Saul Leiter? A Street Photography Challenge

Ever wondered what it's like to shoot like the iconic Saul Leiter? Join me as I embark on a street photography adventure with a Nikon FA and a 105mm f2.5 lens, trying to emulate Leiter's unique approach to colour photography.
Watch me explore the streets of Glasgow in a POV street photography video, tackling layers, negative space, selective focus, and more.
In this challenge, I'll be using Superia 400 and Kodak Portra 800 film to get a subtle colourful palette. I'll share my learnings, insights, and mostly failures as I attempt to capture Leiter's style while maintaining my own identity as a photographer.
Which photographers should I try to emulate next? Drop your suggestions in the comments below!
Stay updated on my street photography:
/ cigaregentique
If this video was enjoyable, feel free to give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more street photography tips, tricks, and inspiration. See you soon!
Books shown during the video:
-The Unseen Saul leiter (2022)
-Saul Leiter: Retrospektive / Retrospective (2012)
00:00 - Introduction
01:03 - Capturing Candid Moments
01:44 - Embracing Weather and Seasons
02:17 - Foreground Elements and Subframing
02:37 - Negative Space and Composition
03:20 - Selective focus
04:01 - Achieving the Colours
04:45 - Incorporating Abstract Elements
05:23 - Long Lenses and Compression
05:50 - Putting in the Time
06:14 - Perspective - Letting Pictures "Marinate"
06:44 - On the Streets with the Nikon FA and the 105 f2.5
19:30 - Conclusion - Final thoughts on the challenge
#SaulLeiterChallenge #StreetPhotography #NikonFA #FilmPhotography #GlasgowStreets #35mm #Snapshotsituation

[@danwoodliefphotography871]

I thought you did a great of explaining Leiter's style and capturing similar photos. I look forward to watching more.

[@morottaja123]

Great work! The break down of Saul Leiters style was interesting. Gonna give this one a shot myself and try to incorporate your list of Leiter's style elements.

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! Hope you'll enjoy the process! :)

[@K3zz21]

Truly loved this. Excited for the next episode!

[@peterkline7137]

That was very interesting. Thanks.

[@boycompass7769]

I really enjoyed this

[@micromike2309]

what a great video! And i wonder how you made the gopro footage look THIS fin good

[@babettesfeast6347]

Great video please do more

[@MarkCarline]

This is *excellent* thanks

[@Lokitty666]

This is fun. Both knowledgeable and enjoyable. I'll try this challenge as well. Also, hope to see more of this kind of video 👍

[@mariozorzi]

Thank you gaston! I really enjoyed your shoots

[@yoshikibell]

fantastic video

[@gastonwelisch]

Thanks! :)

[@AManWhoWasntThere]

Saul Leiter is my favourite photographer. I think some of your shots here get really close. Great work!

[@billycullen6832]

Excellent , well done!

[@MikeMyers00]

I learned a lot of new ideas from this video, and what I've learned. about Saul Leiter. Thank you!

[@agent01soul]

Great work, I am going to hit the streets in 30 minutes and I feel energized now.

[@janwilson9485]

Nicely pulled together - interesting info. And good selection of his work. Good analysis - thanks

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! I'm happy it's been useful!

[@jamescarrington5520]

Man, that revived my PTSD. The same thing happened with all my slide film shot in Prague. Unfortunately, mine never reappeared 😓 No Christmas miracle for me

[@bobsyeruncle4841]

good one looking for the next style from you -interesting thanks

[@carol5155]

Thank you, I really enjoyed this... xxx

[@francisbombus3949]

Very inspiring. Many thanks for your effort. Great work 👏🏼

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! :)

[@hugomartinsphoto]

This was great, Gaston! Great job with the storytelling here! Really awesome way of incorporating your process into the video! Bravo👌

[@gastonwelisch]

Merci Hugo! :)

[@hugomartinsphoto]

@@gastonwelisch Avec plaisir 👌

[@MichielHeijmans]

Don’t add that self critique after ever photo, my friend. Your photos look fine. I do think that Saul embraced his blacks a bit more. If you drop your shadows in edit some more, every one of those is a good photo. Thanks for putting the effort in this video, I enjoyed it a lot!

