THE QUICK & DIRTY STREET PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE

By Alex Coghe

A survival sheet for the visual thinker. One-liners, no fluff.

WHAT STREET PHOTOGRAPHY IS

  • It's not about the street. It's about life.

  • Real people, real moments. No staging.

  • You don’t hunt beauty, you react to chaos.

  • Gear doesn’t matter. Presence does.

  • Street photography is punk with a camera.

  • To be there.

SETTINGS THAT WORK

  • Aperture priority? Fine. Manual? Better.

  • ISO Auto with a cap (3200 or 6400 max).

  • f/8 and be there. Or f/5.6 if the light fails.

  • Shutter speed: minimum 1/250s if there's movement.

  • Sunny 16 rule when you work with a 35mm rangefinder and no light meter.

SEEING & COMPOSING

  • Shoot with your feet.

  • Eliminate distractions, fast.

  • Look for layers. Foreground–Midground–Background.

  • Light is your real subject.

  • Shadows, reflections, gestures: eternal gold.

  • Wait for the right body language.

  • Don’t center your subject. Unless you mean it.

WHAT TO AVOID

  • Don’t shoot what you don’t feel. People notice.

  • Avoid pity porn: if you photograph fragility, better have something to say.

  • Don’t exoticize what's around you. Just because it's different doesn’t mean it's interesting.

  • Forget the "Instagram shot." The street is not a stage.

  • Don’t chase a story: chase tension, humor, contrast, life.

  • Don’t overshoot. Think more, click less.

  • Don’t fall in love with a photo just because you fought to get it. If it sucks, it sucks.

STAYING INSPIRED

  • Study the masters:
    Winogrand, Friedlander, Moriyama, Ellen Mark, Levitt, Koudelka.

  • But also study yourself. Your city. Your routine.

  • Listen to Coltrane. Or The Clash. Walk with it in mind, not headphones.

  • Read Hemingway. Or Henry Miller.

  • Some days, just observe. No camera.

Shoot how it feels, not how it looks.
This isn’t about perfection. It’s about truth.
And sometimes, truth is blurry.

Want more? Check out my workshops

GEAR TALK

  • Any camera works. Use what makes you invisible.

  • You need the experience with film cameras.

  • Prefer wide lenses (28mm–35mm) : they force you to get close.

  • Manual focus makes you feel the scene.

  • Autofocus misses the moment, your instinct doesn’t.

  • Zone focusing: learn it, use it, love it.

  • Forget bokeh. Embrace depth.

BEHAVIOR ON THE STREET

  • Be bold, not rude.

  • Don’t ask for permission. Ask for forgiveness later.

  • Eye contact can kill or make the shot. Learn to manage it.

  • Confidence beats stealth.

  • Smile if needed. Then move on.

  • Never explain what you're doing.

MINDSET & METHOD

  • Work every day. Rain or shine.

  • Don’t chase. Let the photo come to you.

  • Shoot first, edit later.

  • You only need one good photo per day.

  • Forget Instagram. Think in series.

  • Your voice is in the edit, not the shutter click.

EDITING & CURATION

  • Be ruthless.

  • If it doesn’t speak, delete it.

  • One keeper out of 100 is normal.

  • Think in series. Think books.

  • BW or color? Both.

  • Don’t oversaturate life: it’s already loud.

NOTES TO MYSELF

Maybe good also to you

  • Embrace real imperfection

  • Don’t be afraid to speak your own language

  • Avoid being an accountant and a surveyor

  • Do punk

  • Visual Gypsyism

  • Avoid the descriptive

  • Cause communication breakdown

  • Let the observer build

  • Focus on the atmosphere

  • Build aesthetics even with silences

  • Propose new compositional ideas

  • Define your way of telling

  • Push the boundaries of associations

  • Make open contradiction your trademark

  • Stimulate new visual codes

  • Don't be secretive about the filth on the street

  • Open up new avenues on the road

  • Street is your resistance

  • Art exists only if it provokes and is anti-system

  • Presence is not invasiveness

  • Not real, true

  • Listen to yourself, take pictures later

  • Make your movement felt

  • Get lost to find yourself

Street Photography: A Compact Compendium

A visual and practical overview from its roots to the street today

A Brief History of Street Photography

Street photography was born before it had a name. From the first candid images of Eugène Atget in early 20th-century Paris to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s perfectly timed compositions, it has always been about capturing the flow of life as it unfolds in public spaces. This is the proof that street photography is more than a photographic genre: it is a way to see and documenting the world with a camera.

