So, this time I will not write about any specific tips or technique. Instead, I will just share to you my personal notes that I always keep in my phone that I read (almost) everyday. I also always add some notes every time my mind find out new inspirations, tips, or technique that perhaps I will need later.
If you do not know me personally, then I should tell you that I’m a person who easily forget things. Therefore, I create this personal notes to remind myself later when I start to forget things that may important. Here are list of my personal notes:
– Bring your camera everyday and everywhere as long as circumstances allow you to bring one (or two!).
– Get a camera that you feel comfortable with. Your user experience or feeling with your camera is way more important than image quality. (read here)
– When in doubt, click your camera shutter and make a photo. Better to delete your bad photos later than miss a great shot in decisive moment.
– Prime lens (lens that can not zoom) is better than zoom lens. Because prime lens will “force” us to get creative with composition. If we use prime lens long enough, we can memorize the focal length, and lens become the extension of our eyes. We will able to compose image with our mind even before we raise camera to our eye.
– Explore new places, it will bring more opportunities or inspirations as well. Always better to see more than see less. New places do not always about travel overseas, it could be go to your city area that you have never been before.
– There are no “bad places” to shoot street photography (read here). Try to do shoot at your living or working place area, even if you think they are the most boring place in the world. Huge benefit: You understand that places better than anyone.
– Street photography is all about freedom (read here). Do not restrict your imagination.
– Street photography is about finding freestyle art in our daily life. Freestyle means it could be anything: Human, animal, plant, building, with/without permission, etc
– Street photography is about how we learn to compose ordinary things that happen in decisive moment to become a visual art that has deep meaning and beautiful to look at.
– Do not only take one photo from a scene. Take as many as possible. Experiment with different angle (low angle, high angle, diagonal angle). Sometimes moments only last for few seconds, could be we do not have enough time to think clearly which composition is the best.
– Street photographer is a happier person (read here). They can see beautiful moments or things in this world way more than how normal people see the world.
– Some of my street buddies said that they release their stress by doing street photography. So it is true that we can consider street photography like a good therapy for our mental health.
– Do not force your belief or philosophy about street photography to other people. Do not restrict other people’s imagination (and yours too!).
– Get your inspiration from other people’s work. Google, Facebook and Instagram are good sources to find (famous) photographer that may suit your style. Learn from them by analyse their photos.
– Shoot as what you feel, based on your gut, your decision, your artistic feel, your timing, and your preference. Do not limit your imagination.
– Minimalism in street photography is like finding a sincere peace in the middle of chaos. Read here about minimizing distraction when take street photos.
– Why even start to do photography? Because photography inspire, teach and help me to see the world in better way.
– Documenting humanity is not always about photograph people. Instead, it is about documenting anything that related to human’s life. Be it building, animal, plant, wall art, etc.
– Photography means drawing with light. Light is the true source of create a photo. Always pay more attention to light every time you about to photograph anything. Good light = good photo quality, bad light = bad photo quality.
– Street photography is an art. To be more specific, street photography is the art of painting (read here).
– Post process our photo is not a cheating move. It is a tool to help us translate our vision or imagination into reality.
That is all now. They are notes that keep inspire me to shoot everyday and define the way I shoot street photography. I will add more personal notes later (in separate post) when I find new things (tips, technique or philosophy) that worth to remember. See you!
Keep shooting and stay inspired,
Nico Harold