[@gastonwelisch]

I try to add a bit of my thoughts behind what I think about the photo but I get what you mean with it being a bit over-critical. The shadows is a good point, especially with Saul Leiter. Part of it is the dynamic range of modern negative film vs 60's and 70's slide film. But I could totally bring down the shadows in post. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@borderlands6606]

@@gastonwelisch Slide film has a narrow dynamic range, typically one-third of a stop, with saturated colours and dense blacks. It is hard to reproduce with colour negative film. You did a good job, and can enhance those characteristics in post. Some older digital cameras emulate that look better than colour neg in my experience.

[@lorenschwiderski]

The photo at 8:06 when the pedestrians sign is cropped out of the photo works. The depth is that of rear tire of the bike, on back to man in the back, with the tree on the right cropped out. In regard to the telephone booth shot, you would need to be much closer in to do that shot. 15:27 is a nice shot. 16:37 nice rule of odds, with the space on right. I like the columns -- makes people seem so small. Take care, and have fun, Loren

[@UrbanoModa]

that bubbles shot is special, as are a few others

[@madagekartonowy4935]

Dude... how TF you only have 121 subs??? We need to change it! Dope stuff btw :)

[@gastonwelisch]

Just started out! Thank you!

[@madagekartonowy4935]

@@gastonwelisch Thank yourself man, you're making great stuff :)

[@PitNeex]

I like to hear the though process behind every photo, solid results!

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! I think it adds a bit of interest when you get a behind the scenes look.

[@WideAppeal]

Good work! And you managed to produce some great pics. Subbed.

[@gastonwelisch]

Thanks! I'm glad you like the pictures! :)

[@schwipsy]

really, really nice video man! looking forward to seeing you try to recreate other photographers!

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! I'm thinking about Daido Moriyama next... Maybe!

[@slowscape]

I enjoyed your review of his work. Thanks

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! Glad to hear it was enjoyable.

[@__Mr.White__]

I enjoyed this video. Very nice.

[@gastonwelisch]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@iainmc9859]

I subscribed because you're a Glasgow street photographer. I think I maybe even spotted you around the St Enoch's subway a couple of weeks ago in sunny weather. I think generally Leiter just benefits from colour, out of focus and damp conditions, no wonder that Glasgow often doubles for New York in the 1950's in Hollywood movies. You could always try breathing on your lens to get that hazy colour bloom that most people see as a Leiter motif.

[@ryanstark2350]

I like the one at 18:06. It's not really Leiter looking but it's got a ton of interesting details. I have used longer lenses for street photography but I found that some images I took would have benefitted from less shallow depth of focus. It's sometimes worth adjusting, assuming you have enough light. A spectacular longer lens is the Nikkor ED 180mm f/2.8 AI-s. This one is quite fast for a 180mm so good enough for night work although it's quite big. I use often smaller ones so to be less obvious. I would also like the one you used in the video. I have a lot of older vintage lenses. All usable on mirrorless. I think some of these lenses get you a look closer to what you see with these older photographers. This is especially the case with the bokeh. Some of the older lenses have spectacular bokeh.

[@pelicula9779]

Great work. Subscribed.

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers! :)

[@drendelous]

i reaaaaally liked the way you approched the topic. im so into SL right now. his work is so fairy memory ish. did you see the documentary by Tomas Leach? subscribed

[@wombatwombaffle]

Really good exercise! Nicely put together video too! Well done! Would love to see you try to take influence from painters in your photography. No one does that. ❤

[@gastonwelisch]

Good idea! I lean more towards the abstract painters, so I'll have a bit of a hard time applying that to my photography but it could be done! I'll need to give it a think.

[@wombatwombaffle]

@@gastonwelisch sounds really interesting. I think that the creative process will be fascinating to see. Good work.

[@theactofseeing]

Really interesting video

[@gastonwelisch]

Thank you! :)

[@markbaigrie8891]

Great presentation. I'm doing SL in my degree, I'm just wondering roughly what camera settings you would suggest?

[@pmac_fotografia1]

Great vídeo. For the reflections shots which aperture did you use?

