STREET

PHOTOGRAPHY

ERIC KIM
 Ultimate
Beginner’s
Guide to
Mastering Street
Photography
ERIC KIM
Ultimate Beginner’s
Guide to Mastering
Street Photography
ERIC KIM

2018 HAPTIC PRESS

Educational tools to empower you.

Published by:
HAPTIC PRESS
California

Photos and text: Eric Kim

Editing: Cindy Nguyen

ISBN-10: 0 9992416 3 9

ISBN-13: 978 0 9992416 3 9

Printed in USA
Dedicated to Sukhee Chung and
Thuy Pham. You encourage
us to always retain our
childlike sense of wonder.
Contents
The Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Start Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Authenticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Fear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Assignment 1: 10 No Challenge . . . . . 10

Assignment 2: Shoot Yourself . . . . . . 12

Assignment 3: Admit Your Fears . . . . . 14

Engage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Assignment 4: Work the Scene . . . . . 18

Get Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Assignment 5: Diagonal . . . . . . . . 32

Always Be Prepared . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Assignment 6: Take your camera for a walk 36

Aesthetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Set it and Forget It! . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Surrealism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Assignment 7: Don’t make eye contact . . 58

Tell Lies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Work the Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Assignment 8: Shoot 25% More . . . . . 64

Assignment 9: Overlay . . . . . . . . 66

Forbidden Places . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Assignment 10: Elevator . . . . . . . . 70

Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Juxtaposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Dynamic Composition . . . . . . . . . . 92

The Cherry on Top . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Assignment 11: Love . . . . . . . . . 96

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Dramatic Light . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Social Commentary . . . . . . . . . . 108

Urban Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Decisive Moments . . . . . . . . . . .130

Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul . . . . .132

Assignment 12: Eye Contact . . . . . . .134

Lenses & Focal Length . . . . . . . . . .136

Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

Don’t Chimp . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

LCD vs Viewfinder . . . . . . . . . . 142

Editing (Select) Your Best Photos . . . . . 144

Post-Processing . . . . . . . . . . . 146

How to Stay Inspired . . . . . . . . . 148

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152

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CHAPTER I

The Joy
Why does street photography bring me joy and happiness
in life?

Street photography gives me the opportunity to wander

the streets, and find beauty in the ordinary and mundane.
Street photography makes me appreciate the privilege
of being alive.

I also love street photography because it is the most

democratic and open form of photography. Regardless
of where you live, regardless of what camera you shoot
with, you can enjoy street photography.

When starting off, you might wonder: “Am I a street

photographer or not?” If you’re asking yourself the
question -- yes, you are a street photographer.

All you need in street photography is a passion for

humanity. To improve your street photography, all you
need to do is build your courage, confidence, and boldness.

I wrote this book to help you step outside of your comfort

zone, and for you to re-spark your child-like sense of
joy of making images.

Let’s get started.

ERIC / Lisbon, 2018

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CHAPTER II

Camera
Any camera is good for street photography, as long as
the camera is always with you.

The most useless camera for street photography is the

one that collects dust on a shelf at your home.

For street photography, just start off by shooting with

your phone. If you want a smaller and more compact
camera for street photography, I recommend the RICOH
GR, Fujifilm X100, or any camera that can fit in your
front pocket.

In street photography, the smaller and lighter your camera,

the more likely you are to carry it with you everywhere you
go. Also, the smaller your camera, the less intimidating
you will look when shooting street photography.

Use a camera in street photography that looks a toy, and

doesn’t scream “PROFESSIONAL!” (like a big DSLR).

Other good cameras in street photography include:

• Leica M Rangefinders

• Olympus OM-D Series

• iPhone

Use whatever camera in street photography that you can

carry with yourself on a daily basis.
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CHAPTER III

Start Shooting
When you’re new to street photography, you might wonder:

“What should I photograph?”

My suggestion: just walk around the block and make

photographs of whatever you find interesting. You can
walk around your neighborhood, walk around during your
office break, or the downtown area of your city.

As a recommendation, start shooting street photography

with the “fishing technique”. This means find an interesting
background, and wait your subject to enter the frame.

Then you must build your confidence. Do this by starting

to shoot ‘street portraits’ -- portraits of strangers
with permission. Whenever you see a stranger with an
interesting face that you want to photograph, approach
them, compliment them on their look, and ask for
permission to “Make their portrait”.

When you’re shooting street photography, don’t ask

yourself, “Is this street photography or not?” Just make
photos of whatever you find interesting on the streets.

Make photos of people, buildings, and stuff you find on

the pavement.

Street photography has no rules, no definitions, and no

limits.

Wander the streets like a child, with a camera-in-hand.

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CHAPTER IV

Authenticity
The past definition of street photography is that it had
to be candid, and shot without permission.

To me, it doesn’t matter if you shoot without permission

or with permission. The best way to judge whether your
photo is good or not is to look at your photo and ask
yourself:

“Does the photograph evoke an emotional response in

myself?”

If yes, it is a good photo. If not, it isn’t a good street photo.

I think a lot of us are drawn to street photography because

we are trying to capture some sort of ‘authenticity’ or
beauty in the world that we experience. We think that by
asking for permission, we somehow spoil the ‘authenticity’
of the scene or moment.

