Top tips for shooting unique street photography and video

Street photography has been around for as long as cameras have been portable enough to carry easily. It's a genre that includes a broad range of styles, but it's loosely defined as non-staged images shot in public. Most people think of the New York style from the 1960s to 1980s as the quintessential street photography – fast-paced shots, sometimes taken right in people's faces. However, like all types of photography, it has evolved.

In an era when everyone has a smartphone in their pocket, serious street photographers differentiate themselves by the quality of their camera-shot images and their creativity. They may stick to the style above, but they do street photography in their own way.

Take Andres McNeill. Based in Glasgow in the UK, he has gained a substantial social following for his dramatic, architecture-led shots of the Scottish city. For Andres, buildings come first, then the people.

Here he shares his tips for shooting in the street.

• Observe the world
• Find a style that inspires you
• Be respectful
• Street cinematography
• Shooting for social
• Street photography kitbag
• Five tips for creative street photography

When Andres goes out on a day's shoot, he deliberately avoids overthinking where he's going, instead responding to what he sees. That said, he has a sense of what he's looking for. "​​I would say that I'm a little bit different from a lot of street photographers, because I take urban architecture into account," he explains. "I'm interested in showing scale. I like to have a massive building and then people in the foreground to create contrast."

Andres will wander around until he finds a location that he thinks will make a powerful composition and then he readies his camera and waits. "I find a nice building as my background and the person crossing in front is almost secondary," he says. What makes the ideal subject is often based on a visual repetition or coincidence – "a person wearing a green top standing next to a billboard with a picture of a person wearing a green top, things like that".

When photographing people in a scene, it’s important to have a focal point in mind – whether that's the eyes of the main subject, the face of a central person in a crowd, or someone hurrying along the street.

Cinema is an important touchpoint for Andres, who composes an image "almost like an establishing shot in a film".

He stresses that there is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to street photography today. The things that catch Andres' eye most are the shapes and patterns of buildings, whether that's 19th-century Victorian edifices or the occasional Brutalist structures you find in Glasgow's streets. He says, "I'm a big fan of using leading lines, where the lines of a building lead you to a subject. Sometimes I'll shoot with a building on either side of the frame and then in the middle a person or maybe a taxi coming towards me.

"There are just so many ways to approach it," Andres adds. "The old way was always using 35mm, sometimes shooting from the hip, up close, whereas now we use such a variety of focal lengths. If you're feeling more introverted, you could use an 85mm or a 200mm and shoot from across the street and capture a moment that you might miss at 35mm."

It's always advisable to check the legalities of street photography where you plan to shoot – but, generally, most countries permit photography in public places unless otherwise specified. That includes photography of pedestrians on the street and people in public places such as parks.

All the same, photographing strangers can be daunting. "Just be honest about what you're doing and let your passion shine through," advises Andres, who normally takes the shot and then, where possible, goes and talks to the subject and shows it to them on the back of his camera. You could also offer to share the images, or give the subject your social details so they can view the images online.

Most people understand, but Andres will happily delete the image if they ask.

It is unsurprising that Andres’s love of the cinematic look has led to him shooting evocative video clips alongside his street photos. He often uses a Canon EOS R5 (now succeeded by the EOS R5 Mark II) when he wants to shift between stills and video, but switches to an EOS C70 cine camera when he’s focusing purely on video, thanks to its "game-changing" built-in ND filters for controlling exposure.

When it comes to street cinematography, Andres advises being more deliberate with the way you frame a scene. "Street photography is more forgiving. You still need to frame your shots with care, but you can change your crop later. With video, if something doesn't look right or blocks your frame, then it's harder to resolve – although with the 8K Canon cameras you can crop the scene to create a 4K or Full HD frame."

He also suggests developing more of a wildlife photographer mindset for being more patient with your street scene: "When you think nothing's happening and you're about to move on to a different location, just stay there recording for another 10 seconds – that's always when something happens!"

He says his approach to shooting video is "very similar but also very different" to shooting photos. "I know that's a total paradox! I like run-and-gun documentary-style video, which is similar to street photography as you're just there observing moments. But they're also different disciplines. With street photography there's a focus on the people who are going to come into your shot, but with street cinematography the people are almost secondary. It's more about the light and the buildings and essentially painting a full scene."

This painterly approach extends to post-production: "I really like seeing the final thing come together, pushing the colours and seeing what crazy images you can get. I'm a big fan of stuff like Blade Runner where they really push unrealistic colours sometimes."

When editing sequences together for social, Andres says, "I look for a good composition with architecture, and I like to frame it with people walking in and out of frame or sometimes walking with a crowd with the focus on a building. I also like to pan on people walking or cyclists to create a bit of movement."

Sharing your street photography and videos on your social channels is a great way to reach new and larger audiences. Andres says social media was crucial when he was first starting out: "It was everything, because I don't know the first thing about websites and SEO."

Video is becoming the priority for social media, he says, and he now shoots dedicated clips for his channels. "A purist would probably say that everything needs to be filmed horizontally, but that's not ideal for social media unless it's YouTube. So, sometimes I will purposely shoot street scenes vertically. It does pay off, though, as my engagement on TikTok does a lot better when I shoot in vertical." Designed for video first, the Canon EOS R50 V is fitted with a vertical tripod socket to help make the most of these opportunities.

