How to Get Better at Street Photography

[@PerfectNormal]

You are one of the best photographers on KZbin. You are really humble. To get better at photography, people should watch your videos, not gear review videos. And your stuff is really about technique. You’re not just another amateur with a go pro doing “street photography”. Your format, combining theory, application, and personal experience; Like, what more does one need to see?

[@EYExplore]

Wow! Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it! Will keep it up!! :)

[@erikkruiter]

Great video. I also like the absence of music in your videos, so you can hear the ambient sounds from the street.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much for saying so! It's a conscious decision to not add music. My goal is to make you feel like we out for a walk on the streets together. No music is more realistic. :)

[@theslowwalkers]

We've not long found your videos but working our way through from the beginning and wanted to say that both my wife and I learn something from every video you put out. The way you explain things makes so much sense and we also enjoy the Ricoh ones. So much so, that even though I have a D850, the Ricoh is calling.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! Glad to hear your are enjoying all of our content! We will make more videos with the Ricoh soon. Recently, we've been making videos Ricoh's official channel, so all our GR content went there. :)

[@rpigeon8]

Great video again! Thanks for the "philosophy", always something to learn from masters (you are one for me anyway)

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much for the kind words!! :)

[@robsenior6570]

Another great post here Lucas. Like you I’m exploring abstraction in my street photography and Saul Leitor is on top of my list. Ernst Haas is another great abstractive street photographer from the same era.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much! I like Enrst Haas as well!

[@repHAWAIIxJPN]

8:13 "Good artist copy , great artist steal" I like these types of videos to remind myself about these things now and then . More often than I'd like it feels once people "learn" something they never come back to it again when that's not really a good thing . It's always nice to go back and refresh your memory and knowledge on things , at least when it's not bad habits 😅

[@EYExplore]

Haha, yes I totally agree! It's also good to revisit ideas regularly to keep them fresh in your mind. It's like exercise. You have to work the mental muscles again and again. :)

[@anthony-moya]

Some of the best advice I've heard regarding street photography and photography in general. Great photos as well!!

[@EYExplore]

I'm really glad to hear that!! :)

[@MikeKleinsteuber]

A couple of things occur to me: 1. The images from Saul (who I totally love) you see on the internet and in books are the best from over 50 years of shooting and probably from millions of shot frames. His shooting ratio was therefore enormous. Therefore don't expect great results of your own from just a couple of hundred shots. If you shoot a 1000 shots you may be lucky and get one keeper. If you get a lot more than that you're probably not being realistic. 2. It's probably better to develop your own style by just shooting everything that takes your fancy and then over time you'll see what you like and what you don't to create your own little niche. Becoming a watered down version of someone else shouldn't be satisfying for you and is unlikely to be to anyone else.

[@EYExplore]

Yeah, this is very true! And Saul himself said something that goes kind of like this: "If I shoot one good photo per year, then in 10 years I'll have 10 good photos!" Meaning that, it's rate to get a truly great photo, and great photography takes lots and lots of time! Of course you should develop your own style. My advice is not about taking a style, it's about learning techniques. You can shoot for years and not figure out something that's been done before you. We can all stand on the shoulders of giants. But what you reach for is up to you. :)

[@K3zz21]

Highly disagree with “shouldn’t be satisfying for you” it’s an artform. Art is enjoyable to different people in different ways. it is not so black and white.

[@RSKNPOL]

If You compare photography to music , then You also learnig and developing your own style by playing others music.

[@ElyRiverBlues]

Just found your channel. Love the heuristics explanation and indeed the other tips! Unlike many photowalk videos i actually learn something 😄

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@ucevrim]

we only been taking pictures for a decade give or take so there's not much to study and look for inspirations however Paintings goes all the way back to pre-historic times. There's so much to learn from it.

[@EYExplore]

I'm not sure what you mean. Did you mean century? I think photography has been around for over 100 years but you could say street photography has only really been an art form for about 80-100 years. But I do agree that going to other visual art forms is a great source of artistic knowledge! :)

[@Seegurke.]

Very interesting & informative video, thank you Alex & Lucasz, much appreciated as always!

[@EYExplore]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it! :)

[@kilianhrkm]

Wow, three years ago you said the same as you said last week. "Look at other forms of art for inspiration."

[@EYExplore]

It's always true!! :)

[@CollectedLight1]

Compliments to the both of you for another great video. Great and useful learning points. Leiter is amazing!

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@jamesamoh7340]

Thank you Lukasz! I owe my street photography improvement to you and the content you put out on this channel and the Ricoh channel. Now I’m always out shooting. Thank you!