I beg to differ.

You can capture the true essence of a person, even

when shooting with permission.

The secret is to interact with your subject in an authentic

way, and continuing to click the shutter, until they reveal
their soul to you.
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CHAPTER V

Fear
All street photographers feel fear-- otherwise you wouldn’t
be human.

Often we let fear prevent us from photographing a scene

or a person. However, what we want to do is channel
our fear-- we have to let our fear guide us. In-fact, our
fear tells us what we want to photograph, or what not
to photograph.

For example, if you see a scene or a person that scares

you, it will probably make a good photograph.

Is it possible to still feel fear, but to still hit the shutter?

Yes we can.

Treat fear like your friend. Your fear will tell you what
is a good street photograph. The best way to not let fear
paralyze you in street photography is to shoot with a
smile, and when you’re really in doubt, ask for permission.
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Assignment 1: 10
No Challenge

To quickly conquer your fear of shooting street photography,

try the “10 no” assignment. The assignment is this:

For an entire day, approach strangers who you think

look unfriendly or scary. Then ask to make a portrait of
them. You must keep asking for permission until you
get 10 people to say “no”.

The reason why this assignment works is that it

retrains us to realize that people who we stereotype as
scary or unfriendly-- are often very friendly.

And not only that, but in real life, it is actually very

hard to get someone to say “no” and reject you in
street photography.

If you can retrain your brain to think that most people

are actually quite friendly and open, it will help you
build your confidence in street photography.
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Assignment 2:
Shoot Yourself
A question you must ask yourself:

“Do I like having my own photo taken?”

If not, ask yourself: “Why not?”

If you don’t like having your own photo taken, you will
assume that everyone else doesn’t like it. Therefore, you
will feel guilty for shooting street photography, because
you think you are somehow “stealing the soul” of your
subject, or upsetting them.

Therefore, to overcome the guilt of shooting street

photography, practice feeling comfortable in your own
skin.

Your assignment: shoot a selfie of yourself everyday

for a month.

This will allow you to better understand your personal

relationship with your own self-image. And the more
confident you feel in photographing yourself, the more
confident and comfortable you will be photographing
others.
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Assignment 3:
Admit Your Fears
If you want to photograph someone, and feel afraid or
nervous-- admit it.

Approach a stranger and say:

“Excuse me sir, I think you got a great face and look.

Except I was really nervous to approach you-- because
I thought you might get angry at me or something. Do
you mind if I made a portrait of you?”

This approach works well because your subject is more

likely to empathize with you. If you admit that you are
afraid-- your subject will probably think to themselves:
“Oh I know what it feels to be afraid or nervous.”

This is also like public speaking. If you admit before

your speech that you are very nervous, everyone in the
audience will feel more empathy for you. Because almost
everyone has a fear of public speaking.

Don’t hide your fear-- admit it openly, and the more

comfortable you will feel in shooting street photography.
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CHAPTER VI

Engage
Another mistake a lot of street photographers make is that
they feel they need to be a “stealth” street photographer,
and fear “interrupting” or “affecting” the scene.

In reality, one of the best ways to make better street

photographs is to put yourself in your photos, by engaging
with your subjects.

Engage with your subjects by talking with them, asking

them for their life story, and asking them other open-
ended questions while you’re photographing them.

By engaging with your subjects, you will be better able

to overcome your fears in street photography, and also
realize-- that a lot of people enjoy being photographed.

Consider-- there are millions of people in the world.

By choosing to photograph someone, you are telling
them that they are special, unique, and worthy of being
photographed.

Also, realize that a lot of your subjects are lonely. You are
adding a flash of joy in their life by engaging them, talking
with them, listening to them, and photographing them.
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Assignment 4:
Work the Scene
The next time you interact with your subject and ask for
permission to photograph them, your assignment is to
take at least 20 photos of them.

“Work the scene” by photographing them at different

angles, perspectives, practice shooting both horizontal
and vertical photos. Shoot some photos with a flash, and
shoot some photos close-- and for some photos, take
a step back.

Try to evoke a reaction from your subject by asking them

to laugh, to look grand, or to “work it for the camera.”
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CHAPTER VII

Get Close

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

I have found the best advice in street photography is this:

If you’re not sure whether you’re close enough or not,

get closer.

The problem is that most of our street photographs are

shot from too far away.

The benefit of getting close in street photography:

With physical proximity comes emotional proximity.

That means, the closer you are to your subject, the more
intimate your street photographs will feel.

What I like to do in street photography is this:

Click, take a step forward, click, take a step forward.

Or when I’m shooting a street portrait of someone, I

will get close by looking at the edges of the frame, and
by forcing myself not to crop. This allows me to push
myself out of my comfort zone, and make photographs
that are more intimate and personal.
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CHAPTER VIII

Projects
To stay inspired in street photography, work on a long-
term project. Choose a theme, concept, or idea that is
personal to you-- that you can imagine photographing
for many years.

