Street Photography - How To Start From Scratch Today

[@Do0mBurger]

Hey Roman I don't know if you remember but a couple months ago I told you I was quiting my job and traveling south east Asia. Well I leave in 1 week! Your videos continue to be invaluable, all the best?

[@Do0mBurger]

*All the best!"

[@snapsbyfox]

FUCK YES!!!! Have a fantastic trip!! Well done for following your dream mate! Safe travels and take lots of photos!

[@plasmamuffinsgaming]

Good luck dude!

[@traceybartlam7737]

Have an amazing trip!

[@sdhute]

Hope you share your work love to see it. I was in Cambodia once and wished I was into photography back then

[@MacKintoshPhoto]

Photograph what you like is maybe the most important advice, and one of the hardest to figure out what that is.

[@snapsbyfox]

Yeah it aint easy. My way of dealing with it... if it catches my eye, I take a photo. Also what you like might change as you grow.... it deffo did for me

[@gregstevenson7401]

Well, I am a complete beginner and all these tips are valuable but the one that’s missing for me is having a list of learning targets (composition or whatever). I bought two “52 assignments” books (Street and B&W) and just pick one simple exercise every week. It really helps and is the perfect way to warm up. At least this way I come back with a sense of achievement even if I didn’t manage to capture anything original myself. I’ve even done some of them more than once which tells me that those exercises are important signposts in the journey. Great video but I wish it was a little slower even if that meant it breaking into more than one episode. Great Work!

[@melissahoward4079]

Hi. What assignment books did you get? I also feel they would be extremely helpful for me. TiA

[@gregstevenson7401]

@@melissahoward4079 Street and Black & White (both from the 52 assignments series)

[@idriece1926]

As a beginner myself one thing I've learned is to not put away your camera when you don't have ideal conditions or subjects. I've found myself on travels walking to a certain location I had in mind with my camera in my bag and I miss a really good shot that passes by in an instant. The beauty of street photography is being able to capture those fleeting moments so keep your camera out as long as possible you'll never know when the perfect picture will come.

[@TungstenOvergaard]

You nailed at the first minute (xt3, 16-80 and 35mm). Top.

[@wilfs1196]

I’m XT-3, 16-55 on an irresistible deal, 35 f2 & 23 1.4 V2

[@washingtonradio]

I think the most important advice is not to listen to what others think of your photos in general and to ignore very specific gear recommendations. Your gear recommendations are stay within budget and stay with a quality brand otherwise it doesn't really matter what brand you use. Also, you noted enjoy the process and don't be concerned if on an outing you didn't even take a photo, enjoy the journey and the outing.

[@snapsbyfox]

yep!

[@MSladekPhoto]

Hi Roman. Thanks for these thoughts! One thing I would add to the idea of allowing for time and process to learn is to 1) be consistent in going out to create photos. Find a routine/schedule that fits your life. Once a week? 2) invest time in becoming and expert at a location by returning often to the same spots. For variety, photograph at different times of day as well as as the seasons change. Many thanks for the ideas and inspiration!

[@dalescott3942]

Hi Roman, I’d just like to thank you for putting out such awesome content and really being an excellent resource for people getting into photography. Your dedication & love for photography is inspiring! Cheers

[@balto3273]

Best video I’ve seen overall. Covers everything. Dropped major keys I’ve collected from hundreds of videos all in one. Fantastic thank you Roman!

[@WorksIRL]

Thank you for all your beginner steps including camera settings to start…this was one of the best I’ve seen! 🙏 one more topic I’d like to know is regarding camera lens care…what you carry regarding lens wipes/cloths and just general day use cleaning. Thanks for your inspiring creative work! 👏

[@erik6678]

Great video 👏 ! My personal advice for myself 😃 as a beginner is: buy a camera you really want to use: Today we are lost in tons of Reviews explaining the last 0,001% spec-differences of cameras. In the end it doesn't Matter if the tech-spec-best camera is collecting dust.

[@bruno_tinoco]

08:05 I just recently went through my entire catalogue. That’s 10K images … this is very good advice Roman is giving here. It was an absolute pain in the ass! I’m glad Indid it though and it was all prompted by my renewed interest in photography since I decided to sell my old entry level Canon and go for the x-t5!

[@huseroland]

As a novice photographer, I found this video extremely informative! Thank you for making it!