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much for saying so!! I really makes me happy to know that people are getting something out of all these videos! :)

[@sagarpremkumar793]

Great video, I especially loved the idea of heuristics, it really helps me as a beginner

[@EYExplore]

Thank you! Glad to hear that! :)

[@jorge-3768]

I really enjoyed de video. Like the quality content like this. Totally refresing to keep learning nd be motivated

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much! :)

[@johna6968]

As part of my photography course I chose to write a piece on Saul Leiter for my portfolio after seeing his amazing work.

[@EYExplore]

I think that's an excellent subject for an essay! :)

[@dansuzukiphotography]

Another great video. Saul Leiter was amazing! I also love the work of Fred Herzog.

[@EYExplore]

I have heard of him but am not so familiar with his work. I just took a look, and like it a lot! :)

[@kuangong]

Thanks for all the good advises!!!

[@EYExplore]

Glad you found it useful! :)

[@raeleneinglis4529]

Great video! Really helpful

[@EYExplore]

Thank you very much!! :)

[@malawmaw]

Come to know your channel from Samuel Lintaro 2 days ago. From that on, I’ve watched more than 10 videos already. Very entertaining and informative in terms of street photography.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoy them! :)

[@hurleygreen927]

Thanks for the tips! I'm a Chicago photojournalist who does a lot of street photography here...your tutorial was helpful!

[@EYExplore]

Thanks!! Glad to hear that! :)

[@alhOOO2O]

Please tell me that le coq sportif are now sponsoring eye explore 🤣 great video as always, thanks for sharing

[@EYExplore]

I wish they would! I've been wearing this jacket for nearly 10 years. I love it and it's become a kind of gag amongst my friends haha. :)

[@bobca2]

Shibuya...I so miss Tokyo...in Kansas City Missouri these days...practicing my new-found passion...street photography...thanks for providing so much information, knowledge, experience & passion...

[@EYExplore]

I would look to the work of William Eggleston. He's not commonly called a 'street photographer' but I think he is an early pioneer of the genre. :)

[@bobca2]

@@EYExplore Thx much for the reply, & for the recommendation...I will look into Eggleston as part of my journey...love your work & YT content, BTW...

[@EYExplore]

@@bobca2 Thank you very much! :)

[@peterjoseph3839]

Thanks! Another inspiring useful video 👌👍🔝

[@EYExplore]

Thanks Peter!! :)

[@winteryoung5889]

9:01 that really speaks to me. Great photo!

[@aPmigz-M3X]

Just found your channel, such great videos!

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much! :)

[@tomaszbiay429]

Intresting video. I feel motivated to look for more opportunities for doing my street photography

[@EYExplore]

Glad to motivate you!! :)

[@benjones8977]

You’re one of the first photographers I’ve heard mention studying other forms of art. I’ve been doing this for years. 🖖

[@EYExplore]

Yeah, photographers tend to overlook it and seem to live in a bubble. But I know many of the great photographers either studied lots of other media or were in fact artists themselves. I actually started out in art before photography. I spend a lot of time making digital art and I had an early fascination with artists like Picasso, Monet, Duchamp, and many others. All weeeell before I got into photography. :)

[@benjones8977]

@@EYExplore I had a love for music, film, sculptures, paintings. At first I thought I was going to be an artist and painter, but I realized it wasn’t that good. So I tried with the camera and found I liked it, but I had a lot to learn! But I found that all the other interests in my life helped my creative side in photography. I also had an interest in fashion. Just like writers need to live life in order to write, a good photographer needs artistic influences & history to make better photographs. 🖖

[@EYExplore]

@@benjones8977 I had a similar path. And I agree with the writer analogy as well! :)

[@wackyislandboysstreetphoto805]

Thank You Lucas for the tips and helping me understand how too visualize Saul Leiters imagery…like yourself I’ll keep practicing and little by little get a better understanding 😎

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! I'm glad to hear you found my ramblings useful! :)

[@Daniel_Zalman]

I just discovered your channel. This is a really wonderful and useful video. Very good and concrete advice.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@valala2987]

Awesome video, I really liked your comment about heuristics. It's truly one of the best ways to learn and to get better at photography. I personally like to apply that not just through certain techniques that other photographers use but I like to apply that concept to just basic composition techniques and visual elements as well. Basically when you are starting out, don t just rush through a book/video on composition and call it a day. Pick one technique, like for example leading lines or framing, learn everything about it and then try to see it in the outside world. The great thing is you don t even need a camera for this (although it is more fun). No matter where you are, you can look around and try to see that particular concept you are focusing on. After some time you will start to automatically see those things in your surroundings and it will be much easier to find good compositions. It s really important that you only focus on one thing at a time though, that way you really hone your eyes to see that particular thing. Another cool benefit from doing this is that you don t just see these compositional elements in the outside work but you ll notice it in other peoples photographs as well. That makes it a whole lot easier to understand professional work, which in turn helps you to understand how to copy the style and techniques of other professionals.

