When I walk the streets with my camera, I often make many photographs of the same thing. If I pass by something that catches my eye, I don’t just make one photograph and move on. I will make sure to try new angles, vantage, points, and make multiple pictures of the same thing or scene.
Repetition is key
In street photography, repetition is important to consider. Move your body with the beat of the street. Watch the feet of the people that are moving as the theater of the life in front of you is a stage set for the people to dance upon. The more you walk on the block, the more you will find yourself in tune with the rhythm of every day life.
Study the street
Walk the same route every single day for one month. Observe the nuances and change in the skyline of your town. Whether it’s the clouds, the backdrops, or even recognize the same person that works at a street vendor. If you live in an urban city or even a small town, you’ll notice the same things happen year-round. Study the streets and recognize patterns that happen on repeat.
Fortune favors the prepared
In this particular scene of the pigeons flying by City Hall in Philadelphia, I studied the same street corner for many months to understand the flight patterns of the birds and at which time is best to photograph them. I made a direct effort to photograph the same location each day. The more I photographed this street corner, the more possibilities I recognized that could occur. I was interested in the way that the birds flew nearby the statue of William Penn on top of City Hall. As I moved my body around with my camera, I noticed the way in which the light was pearing behind the building, giving a beautiful and magical effect. I dropped to a low angle, and simply waited patiently while making many photographs. The more you put in the work on the street, the more the streets will deliver.
How to get “lucky” on the street? Photograph with intensity.