[@MarcWynter]

I’ve been watching your videos for a few years now and I love these videos. I’ve been a “hobbyist” photographer for a while and a lot of these things took a lot of time to learn and settle on so it’s really good to see these kind of recommendations delivered in a no nonsense way without the “KZbin hype”. 👍🏽

[@glitch314]

I took a 10 year break from photography anf now iching to get back into it again.... these advices are pure gold for me. thank you so much for putting together this video!!!

[@MaartenSFS]

The overediting bit is solid advice! I’d also add Flickr to the list of platforms and engage with the groups!

[@Thomi2804]

Only for words: thank you very much. I am from germany so I apologize my and english. But your video is inspiring. I want to leave my office work and go out to take photos and find my own style. Thank you again for motivating me. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@Thomi2804]

Sry … I meant „my very bad english“ 🙄

[@guy_de_photographie]

Would love to see your photos. Love from India🇮🇳

[@snapsbyfox]

Thank you!

[@vipul8859]

The most helpful content I have watched on street photography for the beginners, thanks a ton!!!

[@b.s.7536]

Honestly, this video was what I needed to kinda start to snap out of a rut.

[@34136TS]

Wow - you're a natural teacher too - bravo, it's a path you should follow...

[@davidwitchard2961]

hi Roman , thank you for this, it has inspired me to take the leap and go out, its given me the confidence , plus Ive been looking at Fujifilm so it was perfect for me , my life has been constant traveling, and i have this romantic notion to go back to all the my favourite places to recapture them .... thank you i shall be purchasing some guides from you site .

[@stevenp291288]

I got myself an XT4 and started taking photos about a year and a half ago. For now, I've been only shooting JPEG and not editing the pictures. I feel like I want to be able to understand the camera well and be able to make good pictures straight out of camera before I start editing.

[@snapsbyfox]

Really smart approach mate. I will be doing a whole series on JPEGs soon too

[@d8nya1]

@@snapsbyfox looking forward to that!!

[@bioliv1]

Buy a copy of In Camera by Gordon Laing!

[@TylerAldrich]

I've been shooting for 20 years and editing for 18 of those years. The past 2 years I've shot jpeg only and it has made me love the process of photography again. Its easy to fall into the trap of obsessing over every detail when you are staring at the image for long periods of time in post processing. I shoot raw+jpeg so I will always have the raws if I want to do some minor editing and clean up for print. Otherwise, its all about focusing on getting it right the first time and not relying on post processing to correct your mistakes.

[@wilfs1196]

@@snapsbyfox Also looking forward to a JPEG video

[@MJW107]

Thanks Roman. You always provide great straight to the point tips. Have a great day

[@VeloObscura]

I think you saved the best for last: Enjoying the process. This has to be the most important point in this entire video (not to say the other points aren't great too). If you really get into what you're doing and take enjoyment from it, then the rest will follow - whether that's photography or anything else in life.

[@BlancGivre]

You're a good teacher Roman. Many thanks.

[@Littlefluffyclouds-Animation]

Wished I would have seen this video when I started out!

[@robertafettuccine]

Canon Powershot G11. Great for street photography. It's compact and you can get them pretty cheap now. Comes with an impressive arsenal of features for a campact and picture quality is superb.

[@darksideemt]

Loved the end of the video the most with the common mistakes and your advice.

[@terenceotoole8636]

Roman. One of the best videos in the internet at the moment. I will use your recommended settings. Thanks

[@iaincphotography6051]

All good advice Roman, the best thing is I am safe in the knowledge if I direct people to your channel you're not going to let me down. Cheers to the mulled wine.

[@trishd2025]

Awesome video Roman, best advice is to enjoy the process, and find the one that works for the individual photographer.

[@kylevoisard4671]

Keep your gear simple & learn it thoroughly, photograph whatever you find interesting, and probably most importantly enjoy the process. You nailed it!

[@snapsbyfox]

Thanks!

[@marcratner9477]

I would add ‘Look at great photography - and not just online’. If possible look at books, gallery exhibits, magazines, museums, etc. It helps to know a bit of history, see what others have done before you and are doing now. I would include cinematography, even if you’re shooting stills.

[@charliejg]

Super concept for a video Roman. Enjoying photography is really the best advice anyone can give. It's hard even to choose just one genre for me. But, I still am enjoying using my XT-3. As an amateur, budget is kind of tight. However, because of the new equipment from Fuji and all the new purchasing going on there has been quite a lot of great used equipment for sale. I was able to pick up two lenses I really wanted at great prices. Both of them are in like new condition as well. I got the V1.0 of the XF56 and the XF90 and I'm having so much fun with them. Anyway, thanks for a really informative video. Speaking of video, it would be cool to have a similar piece done regarding starting doing KZbin. Have a great week!