You can work on a photography project by focusing on

a certain subject-matter. For example, in my ‘SUITS’
project, I only photographed men in suits. The project
is personal to me, because a man in a suit is a symbol
of feeling trapped in a corporate job. This is how I felt
when I worked my 9-5 office job, and whenever I see a
man in a suit, I can feel their pain.

For my SUITS project, the message I wanted to tell the

viewer was:

If you’re trapped in a job that you hate, quit.

With street photography projects, work on something

that is personal to you. Trust me, your enthusiasm for
your project will wax and wane over time. A quick way
to think about a project:

Can I imagine working on this project for at least 5

years?

Also make sure the project is something that is personal

and meaningful to you. Meaning and purpose will always
triumph over “inspiration” in photography.
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Assignment 5:
Diagonal
To make more dynamic compositions in street photography,
shoot with a diagonal composition.

You can shoot diagonals in street photography by looking

or a diagonal or leading line in the background, and
waiting for the subject to enter the frame (the ‘fishing’
technique).

Another strategy: you can tilt your camera and make a

diagonal as you’re shooting (they call this a ‘dutch angle’).

The reason why we want to practice shooting diagonals

in street photography is because it is one of the simplest
ways to make dynamic compositions, without overloading
our brains with too much complicated composition theory.
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CHAPTER X

Always Be
Prepared
One of the mottos I follow from my Boy Scouts days:

“Always be prepared.”

I think the concept also applies well to street photography.

I’ve missed thousands of great potential street photography

opportunities because I either left my camera at home,
or because I wasn’t quick enough to get my camera out
of my bag.

You always want to be prepared in street photography.

If your camera is around your neck or in your hand, you
will see more interesting street photography moments.
Not only that, but you will make more street photographs.

My rule for myself:

I cannot leave the house without a camera around my

neck.

All of us have busy and complicated lives, and don’t have

enough time to shoot street photography. By always
wearing a small camera around our neck when we leave
the house, we will always be prepared before the decisive
moment occurs.
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Assignment 6: Take
your camera for a walk

“
“Painting is taking a line out for a walk.” - Paul Klee

If you want to make more photos, walk more.

Treat street photography as an opportunity for you to

just walk more, to get some exercise and movement, and
bring your camera along for the ride.

Treat walking your camera like walking your dog. When

you go out for a walk with your camera, don’t expect to
make any good photos. Rather, just enjoy the walk.

Go for walks around your office building during your

lunch break. Whenever possible, walk to run errands or
when buying groceries. After or before dinner, take a
walk around the block of your home.
I’ve found in street photography,

The more you walk, the more photo opportunties you

see, and thus, the more likely you are to shoot more
street photographs.

To become a happier street photographer, walk more.

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CHAPTER XI

Aesthetics
A question I’m often asked in street photography: “Is
black and white or color better?”

None is better or worse-- they are different.

Frankly speaking, I find black and white easier than color

photography, because black and white tends to simplify
a scene, whereas color adds additional variables which
makes color street photography more challenging.

So as a practical tip, I would recommend if you’re new

to street photography, start off in black and white. Then
when you start to get bored of black and white street
photography, more onto color photography.

For black and white street photography, look for abstract

shapes, forms, lines, graphical elements, and shadows.

For color photography, look for colorful things. Be playful

with color-- try to match colors in a scene, and just
photograph anything that you find colorful.

Generally it takes a long time to master either black

and white or color street photography. Therefore, when
you’re learning either, stick with it for at least 5 years
before moving on.
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CHAPTER XII

Set it and
Forget It!
There are many different settings you can use in street
photography.

To keep it simple: I recommend Program (P) mode,

with ISO 1600, center-point autofocus.

These settings work well 90% of the time.

I’ve found that the less I need to think about my technical

settings in street photography, the less I hesitate before
shooting the shutter. Thus, I have more confidence in
street photography, and I shoot more.

By thinking less about my technical settings, I can also

focus on framing, composition, and timing my photos.

Another way you can shoot street photography is “zone

focusing” -- setting your camera to aperture-priority
mode, f/8, ISO 1600-3200, and pre-focusing to around
1.2 meters (3 feet).

Zone focusing is beneficial if you’re shooting with a

camera with really-really slow or inaccurate autofocus,
or when shooting with a manual lens.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you need to shoot fully-
manual to make good street photos. Capturing the moment,
essence, and the soul is the most important thing in
street photography; not your aperture or shutter-speed.
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CHAPTER XIII

Perspective
To make more interesting street photographs, try
experimenting with different perspectives.

Shoot photos from a very low-angle, by crouching down

very low. This will make your subjects look “larger than
life” (also known as the ‘superman effect’).

Shoot photos from a very high perspective, looking down.

Shoot from the top floor of a building, looking down. Or
perhaps even shoot with your camera in the air, pointing
your camera downwards.

Perspective makes better street photographs because

we can turn ordinary people and situations into more
graphically and visually-interesting images; preferably
with a wide-angle lens like a 28mm or a 35mm lens.

And of course on a more philosophical note-- you can

make better street photographs by giving your viewer your
subjective and perspective of the world. As a photographer,
you are also a philosopher. You only photograph what
has personal meaning or significance for you. Therefore,
realize there is no “objective” reality in photography.