A vertical composition often complements architecture-led street photography, but Andres enjoys shooting horizontally. "On Instagram you can do things like a three-stack, where you have three different horizontal scenes on top of each other in a 4x5 frame. You can use this to tell a story visually sometimes as well."

When it comes to choosing which photos to post on social, Andres recommends not trying to please anyone else but yourself: "I've learned not to shoot for other people anymore and I'm just trying to shoot what's interesting to me."

Although the social media landscape is constantly changing, Andres has a time-honoured tip for growing an audience of followers for your street photography and keeping them engaged: be interactive. "I'm not like one of those creators just posts and ignores messages. I have a good baseline audience who interact with me daily, and although I've not got a massive following, I still take time to answer all my comments and talk with everybody who wants to engage. Obviously if you've got a million followers you can't do that, but I think social media should be a two-way street."

The compact size and excellent low-light performance of Canon's mirrorless EOS R System cameras, from the full-frame EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark II to the APS-C EOS R10 and EOS R50, make them a great choice for street photography. If you want something more pocketable, consider a compact camera such as the Canon PowerShot V1, which combines high image quality with advanced photo and video features for content creators.

Andres usually shoots at high shutter speeds in continuous burst mode. "I want to freeze the action and I don't want to miss the shot," he explains.

Traditionally, street photographers used 35mm or 50mm lenses, because that's closest to the way the human eye sees the world and therefore gives a natural perspective. The Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM and RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM both give beautifully smooth bokeh and their wide apertures also help to create a cinematic effect, isolating the subject while keeping the background blurred.

If, however, your backdrop is as important as your subject, a wide-angle lens might be a better option. The super-compact Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM has both a versatile focal length and a fast aperture for experimenting with background blur, making it an ideal lens for street photography. The all-purpose Canon RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM features optical IS to minimise camera shake and also gives you the versatility to capture both wide-angle urban scenes and more intimate street portraits. "Sometimes I like to be able to zoom in and create different perspectives," Andres says.

Shooting with a telephoto lens means you can keep some distance between yourself and the subject, so you don't have to invade their privacy. The Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM is a hugely versatile 10x zoom lens, which is ideal if you want one lens with a focal length for every scenario.

To create distinctive images, try shooting from an unusual angle or unconventional viewpoint. One of the things Andres loves about Glasgow is the different perspectives and layers he can bring in frame because it's so hilly. The elevation is also great for capturing sunsets.

Another useful technique is looking for reflections in windows or other shiny surfaces. As well as windows, you could also try experimenting with puddles and rivers to create interesting compositions.

If you're shooting street images, consider what's unique about your own city and use that to make your images interesting and individual.

Camera shake is usually something photographers want to avoid, but intentional motion during the exposure can lead to striking street abstracts, and it's a wonderful way to convey a sense of place.

The key is to set a shutter speed that is slow enough to create blur, but fast enough to leave the impression of people and shapes. Try setting your camera to Shutter Priority (Tv) mode with a shutter speed of 1/15 sec. Set your camera's light sensitivity to ISO100 as a starting point, adjusting it based on the level of ambient light in your surroundings until you have an exposure you're happy with. Then, as you press the shutter button, make a short, sharp movement with the camera. An up-down motion works well for scenes that include people, as it preserves the form of the figures, but you could also try a sideways movement, a sharp rotation, a quick zoom.

In Shutter Priority (Tv) mode you can also simply set your ISO to auto – available on most cameras – which allows you to concentrate solely on the shutter speed.

Photographers will often avoid shooting in direct sunlight during the day because it creates bold contrast with deep shadows. But when it comes to street photography, this contrast can allow you to simplify busy scenes, turning them into striking abstract shapes. When you expose for the highlights, the shadows in your images will become almost sheer black, forming shapes without detail.

The easiest way to do this is to use Exposure Compensation. Simply dial the exposure down by a stop or two to darken down the scene so that the shadows become deep and the parts of the scene in bright sunlight remain bold.

Popular since the 1800s, a double exposure lets you overlay one image on top of another for striking results. The Canon EOS R8, EOS R7 and other recent cameras offer a dedicated multiple exposure mode that lets you create the effect as you shoot. Simply enable the mode, set your desired number of exposures, and start shooting. Helpfully, you can preview the effect as you take the second frame (or third, or fourth – the mode allows up to nine), so you can adjust your shot for the most interesting blend.

When seeking out subjects and scenes for your double exposures, keep in mind that lighter areas will only stay the same or get brighter, never darker. This means darker buildings and shapes against a light backdrop like the sky can result in bold images.

One of the great joys of street photography is the sheer variety of interesting details that are all around, from abstract architectural lines to colourful signs, textures, typography and reflections. Often the best abstract photos have simple compositions. By targeting one or two details and excluding everything else, you can create beautiful photos that hint at the wider environment around them. Images like this can make for wonderful wall art too, so why not print out your favourites?

Street photography is the most accessible type of photography. You don't need a complicated, expensive setup to get started. You don't need to travel overseas, trek up mountains or sit for weeks in a hide until a rare creature appears. All you need to do is grab your kitbag, head out into the streets near where you live and get shooting. And it's a skill that gets better with practice. "Until you've trained your eyes, you don't realise that incredible moments happen all the time," says Andres. "It's just about being patient."

Fascinating subjects are right there on your doorstep. So get out there, be ready and hit the shutter.



Written by Rachel Segal Hamilton, James Paterson and Marcus Hawkins