[@Whatmobiledeal]

Hey Roman. I’ve recently developed an interest in photography and using my iPhone 14 Pro to capture images. I’m going to continue experimenting with my iPhone and if my interest in photography is still as strong in 6-12 months time, I’ll grab a dedicated camera and a couple of lenses. Love your work. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas 🎄

[@atyl1972]

Roman, love your videos, i think a great video would be like a POV walkaround, but trying to show how, and what you compose, and the settings at the same time, for example focusing on a background and waiting for passers by to take the shot, but go in more depth whilst doing it..

[@brianscoffield584]

You give good advice. Many thanks.

[@sdhute]

Thanks for the content I need to get back out again and photog

[@karstenlehmann5409]

Thx for the smooth content. Perfect addition to the overall process.

[@snapsbyfox]

Thank you so much!!

[@mikefoster6018]

Unless something odd happens, it looks like I'm about to come into a fair bit of redundancy money. If so, I'll have a good few months between jobs to join-up a lot of dots in my amateur photography. I'm really excited.

[@fatherotis]

Thanks for this one! Great points. One thing I’d love to see more of is how to go about creating effective presets. I get to a place where I have an edit I love but when I go to apply that same edit to another shot, a lot of the time it completely destroys the second shot and I can’t figure out what it is I’m doing wrong. Of course not every edit is going to look good on every image but it goes beyond that and makes the image blown out or completely dark etc.

[@justinsamson8453]

As a beginner myself, this has been very informative. Thank you 👍🏾

[@jp_jas]

I’ve found this video really useful. But I’d love if you made a separate video about shooting light/shadow scenes well. I just feel I do not manage to make it without my camera trying too hard to expose those shadows too much and that big contrast dissapears. So walking slower through that topic would be really great!

[@iphoneography]

With regards to editing, you are spot on - subtle edits work best. Another brilliant video mate!

[@KGeorge-1]

This video is incredibly useful regardless of one's time/experienc shooting! Every section had very useful tips and reminders for me. Organizing, over editing, basic lens needed etc. was a great reminder or as titled, Start from Scratch... Thank you so much!

[@ze3bar]

7:32 best advice , honestly

[@yetiey]

Regarding taking photos, consistency is king as with any creative skill. I'd encourage getting outside your home but even finding interesting shots or scenes around your living space is good practice. I have found for shots that I've missed, especially for technical reasons, I like to dial in the settings and then take the photo anyway to practice. Finally, something I think is really important, is to critique your own photos. What is it exactly that worked or made a photo not work, it's not something to beat yourself up about but it helps you to improve your skills and develop your style.

[@kenjonesstudio]

Brilliant video Roman 👍👊. Thank you for the sound advice 😊

[@carlmcneill1139]

The only thing I can think of is massive find a local photography club that you can get some guidance and support from. Maybe go out in small groups to take pictures. I know I feel weird sometimes walking around taking pictures in my area. That's just not something people do much here. Sometimes it's hard to put yourself out there in the public taking pictures of strangers. You may feel more confident in a small group.

[@stephentalent]

Aa an absolute beginner this is gold; informative & inspirational - thank you!

[@rosemariekula3259]

another piece of advise would be to already at the moment of photographing to decide whether the shot is going to be colour or b/w

[@IJAY2509]

Hey Roman, this is an older Video but i hope some people read my opinion. I enjoy ur videos more and more, u giving such good advices and tipps. Im a bit on the otherside, im enjoying the "Process" more than the end result. Im kinda hate editing 😂. Often i just shoot in Jpeg becausei just want to enjoy the "photography part" so i can freemy mind and dont get this feeling. I have to do so much work in LR or Luminar or whatever. I bought my first fuji (xh2s) on March 23 and wow i total fall in love with the system. pls keep on the good work

[@wilfs1196]

Great video Roman, always look forward to them. Others I watch are just time fillers. Have the XT-3, rarely used XE-4 (my fault) 35 f2, 23 1.4 version 2, recent great deal on the 16-55 and my faithful 18-55. That’s it, no more. Using the 16-55 should be interesting as no IBIS on the XT-3 & no OIS on the 16-55. I don’t carry a tripod, but one leg is removable for use as a monopod. Only problem with my photos is , I don’t get out enough ! Advice: separate the wheat from the chaffe as we used to say on the farm.

[@TerryFJ]

Thank you. 😎

[@sebastianhetman1900]

Love your videos and the dose of common sense.

