When we spend some amount of time in the same city, our sight is gradually getting dull. We have grown within the same landscapes, the same walks of life, the same architecture and suddenly, we feel like there’s absolutely nothing to photograph anymore. You know what I mean. There is a way out of this routine, and it means to get out of the city and travel somewhere. Travels bring a new point of view, but you should learn one useful thing: even some quite worldly things can appear unexpected and nice. All you need is to adapt your view to changing appearances. Now you understand that your creativity doesn’t need any far distances to awake.
There’s most common advice – to change the way of perception. This motto looks quite pathetic. To find some beauty within worldly stuff is quite a skill. But if you try once, then you master it. Here we are going to show you some tips for doing street photography when you find yourself in seemingly boring places.
Get lost in a place
The first step to force your perception change is getting lost in some familiar landscape. You will certainly find something unusual. Walk carelessly and stay safe, knowing that Google maps will always help you to come back home. You will immediately feel yourself stranger, even if you are walking around your home city.
Unknown places become a creative opportunity. If you need a new sight, then find some places that will force you to find some new vision. It might be you have always been dreaming about visiting this site, but it never happened. So, this is your chance. Just walk there!
Focus on a certain thing or a topic
Photographers always have their likes and dislikes, their ‘comfort zones,’ and some ideas about things that can be popular. Change your framework, and you’ll change your perspective. Choose a topic that is interesting for you, something you don’t usually pay attention at, try anything new.
You might be wondering why it’s so important to step out of this comfort zone, and the reason is very simple, you shift your vision by doing something out of the ordinary. The reason for doing that is very simple; it is the shift of your vision by performing some unusual activity. Find a favorite topic and continue with it. Any place is full of hidden treasures you don’t become aware of. It is very simple advice, but maybe the most important among street photography tips for everyone.
Looking for patterns
Find anything iterative, like elements of architecture, some curious details of life, certain groups of people, street traffic, textures, light effects. This way you will learn your brain and perceptive sphere to work with patterns. This practice also brings you out of your comfort zone. When you’re focusing on a detail or a topic, you learn to work with patterns. Some good ideas you can find in the section ‘street vector in high resolution.’
Looking for a fresh angle? Try to get an upper or lower position
For this practice, you require some research activity. If something is usual at first sight, add some dynamics to your pictures by getting some high or lower positions to build your composition. Look, if there are any rooftops from where you can find the perfect angle for some wide shot, or make something opposite, trying to have a look from a cat’s perspective.
Hours of blue and gold
If you still haven’t found any inspiration, then take your pictures during the blue or the golden hour. The lighting itself is a great source of inspiration. If you combine this idea with some other practices, you will certainly get a bunch of unbelievable even in a dull location.
As the sun drops below the horizon, night lights change the look of cities. Everything gets different. Add some light trails left by moving cars or another object, and your ingenious sot is ready. Blue hours are about 15-30 minutes after the sunset, and the golden hour in the evening is about the last hour of light time before sunset.
Black and white classics are always in demand
If you don’t find anything inspiring in landscapes, then have a look at the movement of the city. Look around and see the people. To make the project even more artistic, make in black and white. If you prefer to get outstanding black and white photos, you find the necessity of lighting. To read more tips on black and white photography for beginners in our previous article.
Taking pictures of people as they live their lives can be surprising for some of you. But the habit of shooting street style shots will help your creative experiments. Taking pictures of landscapes, you have the leisure to stop, to make focus, to create a plan and then finally shoot. Street photography is a much more unexpected, and very often, these unexpected and maybe not the most quality shots will become jewels of your portfolio.
Tell a story
Wherever you end up, it has some history and its hidden stories you can tell. Follow your feelings. Be utterly attentive to recognize the little details making the place bright and vivid, or the opposite. Here you practice your perspective view as the wisdom of knowing things have been going on around you with their own pace. You can always tell a story, imagine it. When you decide to go this way, one photo becomes two, two become four, and finally, you get a series of pictures you will admire.
Beauty is everywhere, and if you look at any masterpiece, you will be surprised by its basic simplicity. The thing here is putting an accent in a proper place. Practicing this way, you will come to the next level of creativity. Open to the unknown, be scrupulous with details, experiment with new styles, and explore new places. Finally, your gear is not definitive to produce more original pictures. The best gear you have is your creative vision. Shift it from habitual ways, and you will always end up in a very unusual and bright environment, even it is some very plain location in comparison with something where you are not now.