Your job as a street photographer is to present your

unique perspective of the world with your viewer.
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CHAPTER XIV

Surrealism
All of modern street photography is rooted from Henri
Cartier-Bresson; the godfather of street photography.

Henri Cartier-Bresson was heavily trained in the surrealist

arts. Therefore, a lot of our visual inspiration is surrealism.

I personally have realized that surrealism is something

that appeals to a lot of photographers.

And consider as street photographers-- what we do is

present ordinary reality, into a surreal hyper-reality.

For example, you can replace someone’s head in street

photography with another object. You can take ordinary
scenes, and create unusual juxtapositions (contrasts/
comparisons) to make interesting photographs.

To study surrealism, I recommend René Magritte, Henri

Cartier-Bresson and Sergio Larrain.

To show ordinary reality as it is boring. Take ordinary

reality, and make it extra-ordinary.
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CHAPTER XV

Flash
Shooting street photography with a flash will empower
you. Shooting with a flash allows you to photograph at
any time of the day, regardless of the light outside.

For example, if you are stuck in the office during the day,
and when you leave it is dark-- you can still make street
photographs. You can either shoot High-ISO (1600-3200)
on your camera, or just use a flash.

The flash is advantageous in street photography because

it gives you more flexibility when and how to shoot. For
example, if your subject is walking towards you with the
sun behind them, using a flash will illuminate them and
cause them to “pop out” from the background.

Or if you’re shooting at night and want sharp photos

without blur, using a flash will allow you to shoot at f/8
and freeze the action of your subject.

Not only that, but shooting with a flash will add better
aesthetics to your photo. Photos with a flash have more
contrast, saturation, and allows you to separate your
subject more from the background.

If your camera has an integrated flash, use it in “P”

(Program) mode with ISO 800-1600. If your camera
doesn’t have a flash, buy the smallest and most compact
flash and use the automatic flash settings (TTL) mode
also in P (program) mode. Don’t worry about your flash
settings, experiment and have fun.
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Assignment 7: Don’t
make eye contact
If you want to be stealth in street photography, don’t
make eye contact.

When we make eye contact with our subjects, they will

notice our presence, and sense that we are photographing
them. Therefore by not making eye contact, our subjects
will assume that we’re photographing something else--
perhaps something behind them.

Therefore as an assignment, spend an entire day shooting

street photography and don’t make eye contact with
anybody. Rather, keep your eyes locked on the background
behind your subject.
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CHAPTER XVI

Tell Lies
There is no such thing as an “objectively true” street
photograph.

All photographs we shoot are subjective.

Therefore, my suggestion is to realize that there will

never be any ultimate “truth” in your street photography.
Thus, seek to tell your own version of reality, and don’t
be afraid to “tell lies”.

For example in this photo I shot in Istanbul, I saw this

interesting scene with this man with all these arms
growing out of him. I brought up my camera and took
a photo, and the man was smiling. I told him, “Don’t
smile! Look serious!” By the second photo, he stopped
smiling a bit. And by the third (last) photo, he looked
dead-serious.

When most people see this photograph, they assume it

was shot candid without permission. But you can see-- I
crafted my own version of reality with this photograph.

If you want to make a more interesting photo with

permission, ask your subject:

“Look into the lens and don’t smile.”

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CHAPTER XVII

Work the Scene

To make better street photographs, you must work the
scene from many different angles. Don’t just settle by
taking 1-2 photos and move. Rather, shoot many photos
of the scene. Shoot head-on, crouch down, and move your
feet to shoot the scene from different angles. You can
even make a better street photograph by tippy-toeing
and shooting from a higher perspective looking down.

Be like a boxer meets a ballerina-- light on your toes,

and constantly moving.

Also generally, avoid shooting from behind your subject.

In most circumstances, photographing someone’s face
is always more interesting than the back of their head.
If you can see the face of your subject, you can better
see the emotions in their face, and thus your viewer will
better be able to empathize with the subject.

Also as a general guideline,

Shoot 25% more photos of a scene than you think you

should.

Generally, when I think I got the shot, I haven’t got

the shot. By pushing yourself 25% beyond your limits,
you are more likely to capture an even better moment or
photograph.
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Assignment 8:
Shoot 25% More
This assignment will push you outside of your comfort
zone.

The next time you see a good street photograph, start by

taking a lot of photos. Then when you pause, and you
think you got the shot-- try to shoot 25% more than
you think you should.

Try to shoot more by working a different angle. Take a

step to the left or the right. Or perhaps crouch down. Or
perhaps shoot with a flash.

Don’t feel guilty for “wasting the time” of your subject,

or “bothering your subject.”

Remember: You are making art with your street pho-

tography.

The more you work a scene, the more likely your photograph
is going to be beautiful, and inspire your viewers.
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Assignment 9: Overlay
If you’re afraid that your subject won’t like having their
face photographed, you can experiment with the ‘Overlay’
technique in street photography.

The basic concept is to stack an object, or a graphical

element over the head of your subject.

Treat this assignment as a fun visual game. Look for

circles, squares, or triangles to obscure the face of your
subject.