[@EYExplore]

I totally agree! I didn't go very in-depth into the topic of heuristics in composition this time but it certainly warrants a dedicated video. I do have a related blog post though: www.lkazphoto.com/blog/2019/5/17/beyond-mere-composition

[@valala2987]

@@EYExplore Cool, thanks! I'll read through that :)

[@leonreichelt172]

I actually asked myself that question. Thanks!!

[@EYExplore]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@MrRatzimo]

Yes I've got to agree. Very good video. Thank you - you're doing a great job!!

[@EYExplore]

Thank you!! :)

[@mike_lambert]

More "Philosophical" videos please, this one was great! :)

[@EYExplore]

Definitely some more on the way!! :)

[@jpadicecoffee9812]

lots of street lightning every where you walk. Must be nice. Good idea for my next shooting.

[@EYExplore]

Yeah, Tokyo is a photography paradise! :)

[@dbugatto]

Another solid vid , nicely done .

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@silascsoccio]

Great Job. Jpe this Channel grows much more

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@authenticporto1105]

Excelent video. Long but very helpful

[@EYExplore]

Thanks! I like long videos. I watch a lot of 20 minute videos myself. :)

[@markhoffman9655]

Good advice on the heurestics - scary big camera and lens you use!

[@EYExplore]

It's fun to use though! And that's important for me. Though I usually use a prime lens, just happened to have the big zoom on tonight. :)

[@rogeroto]

hi! Just watched you on Norm's video and had to check your channel too. Already subscribed. Thank you!

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much! Glad to hear that! :)

[@yakamo]

I really love long focal lengths for street photography, great video. On my last visit to Tokyo i used a 100mm f2 on a crop sensor making it 160mm. really intimate lens to use.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you!! I use telephoto sometimes too! Back in the day I had an old Nikon 105 f/2.5 AIS and I used it on my D300. It was tricky to shoot as it's manual focus only, but I got a handful of good shots with it! :)

[@yakamo]

@@EYExplore That sounds like a good lens, manual focus must have been hardc0re ,but the recent video was great about hyper focal and zone focus. I cant wait to get out and try this method of shooting.

[@DavidTothill]

Brillant video

[@EYExplore]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@MoiseLevi]

Saul was also an artist, master of composition, mostly vertical frames. Your photos where quite good

[@EYExplore]

Yes, and I don't claim to be on his level. My point was just how you can take a small piece of another artist's skills and practice it so you can add it to your own arsenal of skills. :)

[@Bossti]

Another great video :) Thank you for explaining all of this. Also: William Eggleston hurray!

[@Bossti]

I also like that you put movies and videogames (Final Fantasy VII Remake, right? xD) as sources for inspiration there

[@EYExplore]

Thank you very much!! :)

[@EYExplore]

For sure! Actually, a game that really taught me a few things about perspective is called The Witness. Amazing and beautiful experience. I'm also a fan of story-driven atmospheric games with simple but deep gameplay, like Fez and Inside, and modern throwbacks to the 16-bit era like Axiom Verge and Hyperlight Drifter. :)

[@TaipeiGeek]

Thanks for the lessons, sensei.

[@WhoIsSerafin]

Ver informative for beginners. If I went out for my four or five hour street photography walks with that monster camera I would quit. :)

[@EYExplore]

Haha, thanks! I get a work out for my guns. :)

[@anatomicshutter3975]

Yess some Saul appreciation ❤️

[@EYExplore]

:)

[@Clodrock]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@EYExplore]

Glad you think so! :)

[@MarkPuke13]

oh yes yes yes!!! thanks for this one!!! hello from guam!!!

[@EYExplore]

My pleasure! :)

[@andrewhillphotosvideos2909]

13:50 into video I get it. thanks it is a on going learning experience.

[@EYExplore]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@cortomaltese9101]

Thank you!