[@arroyavealejandro]

Thanks Roman for your content, I appreciate all of that a lot. :) I took a lot of tips from your 3 days in NY video when I was visiting NY, It was great.

[@nmsgoncalves]

I guess I'd add the basic: Get to know your gear. It's all about trial and error. And it's better to go outside in a bad light or grey day than not to leave and shoot at all. It's a journey.

[@snapsbyfox]

Yep!

[@PhentomV7]

Like this approach,! Im shoot with two prime lenses sony 50mm 1.8, and sigma 14mm 1.4, and also planning to buy a sling bag :)

[@nabil11123]

Amazing video thanks a lot 📷✨

[@slacayo]

What a great video! This was awesome advice 👍🏼

[@boztos6025]

You’ve got the gift, man.

[@dingbat19]

Excellent video. I would say for someone starting out I find Starting from scratch on Instagram quite daunting. With regards to street photography I would also say that the "sniping from a distance" style is a bit easier to get into as a starting point - using 50 or 85mm focal length equivalent lenses. The "in your face with a wide angle" approach takes more guts and is a really hard way to start I think

[@droneflyer75]

Just enjoy want you to do in this area. No one is right and no one is wrong.

[@CrustyClad]

Great video Sir. I would add...if you already have a camera, use what ya have...even if it's a smartphone. As a returning photo snapper, I have an old 90D and a 60D. The tech is outdated but I still get some good ones here and there. Gonna up my consistency B4 upgrading my gear 👍

[@nouidle]

5:53 I actually like the first one with a lot of skies more than the second one.

[@shaananwalsh7513]

Great video. I had the same thoughts on you as to listening to everyone’s else’s opinion. If you just follow what an experienced photographer says is the way to do it what is going to set you apart? You gave great advice. Listen but decide for yourself.

[@Unique1Nick]

What a great little tutorial. You perfectly summerized a lot of aspects of street fotography to an easy to unterstand tutorial. Great job. I just subscribed to your channel. See you next time. Thanks.

[@shaken0007]

Do you rely on the sharpness of your original image? (Lens) As in my experience (as a Fuji shooter) LR is not great with Fuji sensors. Not. A street photographer specific question but I am looking into an iPad Pro for compact/mobile editing for all my photography. Thanks, love the honest and upfront style of making videos. G

[@joebailey8328]

Thanks Roman, fantastic advice. Really like the idea of the 3 shot approach which will also help slow me down and enjoy the process more. Keep up the wonderful content, love it. 👍🙏

[@AudiobookLibrary24-7]

Great place to start, here.

[@lisamk20091]

Thank you Roman. Very helpful advice. Much appreciated.

[@leonardozaine]

Going to be honest, the gear selection was pretty bad Keep it simple? What about cheap? Get a nice, used DSLR and lens(es) from the 00s for 1/10th the price (like a nikon d80, or 4/3rds system if you want something smaller) And start with free software like darktable, gimp, or anything else (matey) Just make sure the glass is good, definitely recommend the primes in that category because of their size but definitely see the benefits of zooms to try different focal lengths (but since all the lenses are cheap, you can grab a whole bunch and still be out less than the xt3 body) Just wanted to point out some things to really lower the barrier for entry, not that the suggestions were bad in and of themselves A DSLR will never be as compact but as someone who shoots with a medium format film camera in the street, a big camera isn't as big of a problem as you might think :)

[@anindyaganguly5243]

For me the starting gear will always be an used or new (on massive discount) XT4, 23 f2 or 16 f2.8 prime and am used 16-80 mm. And obvio the nifty 50 f2. Fuji’s best budget lens as per my eye taste.

[@JD-jt3fc]

Awesome beginner video. If I was going to add anything, it would be about keeping your gear in good, clean working condition. Also, within building your own style, I am very much a fan of taking inspiration from other peoples work, or other peoples methods, in order to find that specific 'subject' you enjoy capturing.

[@michael7770]

Flickr is also a place to share photos.

[@StaffanLarsson-b7f]

Holy fuck what a lovely video and I didn’t even make it until the end, you sir just earned a like and subscribe

[@tredien]

Thanks for the great guide! If I wanted to shoot a bit more of the street and buildings than the people, would make sense to get a 8-16 or a 16 or 18 prime instead of the zoom or should I still get a zoom lenses? I'm a total noob, going to get an x-t3 or an x-t5 and go take photos of things. 😅

[@joelp2419]

Great video Roman, that's a concise, well structured and helpful talk, including for experienced (as me). Well done !

[@Reinavera73]

Muchas gracias Roman. Cuídate.