The reason why this assignment is also good:

You know that you aren’t revealing the identity of your

subject. Thus you know that even if your subject notices
you photographing them and gets angry at you, you will
be able to tell them that you didn’t reveal their face/
identity in your photo.

Therefore for this assignment:

Try to see how you can make interesting street photo-

graphs of people without revealing their face.

A great street photographer to study who does this

technique well is Siegfried Hansen.
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CHAPTER XVIII

Forbidden
Places
Don’t limit yourself to just shooting street photography
in the streets. Shoot in places that are semi and quasi-
public; such as subways, inside the bus, shopping malls,
hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants, or even grocery stores.

Some of my best photos have been shot in unexpected

places.

Therefore, don’t limit your street photography. Shoot

anywhere and everywhere.
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Assignment
10: Elevator
One of the ‘forbidden places’ you can make good street
photographs is the elevator. Trust me; it is also one of
the scariest and most nerve-wrecking places to shoot
street photography. Why? Because if you shoot a photo,
you must spend a very (uncomfortable) 30 seconds of
your life being stuck next to the person. It can be very
awkward.

Try shooting street photographs in an elevator by asking

a stranger for permission, or just take a few photos, and
pretend like you photographed some advertisements in
the elevator behind the person.
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CHAPTER XIX

Ethics
What are your personal ethics in street photography?

Don’t let anyone else superimpose their ethics onto

you. Rather, dictate your own personal ethics in street
photography.

My suggestion:

Don’t photograph others how you wouldn’t want to be

photographed.

If you don’t like people shooting candid photos of you

without your permission, perhaps you should shoot street
photography with permission. If you don’t mind other
people photographing you without their permission,
shoot away.

A practical suggestion if you want to be more empowered

in street photography:

Become more comfortable being photographed.

The more comfortable you are being photographed, the

more comfortable you will be photographing others.

Remember: by photographing someone-- you are telling

them that they are beautiful, significant, and important.

Photography is a gift and a joy, not something we should

be ashamed of.
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CHAPTER XX

Children
A lot of street photographers are afraid of shooting children.
Why? Because we are afraid of being called pedophiles,
or perhaps getting the cops called on us.

However children often make the best subjects in street

photography. They are innocent, pure, and uncorrupted
by the “real world.”

Whenever I photograph children, I feel the same child-

like sense of wonder, curiosity, and excitement in life.

But how can you shoot street photographs of children

without getting the cops called on you?

My suggestion:

Never be sneaky when photographing children.

When you photograph children, be very obvious that

you are photographing them. When you make photos
of children, smile at them, wave at them, and interact
with their parents as well. This will communicate that
you aren’t a creep, and you aren’t threatening.

If you’re not sure whether you should photograph the

child or not, just ask the parents for permission.
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CHAPTER XXI

Mystery
In photography there are two types of photos:

1. “Closed” photos: Closed to interpretation. Only one

way to explain a photograph.

2. “Open” photos: Open to interpretation. Can be

interpreted in many different ways.

Generally, “Open” photos are much more interesting to

look at. Why? Because it allows the viewer to come up
with their own unique story in the photograph.

One of the ways to make a more “Open” photograph

is to add more mystery in the photograph. You can do
this by photographing your subjects and obscuring their
eyes, or shooting in the bright light and shooting with
-1 or -2 exposure compensation, to darken the details
in their face.

A good test to know whether you have a good street

photograph is by asking yourself:

“If my viewer looked at this photograph today, and 5

years from now, could they possibly re-interpret the
photograph differently?”

This is the secret of making a “timeless” photograph --

a photo that says something about the human soul, can
be interpreted many different ways by many different
people, and photographs that grow better with time (like
a nice wine, cheese, or grandmother).
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CHAPTER XXII

Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is the art of putting two subjects or elements
next to one another, which either contradict one another,
create an interesting contrast with one another, or create
some sort of new meaning together.

In simple words: Juxtaposition is meaningful contrast.

What kind of new meaning are you trying to say with

your street photographs?

For example, photographing an old person next to a

young person. Or photographing a tall person versus a
short person.

You can also go deeper-- create juxtapositions in emotions.

Photograph someone who is really happy next to someone
who is really sad -- and you heighten both of the emotions
of each of the subjects through the dynamic juxtaposition
of both emotions in the same frame.
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CHAPTER XXIII

Hands
To capture the soul of someone, don’t just be restricted to
photographing their face or body. Focus on photographing
their hands as well.

When you photograph someone’s hands-- you photograph

their personality, and their life story.

When it comes to shooting street photography of people’s

hands-- try to look for people with interesting jewelry
on their hands, people with textures in their hands, and
to pose them, just ask them to spread their fingers and
face you.

To eliminate distractions from the background, use a flash.

Also if you want, you can darken (burn) the background
in post-processing afterwards, by using the ‘adjustment
brush’ in Lightroom, and darkening the exposure.

Also realize that you don’t have to just photograph the

hands of your subjects. You can also hand-gestures.
Sometimes people will give you interesting hand-gestures
when you photograph them, and they pose for you. Or
sometimes when people don’t want to be photographed,
they will cover their faces with their hands-- another
interesting hand-gesture.
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CHAPTER XXIV

Emotion
A street photograph without emotion is dead.

