Tips for Street Photography

Today for my behind the scenes photography tips I have my dear friend Tamar here to share with you her best advice on Street Photography. Tamar lives in the city & is always on the go, capturing life along the way. I have known Tamar for many years – I think probably as long as I have been honing my photography skills. We go way back. So I thought she would be the perfect person to share with you some great tips on capturing everyday life in a beautiful way. Please give her a nice, warm Kleinworth & Co. welcome.

Hello everyone! I am so excited to be blogging here for Gina.

I’m Tamar and live in Boston. By day, I am a third grade teacher, but when I am not teaching I’m out and about taking photos of this great city.

So, I thought today, I would share my tips for taking street photography, but specifically street photography with an iphone or phone camera.

Personally, I find street photography to be a wonderful way to explore my city and not just pass through rushing to where ever I need to be.

I try to be spontaneous in my street photography. I never go looking for a shot, but try to be aware of the beauty of Boston around me and capture those amazing photo opportunities when I see them. I often find myself captivated by cool statues, cityscapes, or areas of landscaping. Capturing them with my phone (or my dslr on occasion) let’s me fall in love with every nook and cranny of this fine city.

When I am taking pictures with my phone, I am not afraid to take “raw” pictures. Pictures that really capture the feel of the city for what it is. Personally, iPhone street photography is quite different than when shooting with my Nikon.

When I shoot with my phone, I tend to focus on the big picture of what I am seeing rather than small details. I also try hard to not compose my shots or take multiple shots until I get “the one” – for me it’s about capturing that instant – that exact moment I saw that caught my eye.

I also tend to edit my pictures through a variety of iPhone apps.

I most often use instagram (you can follow me there, my handle is tamarsb). This lets me crop shots and edit them. Sometimes I go for a “raw” edit that brings out the scene I captured, like the bike against the railing or the statue on the gray and dreary day. Others I love using the contrast editor to make the blue sky pop or the street art stand out even more.

I am now hooked on waterlogue &- it adds a lovely soft touch to photos and I have most enjoyed using it on photos of Boston’s architecture, a nice soft touch to the hardness of the city.

Also, squareready is great for taking a normal picture and shrinking it down so it doesn’t get cropped in instagram.

The beauty of this style of photography, is that I always have my phone on me (got to love living in 2014) and I never miss a scene or moment that I want to capture. There are, of course, those amazing sunrises or sunsets or skyline views that I see while driving, those I just have to take a mental image of!

Do you do any type of street photography? What are your tricks or tips for capturing your neck of the woods?