10 Years of Street Photography: Lessons I Wish I Knew
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante. This morning, I’m sharing the advice and ideas I wish I knew 10 years ago when I started practicing street photography. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into it.
Street Photography is a Numbers Game
Persistence is everything. 99.9% of the shots you take won’t be great.
You have to detach from the outcome—stop worrying about the results of each photograph. Instead, find meaning in the process. Photography is about entering a flow state, enjoying the act of making photographs rather than obsessing over perfect images.
“Failure will bring you to success.”
Every single day for the past decade, I’ve been making photographs. This persistence has allowed me to improve, to fail, and most importantly, to learn to love failure.
Finding Beauty in the Mundane
Can you walk the same mundane street every day and still find something to capture? That’s the challenge.
“The simplest moments can become the most beautiful.”
The magic of photography lies in finding extraordinary moments in the ordinary. No matter where you are—whether it’s a busy city street, a small village market, or the mountains—there’s always something to photograph.
Stick to One Camera, One Lens
This is the best piece of technical advice I can give: limit your gear.
It doesn’t matter which focal length or camera you choose—what matters is sticking to it. Through consistency, you’ll develop muscle memory and learn how to position yourself in relation to the scene.
“Movement makes improvement.”
Photography is a physical process. Your body creates the composition just as much as your eye does. The more you walk, the more you see. The more you see, the more you photograph.
Repetition Builds Mastery
Find a busy street in your hometown. Go there every single day. At the same time. With the same camera. For a year.
Patterns will emerge—the way the light falls, the timing of people walking by, the rhythms of daily life. Over time, you’ll intuitively know where to stand and when to press the shutter.
“Through repetition, you build mastery.”
Light and Composition: The Foundations of Photography
Photography is literally writing with light. A bad photograph can be saved with good light, but even a great composition falls apart in bad lighting.
Think of composing an image as solving a visual puzzle:
- Foreground
- Middle ground
- Background
Most of my best photos are actually simple. The key is clarity—making images that are easy to read but visually engaging.
Travel with Purpose
Don’t limit yourself to your hometown. Traveling teaches you to see differently.
“Life is like an ultimate video game.”
Stepping into the unknown—new cities, new cultures—forces you to be present. Chaos fuels creativity. Some of my best experiences happened when I embraced the unknown:
- Sleeping on the floors of mosques in Jericho
- Documenting baptisms and funerals in Zambia
- Climbing the mountains of Mexico City
These experiences enriched my life and my photography. Your camera is a passport—use it.
Champion Humanity in Your Frames
Photography is about more than just aesthetics. It’s about people.
“Treat each person in your frame like a hero.”
Respect, dignity, and uplifting the human spirit—this is what separates a good photograph from a great one.
Take this image: a young Palestinian boy, Ramsay, throwing a stone toward a rainbow. To me, he’s David slaying Goliath. That’s the kind of power photography can have.
Photography Takes Time
A decade into this, I’m still learning. Mastery requires long-term thinking.
- You might only take a handful of great photos each year. That’s normal.
- Let your photos marinate before judging them.
- A photo that excites you today might look different in a year.
“You have a lifetime, but the time is now.”
Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
Photography should be play.
“I treat the streets like my playground.”
Don’t overthink it. Don’t put on your photojournalist hat and take yourself too seriously. Approach photography with curiosity and joy.
Photography is subjective—there is no universal good or bad. Ignore contests, ignore trends, shoot for yourself.
Curiosity is Everything
If you increase your curiosity 1% every day, you’ll never stop growing.
I don’t see photography as a strict set of rules. It’s not a checklist.
“Street photography is an ethos, a way of seeing.”
There’s no one way to do it. Forget the rules. Forget what people say street photography should be. Make your own game.
Follow Your Joy
For me, photography isn’t about capturing the perfect photo.
It’s about:
- Fueling my lust for life
- Moving my body out into the world
- Following curiosity wherever it leads
Each morning, I wake up excited—ready to see, explore, and create.
“Photography brings me so much joy.”
And if you’re having fun, you’re winning.
Final Thoughts
- Go out and shoot.
- Embrace movement.
- Forget the rules.
- Have fun.
There’s no step-by-step guide to street photography. No formula. Just a camera, your curiosity, and a lifetime to explore.
See you in the next one. Peace.