[@snapsbyfox]

Thank you!

[@victorrrPV]

Must try! I have the xt3 35 f2, tamron 17-70 as substitute to your 16-80.

[@34136TS]

Thanks for the heads up on this lens - I've just watched Frost's excellent review and I'll be trading my 16-55 in for it soon. How I missed its release I don't know. Cheers!

[@pixelsven4277]

Awesome video and valuable content - thank you so much !!!

[@gutocardoso1977]

Great tips. Your channel has great content. The only thing that I would disagree on is regarding the gear. Considering that a lot of beginners will watch this video, it makes it seem like you need $2000 to start. There are currently many interesting second hand cameras and lenses avaliable that would be great for beginners. Especially if the person is trying out a new hobby and learning photography, I would actually advise not to spend more than $500-1000 on gear.

[@Luigi13]

Hello Roman, I see in this vlog that you graduated to the new Fujifilm XH2 right? Thanks for the video, it is enjoyable to be a street phtographer since the Wolrd becomes your canvas and there are a lot of ways to be creative in these. Cheers.

[@BGTuyau]

This pretty much covers the street photography waterfront -and not just for beginners. Pay attention, viewers. Nice job, Roman. [Now why was this comment "Not Allowed" on my Google Pixel 7 Pro?]

[@falguniandmanish_]

As a beginner, I think it’s important to enjoy photography, and not worry about the results. And even though I’ve heard it a hundred times, it’s easier said then done. I keep expecting good photos and at times get disappointed by them. One more important thing is, to take different shots, as you mentioned. But not just size wise, also angle wise. Something’s look good at eye level, while for some others, you need to use other angles to take a better shot.

[@sashbar]

Beginners sometimes have very high expectations for street photography and get easily disappointed. If there is one quality a street photographer really needs, it's patience. If you shoot for a week 6 hours a day, consider yourself extremely lucky to get two or three good shots. One of them might be even good enough to put on Instagram. One good shot after a hard weeks work is a great result to me.

[@falguniandmanish_]

@@sashbar True. I think somewhere the videos on KZbin and instagram also have an impact. Almost everyone who makes a photowalk videos, makes it feel that anytime they go out, they end up with multiple great shots, and that makes us feel, that maybe that's how it should be. And anytime I don't get something good after 2-3 hours, I feel like, I might be doing something wrong.

[@e.d.s.1644]

Affinity photo is the software to go , only buy it one time and not a monthly payment … I’m using this for years and its doing the same …. Even better then adobe

[@phino4996]

Thank you Roman, this is so helpful! all the best from Berlin

[@snapsbyfox]

Cheers!

[@inessa205]

Thank you for the video! I would be curious to know about how to interact with people subjects. Is it mostly candid or do I ask if it's OK to take a photo? I feel a bit uncomfortable taking photos of people if they are not up for it

[@loco46m]

I love Fujifilm, but doesn't the picture quality in Lightroom suffer? I'm not quite sure why it is, but it looks a little...wormy.

[@peterreichert7260]

Great video. And great advice. (New) street photographers have to learn to be themselves and do their own type of photography. And they need to learn to have the patience to let this happen. I hope you enjoy your own mulled (Glühwein) wine. :)

[@alexdarcy6788]

I really want a Fuji film x-s100 because I also want to learn video and it seems to be a good hybrid and I fail being consistent with my “aspirations 😂😭” so I have sitting on this want for almost 2 years now.

[@davidbeaton6506]

A bit late to this but what are your thoughts on using a lens hood and/or clear filters for protection the front element? - Thanks!

[@angiej4865]

Great video, thanks. In case no-one else has mentioned it - what about an overview of the law and how it relates to using another's image; how some areas in towns/cities appear public and yet are private and challenges around this. A bit dry, admittedly. Forgive me, I have no desire to suck the joy out of the genre.

[@katealekseeva4260]

Thank u! It was very helpful to me!

[@just_eirik]

So sorry if I missed you talking about it, but what do you do when your iPad or your Lightroom cloud storage fills up? I’m not sure how that all works.

[@JevgenijMisevic]

You dont need that big XT3 for street photography, XT30II would be more usefull as it is more compact size

[@tonypaulprince]

One big issue--overcoming fear

[@purebreeze1]

Great video and content my man!

[@TylerAldrich]

Are all 3 of you guys shooting the 3 different 50mm equivalent fuji lenses? I feel like there could be an interesting video in that.

[@snapsbyfox]

yeah haha

[@normski1400]

Great video sir.