You can make a photograph with the world’s most

interesting composition, but without emotion-- the
photograph will not resonate in the heart of your viewer.

My suggestion would be when you’re shooting, have an

open heart, and try to empathize with the subjects that
you photograph.

You can capture more emotion in street photography

by shooting black and white, by capturing shadows, by
looking for a certain look in the eyes of your subject, or
through dynamic hand-gestures of your subject.
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CHAPTER XXV

Dynamic
Composition
There are simple compositions in street photography like
shooting diagonals, and photographing people walking
in front of billboards.

To make a more interesting composition in street

photography-- try to make it more dynamic.

To make more dynamic compositions in street photography,

try to find corners of surfaces and shoot with a wide-
angle lens like a 28mm lens. I find the wider your lens,
the more dynamic your compositions become.

Also try to experiment with your focusing. Don’t always

focus on what is closest to you in the frame. Focus on
what is furthest away in the scene, and pre-focus your
lens to around 5 meters to infinity.

Also dynamic compositions tend to include tilted

compositions (dutch angle), have dynamic contrast (dark
shadows and bright highlights), and interesting gestures
and movements.
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CHAPTER XXVI

The Cherry
on Top
In street photography, how do you know what makes a
great photo? One tip: look for the “cherry on top.”

The “cherry on top” is a small detail of the photograph

what makes an ordinary photograph, extraordinary.

For example, in this picture I shot of a little girl playing

with a toy windmill, there is a shadow of a pigeon flying
away in the background.

The reason I like this photograph: it is a metaphor for

the girl. The girl wants freedom and to fly away.

When you’re shooting street photography, you won’t

always see the “cherry on top.” Often, you discover the
cherry on top after you shoot a scene, and when you go
home and notice it in the background.

Yes, there is luck involved in street photography. When

you do get a lucky “cherry on top” in street photography,
be grateful and smile.
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Assignment 11: Love

As an assignment: spend an entire weekend looking for
love, and photographing what you would interpret as
“love”.

This can be a couple about to embrace for a kiss. Or an

older man pecking his wife on the cheek. Or it can be a
couple holding hands, walking at the beach, or two friends
perhaps enjoying a cup of coffee together at a cafe.

The purpose of this assignment is for us to see more

positivity and joy in life. There is already too many photos
of pain and suffering in the world. Why not as street
photographers find more joy and moments of happiness
and love in the world?

You will find out through this assignment that if you are
actively looking for something-- you will find it.
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CHAPTER XXVII

Layers
If you want to create more interesting and complex street
photographs, try shooting layers.

As a basic tip, try to integrate many different layers

and subjects in the same frame-- by getting close to
the action, and as a suggestion, keep your layered and
multiple-subject street photographs to a maximum of
3 subjects.

For layered street photographs, make sure you have

someone in the foreground, middle-ground, and
background.

By having depth and layers in your photos, you will give

the viewer more visual space to look through your frame.
Also, by making layers in your street photographs, you
make your photos seem more “three dimensional”.

The difficult thing about shooting layers is making sure

that your photos are simple enough.

To simplify your layered street photographs:

1. Find a simple background, then wait for your

subjects to enter the frame.

2. Pay attention to what is in the background of the

frame, to simplify the image. Generally if the
background is simple and clean, everything in the
foreground will look good as well.
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CHAPTER XXVIII

Dramatic Light
The definition of photography is “painting with light.”
The more dramatic you can paint with light, the more
visually interesting and appealing your photos will be.

Try to experiment shooting during mid-day, when the light

is very harsh. Or look for rays of light that are intense,
and shoot with -1 or -2 exposure compensation. Put the
subject’s face directly in the light, and by using -1 or -2
exposure compensation, the rest of the background will
turn totally dark.

This technique will help you paint more dramatic light,

that has more contrast and cause your subject to pop
out of the background. This will allow your viewer to
better focus on your subject, with fewer distractions in
the background.
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CHAPTER XXIX

Social
Commentary
One of the most powerful things you can do in street
photography is social commentary: making a critique or
commentary on society through your photos.

I studied sociology in college, and I see myself as a

sociologist with a camera (not as a street photographer).

Ask yourself-- what do my photos say about contemporary

society? What do I love about society, and what do I hate
about society? What do I wish could be different?

For example, for my ‘Only in America’ series, I photographed

America according to my own vision-- a slightly dystopic
world that is full of poverty, suffering, racism, distrust
in the government, and the rich preying on the poor. A
lot of this reflects my personal liberal attitudes towards
contemporary politics-- and is a self-portrait of myself,
because I grew up pretty poor (my mother declared
bankruptcy, and my father was also a chronic gambler).

My ‘Only in America’ series is quite dark-- yet, I feel

that it shows an important grim reality about inequality
in America and the rest of the world. I feel we have a
duty to make sure to give ‘equal opportunity’ to those
who are under-privileged. Or else those who are born
into poverty will never have an opportunity to spread
their wings, and also use their gifts to empower society.
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CHAPTER XXX

Urban
Landscape
Street photography doesn’t need to just include people.
I also see street photography as documenting the urban
landscape. When we shoot ‘urban landscapes’-- we
are photographing man-made landscapes, and these
landscapes reflect a lot about our cultural values.