[@Artaxbozzim]

22 minuti passati in un lampo...... Grazie !!

[@ZipperDetailing]

Nice channel. I subscribed. Would be great to see more videos focusing on compsition and how to take photos and not focusing so much on gear. Il y a déjà assez de chaines qui nourissent le phénomène du GAS. ;)

[@gastonwelisch]

J'essaie d'apporter un nouvel angle, mais j'aime bien aussi les appareils photos (Comme, j'imagine, beaucoup de photographes) - ceci dit parler purement de "gear" ne 'intéresse pas trop, si je parle d'appareils photos il faut que ça me permette d'aborder une approche ou manière de prendre de photos. Et puis des vidéos sans trop de "gear" comme celle-ci également c'est sympa à faire. Thanks for the kind comment!

[@vegvid]

I liked your video, and I had never heard of Saul Leiter. My problem is that in Germany, for instance, you can't just photograph people without their consent. Which makes street photography impossible as you want to capture moments that never occur again. Like those people on the bus in one of your photos. If you would exhibit those photos they might sue you, and this could be very costly. Is this so much different in Scotland?

[@ErwinSerle]

In general, you can take photos of people in public spaces, but there are some exceptions. You can't take photos of people if it shows their helplessness. For example, you can't take photos of accident victims, drunk people or nude people without their permission.16 mrt 2023 Photography laws in Germany - All About Berlin

[@gastonwelisch]

Yes, it is my understanding that the law is quite close in Germany and the rest of the EU to that of the UK. The US is even more permissive, but here, as long as it is a public space where there is no expectation of privacy, and you are not shooting commercially (for a brand or advert), street photography is permitted. That said, just because something is legal doesn't make it ethical, so use your common sense and don't photograph people in positions where you wouldn't want to be photographed yourself. Also I'm not a legal expert by any means, so still do your research for your area.

[@martingreenberg870]

Which Saul Leiter book did you use to show us images? Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret))

[@gastonwelisch]

Hi! Sorry for not showing the titles in the video, I totally should have - they're included in the description now. The 2 books are: -The Unseen Saul leiter (2022) -Saul Leiter: Retrospektive / Retrospective (2012) My favourite is the Unseen Saul Leiter, but the other book is more thorough, it shows his paintings, his black and white work, fashion work, and nude portraits.

[@ipkwokhung]

Nice video. Could you try to shoot like Helen Levitt?

[@lorenschwiderski]

The risk of shooting at a shallow depth of field is losing the rest of the story. It is true, for effect, having only the subject in focus can work. It is sometimes best. I would not say most times better to shoot wide-open and ignore the background, as you may get home and then realize there was something very interesting, or important which is now gone forever. If you are sure that one area is all which counts, and want to throw-out the detail beyond, then yes indeed -- great choice. Be yourself in shooting style. The rule of odds is not something bad, nor all the other painter's tools, but never try to become someone else. Do your best, then try to up that to the next level in each shot you take. Over time you know the cameras limitations, as in how things look in the frame once developed - edited, and that stupid human error is easy to achieve. ;) Never do the same trick too many times, or at the least spread those images out, as in presenting them over a period of time to viewers. If you make a nice replica of a famous photo, you basically have something best done on by a Xerox machine. If you have something really fresh, but possibly the same theme, then yea, it might work. Just be yourself, only better, as the years roll by. Reinvent yourself, if need be! - Loren Schwiderski photography.

[@giedphoto7945]

haha, we live in the same city...

[@gastonwelisch]

Well, there are about 1.6 million people in Glasgow, there has to be a few of them on youtube! :D

[@user-is3pb4hb5h]

NO !!! It takes a certain kind of poetic sensibility & NOT just finding ANY subject that just happens have the colour RED and pressing a button !!!

[@gregderozier3846]

What a silly waste of time!!

[@christianferrare1916]

Stop to imitate...😡

[@gordonwill6885]

Hi Gaston, enjoying your channel and approach, good to see Scottish streets on YT, makes a change from NY! I'm shooting digital atm, but will be shooting some film soon. Bw. Gordon, @gordonw_street ..

[@gastonwelisch]

Cheers Gordon, I appreciate it! :)