Some Thoughts on Street Photography by Alex Aaronson

If you are just starting out in photography, but would like to have a wider range of experience, then an urban setting might just be what you need; throughout my journey which brought me to start Alex Aaronson Photography, I found that learning to photograph people in their most genuine state can be highly rewarding, and it is a great skill to develop if you plan to work with people as your subjects in the future, be it portraiture, event photography, or like I did, fashion photography.

One of the reasons why street photography can be great for beginners is that you don’t necessarily need expensive, advanced equipment; in this particular case, the technical quality of your image is not as important as its content. Your main objective should be to narrate the complexity of an instant in time, showing and breaking down its many layers. At Alex Aaronson Photography, I have actually sometimes achieved my best street photography using simply a smartphone camera. In fact, choosing something smaller and quieter can be the best option to get the most authentic subjects, while a proper DSLR camera can be bulky and visually catch the attention; the shutter noise will also be disruptive and make people feel like they are being watched, and therefore be more conscious of their actions and movements.

In terms of technique, an important thing that you should be aware of regardless of the equipment you are using is the anchor subject of your photograph. As you will see in my Alex Aaronson portfolio, the scene in front of you might have a lot of moving parts, pick a static object, and see how you can frame your perspective of the movements around it. This does not need to be a person: it can be a streetlamp or a street sign, a door, anything. Choose what will draw the eye of the spectator the first time they look at your photograph, and that will be the base for all the other layers of action around it.

Sometimes, working in public with complete strangers as your subjects can seem a bit intimidating; you don’t want to interfere with somebody else’s personal space, which is what you might feel like if you just photograph people as you walk down the street. Instead, what I have found in my experience at Alex Aaronson Photography is that it can be easier to pick one spot, and stick with it, letting people walk into your frame. This way, you can also set up the settings on your camera at the beginning and will not need to change them.

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