Street photography at night teaches you to take a psychedelic urban space

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I like the way of life in the city at night. Neon lights, laughter, street lights, reflections, shop windows… This is a different world. Through this article, I believe that I will let you not only fall in love with the street shooting night scenes, but also shoot well. Of course, these techniques are also applicable to broader photography and daytime street photography. All the pictures in this article are taken with an equivalent 50mm focal length, and the aperture priority mode is adopted. The aperture is generally F1.4, with automatic white balance and automatic sensitivity. I believe that street photography at night depends more on the scene than on the fancy parameters.

·The layering at night

Try to step back when shooting to see if you can put a wonderful foreground into the picture frame. These elements increase the spatial level of the image, making the picture more complete and atmosphere. In the picture below, the neon light reflects on the roof of a parked car across the street, forming a more interesting picture.

·Look for irreplaceable moments

manyStreet PhotographyTeachers are all on the same street, so you need to look for unrepeatable or unique moments. An irreplaceable moment is more valuable than any photographer shooting similar scenes week after week. Therefore, start looking for unique moments, such as those of different lights, people’s moments or weather conditions.

·Increase the sense of “peeping”

I like this picture of Santa Claus very much. He is wearing heavy makeup, white gloves, and smoking casually. Behind him is a male poster. In the foreground is a stream of passers-by. Therefore, this picture also has a feeling of “peeping”, much stronger than that of Santa Claus standing in the street. Many times, including door frames, window frames, trees and other elements, the audience can feel that they have peeked into a “secret” moment.

·Find the decisive moment

manyStreet PhotographyTeachers just spend too much time walking, but not enough time to find and find. Most of us only have a range of 2-3 kilometers at most. The more we walk, the more opportunities we will see. But if you find a scene suitable for shooting, all you have to do is wait for different characters or lights to appear, or change the perspective and composition.

·The Decisiveness of Color

During the day, I always use black and white (while keeping the RAW files in color), because I can see the light, shapes and shapes more easily, so composition is faster. Then I will compare black and white images with color images when sorting photos, and then ask myself a simple question: “Will color add value to photos, or is it just a visual difference?” However, at night, the world is more colorful, so I prefer to take color photos. But it is also worth noting that light and shape should not be ignored at night.

·Keep happy

It is so important to discover the truth of life and photography. For example, if you hate weddings, don’t be a wedding photographer. So to be a happy street photographer, you should really understand what you like and how you view the world. If you are a joker and like humor, find something that can make you happy. Street photography is the content of my daily photography. No customer pays for it, and no one will evaluate the quality of my photos for me. So being able to shoot what I want is the reason why I become a happy street photographer.

·Find interesting strangers

Keep an eye on those cool and interesting people and don’t be afraid to ask them if they can take a portrait of them. Use open body language, smile or give them a compliment, and ask them if they have time for me to take a picture of you. Offer to share the photos with them after shooting, and they will agree 9 out of 10 times. Remember, don’t lose heart if you get rejected, and keep looking for the next interesting goal.

·Skillfully use long exposure

Don’t be afraid to do some photography experiments in the street, for example, you can use long exposure in different scenes. This picture uses a one second exposure. I am attracted by the coats and dogs of the characters in the picture, and I want a dynamic sense of movement. Long exposure will exaggerate this difference. However, cameras with body or lens anti shake will be more conducive to taking this type of photos.

·Become “invisible”

Once it gets dark, the direction of light changes, and you can’t see your reflection in the window, and you can clearly see what happens in every window from the dark! So you can safely and boldly approach the window and find the colors, characters, etc. in the window.