In New York, the likes of Walker Evans, Helen Levitt, Robert Frank and later the sacred triad Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand and Joel Meyerowitz turned the urban theater into a photographic playground. Their work didn’t simply document life: it interpreted it, instinctively and without asking permission.

In Japan, Daido Moriyama pushed street the boundaries of photography into raw abstraction and grainy introspection, while in Europe and Latin America, the genre evolved in parallel, shaped by politics, culture, and chaos. Leica has been the tool for excellence, in the idea that micro cameras like a rangefinder is silent, discreet and open to the world.

Today, with smartphones, mirrorless cameras, and global connectivity, street photography is both democratic and noisy. But the essence remains: a humanistic look at the world, unposed, unstaged, and alive. Of course, for those who have an idea of ​​how noble and important our mission can be.

Camera Settings: The Essentials

Whether you're using a vintage Leica or a digital Ricoh, the settings need to help you react quickly and maintain control. Two main approaches define how most street photographers work:

1. Zone Focusing (Manual Mode – The Classic Way)

Ideal for: 35mm Rangefinder, mirrorless
Perfect for: Daylight, busy streets, fast action

Typical Setup (for a 28 or 35mm lens):

  • Mode: Full Manual

  • Aperture: f/8 or f/11. f5.6 when there is not grerat light and f16 to have anything in focus.

  • Shutter Speed: 1/250s or faster. If you ask me I prefer with mirrorless cameras to stay betwee 1/500 and 1/1000. With film things change and Sunny 16 rule wins, so I need to take intyo account what film stock I am using in order to stay in that range, example: film is 400 ISO I go with 1/500.

  • ISO: 200–800 outdoors for film stock. 400- 3200 ISO Auto for digital. I push it to 6400 when I am busy to work at night, but if I go with flash I will choose the ISO too, going full manual.

  • Focus Distance: Pre-set to 2 or 3 meters, according with the goals.

  • Technique: Use depth of field to cover a zone (e.g., everything from 1.5m to 5m in focus). No need to focus when shooting: just frame and shoot. That is great with mirrorless cameras. When there is not present a distance focus scale on the lens, focus peaking feature works good. In Leica, Ricoh and Sony cameras there is the feature of the distance to set-up that is perfect if you love to work in manual focus like me.

📷 This setup makes your camera a point-and-shoot with pro-level reliability.

2. Autofocus Workflow (For Digital Mirrorless or DSLRs)

Ideal for: Modern cameras with fast AF and silent shutters
Perfect for: Dynamic scenes, reactive framing, varying distances, subway and places where is better to work wide open, ex. f2.8.

Typical Setup:

  • Mode: Aperture Priority (A/Av)

  • Aperture: f/5.6 to f/8 (outdoor, sunnny day), f2.8-f4 (indoor, subway)

  • ISO: Auto, capped at 3200 or 6400 depending on camera

  • Shutter Speed: Min. 1/250s (set in menu if allowed)

  • AF Mode: Continuous (AF-C) and Back Button Focus

  • Focus Point: Center point, small or medium

🎯 Autofocus is useful in unpredictable situations, but train your reflexes: don’t rely on the camera’s brain.

Film vs Digital: Both Have a Voice

  • 35mm Film
    Slows you down. Forces thought. Limited frames = better discipline.
    Exposure latitude is forgiving. Grain is aesthetic. Rangefinder = discretion and elegance.

  • Digital Cameras
    Speed and flexibility. Preview on the spot. Flexible ISO performance.
    Ideal for night photography and rapid editing workflows.
    More forgiving, but easier to shoot mindlessly. Stay intentional. Limit automatic camera choices.

Final Thoughts

Street photography is an ongoing relationship with the world around you. It doesn’t ask for perfection, just for honesty, attention, and readiness.

As street photographers we are not looking for the reality, but for the truth. Street Photography is the art side of documentary photography.

It’s a practice. A meditation in motion.
You don’t always come home with gold. Indeed Street Photography mostly is about failure and you have to learn to deal with.

But sometimes, you catch the magic.

If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.
Robert Capa

But sometimes... you just need to wait.