[@EYExplore]

My pleasure! :)

[@Bryan-lu4du]

Great videos. I’m working my way through them all. I love even just the walking around Tokyo aspect and talking photography. I went there on vacation in 2007 with a few friends and I was still in the learning process with my photography at the time. I absolutely loved it and had an amazing time. I want to go back ASAP. It would be cool to shoot with you when I do if you’re down (I know I’m just a random commenter). I keep meaning to ask, have you tried shooting the area where the harajuku girls dress up on Sundays? Some of my favorite photos during my vacation were there. My friend used his 200 2.8 for those portraits and killed it I did already with an 85 1.8 there at the time.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you very much!! Glad you are enjoying the Tokyo exploration as well. It's an important part of what we do! The Harajuku people have no been in Harajuku in years. Indeed, in 2007 they used to hang out on the bridge but too many gawkers, tourists, and other nuisances drove them away. Now they hang out in other places. To be frank, I'm also not personally very interested in the Harajuku fashion scene. It's all a bit too contrived for my taste. But if you do come to Tokyo I recommend Ikebukuro as a good location for spotting them, particularly around Sunshine 60 and Animate. :)

[@Project_2501]

04:18 is that the corner from your famous shot of the woman looking over her shoulder?

[@EYExplore]

That's right! :)

[@martyjwalker]

Leiter, Gruyaert and Maisel. My top three.

[@EYExplore]

Excellent picks!! :)

[@harryp6312]

Yay an interesting new take, and I can see your maskless face. Subbed.

[@EYExplore]

Thanks! I'm not anti-mask or anything, but when shoot in a place that's not so crowded I think it doesn't hurt to not wear one for 30 minutes. When in a crowded place though I put one on. :)

[@bar_288]

you sir have balls of titanium to roam streets and take photos with that big camera... here in India even with my Z6 people look at me as a journalist or pervert trying to do something gross...

[@EYExplore]

Ah, well here in Japan people just ignore me, haha. :)

[@bar_288]

@@EYExplore i have book "All about Saul Leiter".... below is a quote by him from the book "i spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way.. Being ignored is a great privilege"

[@EYExplore]

@@bar_288 That is a great way to look at life!! :)

[@jsnvisual2585]

Hey Lukasz, What are your thoughts on film street photography?

[@EYExplore]

I think it's great! But I hate the idea of spending money on each photo I take haha. I shoot too much to justify that. :)

[@angelbracero4053]

What do you mean by Layers? Shooting in Layers. I hear that all the time. Thank you! I love your channel.

[@EYExplore]

Thank you! Layers means that there is something in the foreground of the subject. So, something right in front of the camera, then something else a bit back, then maybe the subject, and then maybe a secondary subject, and then finally the background. Look up the photos of Alex Webb for great examples of layers. :)

[@dimassurya3100]

i always curious, how we get money from street photography, do we sell that photos or something?

[@EYExplore]

Basically, don't (except for prints and books). But there are related ways. Please check my blog post here: www.lkazphoto.com/blog/how-i-make-a-living-as-a-street-photographer

[@bamsemh1]

Some street photographers in foreign countries, actually print and label photos in the field. And then try to sell them to tourists 😉 Yet they mostly don't even ask if they can shoot you. Still they try to sell it to you.

[@EYExplore]

@@bamsemh1 Is that really street photography haha? It just sounds like portrait photographers on the street.

[@Daniel_Zalman]

Early Color is like $350 from 3rd Part Sellers on Amazon.

[@EYExplore]

Crazy. I got it about a year ago or so, maybe a bit longer, straight from the publisher for like 30-40 bucks. Lucky me! :)

[@ManchmalGaming]

If you enjoy it, it doesn’t matter if you get ’better’ or not. Keep shooting! 📸❤️

[@EYExplore]

Sure! But some people ask me how to get better. Some people enjoy getting better. I know I do! :)

[@thescotlandeffect3454]

I'm trying to take pictures inspired by L S Lowry which is s nice challenge

[@EYExplore]

That's a fantastic idea!! It reminds me of photos by streetmax21: instagram.com/streetmax21/

[@vijaychitte6921]

great video , i have suggestions for you while making video you missed very good picture around you ...

[@EYExplore]

Thanks! :)

[@metal-beard]

Can you please name the photographers mentioned in this video? It's difficult to get the exact names from pronunciation alone. Thank you.

[@EYExplore]

Ah sorry: Saul Leiter, Alex Webb, Siegfried Hansen, and William Eggleston. :)

[@patduz]

Do not forget other great "Life Photographers" as Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Willis Ronis, Raymond Depardon, René Burri, etc...

[@EYExplore]

Sure, my list was not exhaustive. It was a list of photographers whose work I enjoy and aspire to. I don't really follow those photographers' work, as great as they are. :)

[@JoseRamirez-cd7ge]

Hi Lucas! Thank you. Hey! who is your camera man? never talk about him or her?