My suggestion is when you shoot urban landscapes, try

to figure out what you’re trying to say through the photo.
For example, are you photographing beautiful decay? Are
you photographing excess and consumerism? Are you
photographing a feeling of loss and nostalgia?
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CHAPTER XXXI

Decisive
Moments
In street photography, there is not one single ‘decisive
moment’. Rather, there are decisive moment(s) that you
can capture.

To me, a decisive moment is a hand gesture, laughter,

or a feeling or expression that catches my eye.

Often, you won’t even know what is the best ‘decisive

moment’ in a scene, until when you go home and examine
your ‘contact sheets’ (the thumbnails of all of the photos
you’ve taken in a scene).

Therefore when you see an interesting scene, I recommend

taking many photos of the scene, and afterwards when
you go home-- choose the 1 favorite photo you have of
the scene.

If you’re not sure what your best photo of the scene

is, try the ‘thumbnail test’. The basic concept is make
your photos small thumbnails, and based on the small
thumbnails, choose the 1 photo that pops out at you.

The reason why it is good to look at your street photos as

small thumbnails is that it is easier to see the composition
as photos in small thumbnails. Also, it is a quicker way
to effectively look through all your photos, especially if
you’ve taken hundreds of photos in a single day.

If you miss the decisive moment in a scene, keep your

chin up. You will encounter many more decisive moments.
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CHAPTER XXXII

Eyes Are the

Windows to
the Soul
I feel the most powerful street photographs are the ones
which are intimate. Especially when you make street
photographs with eye contact.

It goes both ways: when the subject looks into your eyes,
they look into your soul. And you also look into their soul
by photographing them.

You can get eye contact in street photography in different

ways:

1. Ask for permission, and ask them to look straight

into the lens.

2. Keep taking photos of your subject (without

permission) and once they notice your presence,
keep clicking until they turn around and look
straight into your lens.
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Assignment 12:
Eye Contact
For this assignment, get close to your subjects-- I
recommend pre-focusing your lens to .7 meters (3 feet),
and getting very close to your subject with a wide-angle
lens (like a 28mm or 35mm lens), and keep clicking, until
your subject looks back at you.

When they notice your presence and look back at you,

smile and say “Thank you!” Or if you feel uncomfortable,
you can pretend like you photographed something behind
them, and keep moving on.
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CHAPTER XXXIII

Lenses &
Focal Length
There is no ‘perfect’ lens for street photography, but I
would recommend using a prime (non-zoom) lens, such
as a ‘full-frame equivalent’ 28mm or 35mm lens. Why?
Wide-angle lenses force you to get close to your subject
in order to fill the frame. Not only that, but because
your lens is so wide, you don’t always need to point your
camera or lens straight at your subject (if you want to
be more stealth).

The practical suggestion:

• 28mm: If you use a point-and-shoot camera, or

you frame with your LCD screen. This will allow
you to extend your arm when you’re shooting street
photography, and allow you to put your camera
close to the face of your subject (the RICOH GR has
an integrated 28mm lens).

• 35mm: If you use your viewfinder, I recommend a

35mm lens. A 35mm is integrated into the Fujifilm
x100 camera, and I feel is the ideal focal length for
90% of street photographers.

Of course, experiment with different focal lengths in street

photography. I do find the biggest benefit of a prime lens
is that by not worrying about zooming is that you have
to think less before shooting. Also by zooming, you will
draw a lot of attention to yourself.
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CHAPTER XXXIV

Blur
I generally prefer sharp and in-focus street photographs.
However at the same time, experiment using making
blurry street photographs.

The benefit of blur is that your photos have more movement,

feel more dynamic and alive.

Also, blurry street photographs are more surreal. For

example in the next page, there is a photograph of a little
dog that I shot, and the blur makes the teeth of the dog
look like a mini-cerberus (evil dog from Hades).

To shoot blurry street photographs, shoot with a slower-

shutter speed. You can do this easily by setting your
camera to aperture-priority mode, and setting your aperture
to f/22 or f/16, with an ISO of around 100-400.

You can also experiment shooting with shutter-priority

mode, at slower-shutter speeds like 1/15th of a second.
Just experiment with your settings, and keep shooting
until you find a look that you like.

Realize with blur in street photography-- you will never

know what it will look like until you shoot it.
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CHAPTER XXXV

Don’t Chimp
One of the most difficult things in street photography is
to get in a state of ‘flow’ -- when you are not distracted.
When you can shoot unimpeded.

One of the biggest distractions in street photography is

checking our LCD screens while we shoot (also known
as ‘chimping’ -- because we often make chimp-like
sounds when we look at our photos that we like on our
LCD screen).

The downside of chimping is that the second you look at

your LCD screen, you get distracted, and you lose your
focus to shoot the next photo.

For example, if I’m shooting a scene, and I look at my

LCD screen and I’m satisfied, I become lazy, and don’t
keep on clicking. The truth is that an even better photo
might exist in a scene in street photography. But I will
never know if I don’t keep taking photos.

As a practical tip, turn off the ‘auto-review’ function in

your camera in street photography.