[@EYExplore]

His name is Axel, and I did mention him towards the end of this video. We used to mic him up and he would talk to me during the video but we stopped doing this because the audio situation is tricky. Axel makes an appearance at the end of this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5TFkpJ-bLiVoJI

[@murciastreetphotography5165]

perfect....

[@EYExplore]

Thank you! :)

[@ModernElegancePhoto]

Subbed 🙏💙

[@EYExplore]

Thank you very much!! :)

[@ToquzOghuzKhaganatekhan]

Do it with passion or dont do it at all

[@EYExplore]

Sure! :)

[@bamsemh1]

First rule: move to a country where every building is like Xmas lights! Second rule: never think about lots of people is actually living in small towns. But still want to get better at street photography.

[@EYExplore]

I don't see how anything I said cannot be applied to small towns. My advice is to 1) learn from the masters, 2) create heuristics, 3) take ideas from other art forms such as cinema, painting, and even books and music, and finally 4) practice, practice, practice. You can do all of that anywhere! And a great master of mall towns is William Eggleston. I would look to his work for ideas.

[@TMM6900]

Alot of ppl looking at your on this video

[@EYExplore]

Yeah, it's doing well! :)

[@TheWesternPacific]

go back to the D4!

[@EYExplore]

I do from time to time. :)

[@TheWesternPacific]

@@EYExplore your D4 was a hairy chested, swinging flagpole of a camera. The z6 is more of Tinkerbelle’s toy, for delicate types

[@EYExplore]

@@TheWesternPacific Haha, I love that analogy! Well, I guess it will have to make an appearance again sooner than later. I have 3 vids in the pipeline already shot with the Z6, but after those we'll do some D4 action, just for that comment haha. :)

[@soffmusic9655]

Green Screen!!!!

[@EYExplore]

Eh, where? :)

[@elrtory3950]

👍🏾

[@EYExplore]

:)

[@anilchawla5562]

Sorry but don't you think you are super obsessed with glass ?

[@EYExplore]

You mean glass in the scenes that I shoot? Sure, I totally am. Glass is everywhere in the city. I also love how glass can reflect light at some angles but not at others. It's an amazing substances and I love photographing it! :)

[@nocommentnoname1111]

Lessons on how to copy other people. Very creative.

[@EYExplore]

Yeah, you clearly didn't watch the whole video. ;)

[@kingjae]

step 1: live in Japan

[@EYExplore]

I know you're joking, but you can live here and still suck at photography. I know I still feel like it on a regular basis (go out to shoot and come home with crap).

[@jdebultra]

I understand the concept but I would be uncomfortable with a couple of these tips. What about critical thinking?

[@EYExplore]

Sorry, I don't understand what you're getting at.

[@jdebultra]

@@EYExplore copying other artists as an example. That's fine but it would not be my approach. I don't want to cloud up my already clouded head. I would rather think of a project, go out, try and execute it. I like to think about it, make choices, review the results. In my opinion, this is where originality comes in. Intentionally copying others feels like a waste of time and may even set me back in my my own creative process. It is a real slippery slope in my opinion.

[@EYExplore]

@@jdebultra I see. Well, as I said in the video, it's not about copying another persons art. It's about understanding their skill, picking it apart, and then using what's useful. No body on this planet creates their art in a vacuum. Photography is a skill that can be learned. It's like music. Even masters like Mozart learned from somebody (in his case it was his older siblings and father, I believe). And then from that knowledge we can play with the art form, explore it in depth, and create original work. This video is meant for beginners who want to improve their basic skills. Of course, once you have those, my advice would be different. Anyway, you are welcome to disagree. :)

[@olympus2OM]

The masters of street would never use such a big camera with a big zoom lens. No way. A 50 mm, 35 or a 28mm prime lens. That's it.

[@EYExplore]

Who cares about that? If it works, it works. The masters of street didn't have this technology available to them. Use what you like and works for you, not what other people dictate. Be a leader, not a follower.

[@sjsphotog]

Well we know this video is a bust already. He violated the first rule of Steet Photogs: 1) BLEND IN !!! DONT WEAR BRIGHT COLORS to ATTRACT ATTENTION! TO YOU!! DOH!!!

[@EYExplore]

Haha, I hope that's sarcasm! :)

[@sjsphotog]

@@EYExplore no why would it be? Its a true stastement. Bright red for Street Photography???!! bad idea

[@EYExplore]

@@sjsphotog Why? It literally makes no difference in my experience. Maybe in some small town it matters, but in giant Tokyo a bright red jacket boring. There are much more weird and eye-catching people about.