If you are a true chimp-a-holic and can’t stop looking

at your LCD screen when you’re shooting on the streets,
try shooting film for a few months (what I did). Shooting
film will help you gain more zen-like focus when shooting
street photography (after all there is no LCD screen to
check).
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CHAPTER XXXVI

LCD vs
Viewfinder
A practical discussion in street photography: “Is it better
to use the LCD screen or the viewfinder?”

I say try out both.

There are pros and cons with shooting with your LCD
screen or shooting with your viewfinder.

• LCD: You are more stealth when shooting street

photography, you can experiment with more dy-
namic perspectives (shooting with your camera on
the ground, or holding your camera high in the air
looking down). Also, you can pre-visualize your
photos easier on an LCD screen.

• Viewfinder: If you shoot with an optical viewfinder,

there is less lag than when you are shooting with an
LCD screen (or even an electronic viewfinder). Also
with a viewfinder, it is easier to see the scene when
you’re shooting on bright days.

Ultimately LCD vs viewfinder is a personal preference. I

say, try shooting both.

For myself, I prefer shooting LCD screens, as I feel more

flexible when shooting. And I can also shoot quicker when
using the LCD screen instead of always having to bring
up the camera to my eyes.
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CHAPTER XXXVII

Editing
(Select) Your
Best Photos
One of the most difficult things in street photography is
the art of editing-- the art of choosing (selecting) your
best photos in a given scene.

To judge a good street photograph, don’t over-think it.

Just look at a photo and the test is:

Does the photo punch you in the gut?

If the photo evokes a “meh” or a lukewarm response, or

a “maybe” -- it isn’t a good photo.

To me, a photo that punches me in the gut includes eye

contact, a hand gesture, dramatic light, an emotion of
fear or joy, and is generally relatively simple in terms
of the composition.

If you are not sure what your best photos are, make a
folder of your ‘Maybe’ photos, and look at the photos
once a week for a month. Keep looking at the photos.
The photos that are good-- you will know it, because the
good photos get better the more you look at them. And
the bad photos will sink to the bottom-- you will begin
to despise looking at your bad photos.

And if I can make 1 good street photo a month, I’m happy.

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CHAPTER XXXVI

Post-
Processing
There are many different ways you can post-process
your photos. You can use Lightroom and free ERIC KIM
PRESETS, you can use VSCO presets (desktop or mobile),
you can shoot in JPEG with high-contrast settings, or you
can make your own post-processing preset with RAW.

My personal philosophy is with post-processing:

Post-process your photos like seasoning your food; less

is more.

Of course, we all have different tastebuds. Some of us

like really salty and fatty foods, and some of us prefer
more sweet and spicy foods.

However you decide to post-process your photos is up

to you. But my suggestion:

Keep your post-processing consistent within a series

or project.

For example, if you were a movie director, wouldn’t you

use the same film, camera equipment, and aesthetic for
the entire film? So stick with either black and white or
color consistently with an entire project.
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CHAPTER XXXVII

How to Stay
Inspired
One of the most challenging things in photography and
street photography is to stay inspired and motivated.

My suggestion:

Shoot like a child.

A child doesn’t shoot for likes on social media. A child

doesn’t really care what others think of their art. They
just paint, photograph, and draw, and when they get
bored-- they move onto the next one.

I think in street photography and life-- it is all about

longevity. Longevity means to never run out of inspiration.
Longevity means to be inspired and creative for your
whole life.

That means, don’t define yourself as a ‘street photographer.’

Just call yourself a kid who likes to wander the streets
with your camera.

Also, don’t just trap yourself of the genre of street

photography. Photograph whatever you want. Don’t
become the prisoner of a genre.

I used to be very dogmatic, and set very strict rules to

myself in street photography. But the more experienced
I get, the more playful I am, and the less seriously I take
myself. And now, I’m having more fun than ever before.
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CHAPTER XXXVII

Conclusion
To make a meaningful, timeless street photograph, ask
yourself:

Do I see myself in my own street photographs?

This is soul in street photography.

To find more meaning in your street photography, integrate

your emotions, perspective, and soul into your photos.
You can do this by only photographing what is genuinely
interesting to you, and only by photographing moments
which are personally meaningful to you.

You must ask yourself,

“Why am I the only one who could make this photo?”

Whenever you identify a scene or a moment, and whenever

you decide to hit the shutter, you are drawing upon your
life experiences, your perspective of the world, and what
you find personally-meaningful.

Therefore to sum up,

Only photograph what you find meaningful, rather

than photographing what others might think is inter-
esting.

Be bold, ERIC
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CHAPTER XXXVIII

Learn More
Staying inspired in street photography is one of the
most difficult challenges we face. My suggestion: always
treat yourself like a beginner, and retain your innocent
“child’s mind.”

Also keep in touch, and we can both stay inspired in street

photography together, with these resources:

Newsletter

Workshops

Forum

ERIC KIM Blog

• Street Photography 101

• Learn from the Masters

• Street Photography Composition

HAPTIC Books & Tools

• Street Notes

• MASTERS

• Street Photography Visualizations

Image from Free Street Photography Visualizations