What makes street photography, among other things (or mostly), so interesting is photographing people. After all, we are social creatures, and we love observing those around us. And here, the camera is perfectly suited to our needs—it allows us to comfortably observe our surroundings and the people around us through the lens. But what to do when it's not always so simple? For some of us, going outside with a camera and starting to take photos, especially of people, can be a bit awkward or create a sense of discomfort. Thoughts arise like, "How will people react if I photograph them?" "What if they get angry or upset with me?" My advice is not to be afraid of these interactions and to use the camera as a tool to get closer to people. The camera has the ability to connect people, bridge gaps, and bring us closer together. Therefore, for the first lesson, it felt right to dive straight in, face the psychological barrier some of us have, and begin with the heart of the matter—photographing people—by shooting portraits in public spaces.
dive straight in... and start photographing people!
Okay, so first, who do we photograph?
It could be people in our immediate surroundings—like the guy from the corner store, the neighbor who walks her dog every morning, etc.—or random people we meet for the first time on the street who seem interesting for a photo. Someone with a lot of tattoos, someone wearing a special and colorful hat or outfit, etc. We’ll try to find people with interesting facial features—those who tell a story. Sometimes it’s hard to explain what exactly it was, but these are the people who caught our eye, drew our attention, and made us want to interact with them and, in the end, photograph them.
A city worker near Milan Square
So how do we approach people in a way that won’t scare them off? We’ll be honest with them. We’ll compliment them. We’ll tell them that they look really interesting, unique, that something in their expression caught our eye, that their face seems to tell a story, and that we’d really love to capture that in a photo—to photograph them! As mentioned, if we approach them in a pleasant and respectful manner, in most cases, they will be happy to be photographed.
A person itting at a café on Tchernichovsky Street
Once we have their permission to photograph them, we can also direct them if we want to or feel comfortable. We can position them a bit further from the background to create a sense of depth in the frame, have them look straight into the camera (my preference), or look to the side. Smile or don’t smile. The directorial choices are up to you – but sometimes, the authentic moment as it is is good enough, and there’s no need to add words for the magic to happen.
A traveler from Chile on Rothschild Boulevard
One thing’s for sure: once we’ve gotten the green light to photograph them, a pretty exciting stage begins. It’s us, the subject, and the camera that mediates between us. We’re looking into the subject’s eyes (through the lens). A stranger, someone we didn’t know just moments ago, and now we’re standing relatively close to them, simply looking at each other. Click. It’s an interesting moment, no doubt. For both sides. It’s a moment that can lead to interesting things. Stay focused, smile a little through the camera to help ease and relax them (and you). Click.
We’ll try not to settle for just one or two shots and then leave. We’ll stay with the subject a little longer and talk to them. We’ll ask the person their name, ask what they do in life. If it’s going well, we’ll start a conversation. We’ll listen to their story. We’ll observe them for a moment without photographing them, looking for what initially interested us about them. The conversation will help the person in front of us drop the automatic defenses that rise when meeting a stranger, open up to us, and eventually act authentically—which is really what we want to capture in the photo. Click. Click. Click!
Uzi before swimming at the religious beach
In the end, it feels good to create interactions with strangers on the street. To discover how similar we all are in some way. To find a common language with someone we’ve just met for the first time. And to discover ourselves through them.
Orit, Ben Yehuda Street
Several important principles and topics to pay attention to when photographing portraits in public spaces:
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Lighting:
In street photography, unless you're shooting at night, we’ll be using natural light – the sun. It’s important to avoid photographing the subject when the sun is directly facing you or the camera, as this will create a silhouette on the subject's back, leaving their face in shadow. We want the sunlight to hit the subject either from the side, directly towards them (during morning or afternoon hours), or from above (midday hours). Sometimes, there’s no direct sunlight (blocked by a cloud or building), and that’s okay; it just means the image will be flatter (different lighting conditions within the frame create variety and interest). In any case, experiment with this and pay attention to the light source and its impact on the image. The more you shoot under different lighting conditions, the more you’ll learn what works best for you and what doesn’t.
Guy in Golda Park near the Tel Aviv Museum. Side and direct light on the subject.
2. Background:
After you’ve received the subject's permission to photograph them, take a look around. Have the subject rotate 360 degrees or scan the surroundings with your eyes, and look for the best or most beautiful place to photograph them. Which background has color or interest that could add something to your frame? Try moving around a bit until you feel you’ve found the right background, and then start shooting.
Ora, Kolbo Ora, Jaffa
Another option is to first find an interesting background that catches your eye, then wait near it until an interesting figure passes by and ask them for permission to photograph them next to the background. Remember: a smile and a positive attitude are likely to encourage the subject to agree to be photographed, and will help you capture the image you want. Take several shots, smile at the subject, chat with them, and then choose the best photo from those you’ve taken.
Daniel, Pinsker Street near Bograshov Street
An important point to pay attention to: Positioning the subject a bit away from the wall or background helps create a sense of depth in the photo, while a person standing close to the background will result in a flatter image. This doesn’t mean that a flat image is a worse photo; it’s just another detail to be aware of and another tool or language you can choose to use during your photographic process (compare the last two photos of Ora vs. Daniel).
3. Angle:
Personally, I like to photograph my subjects at eye level. Literally. However, I encourage you to play with this and see what effect the photo and the subject have when you photograph them from a low angle, looking up, or conversely, when you stand on something and photograph them from above. Sometimes, this can lead to interesting results.
Reuven Kapuchinski, Kiryat Hamelacha - Angle from above
4. Depth of Field:
Have you noticed how in some of the photos, the background behind the subject is blurred? Scroll back and look at, for example, the portraits of Guy, Orit, and Uzi. This illustrates what we’re talking about in relation to depth of field. In these photos, the focused area is limited to the subject itself, while the background is out of focus – blurred, which gives a sense of depth and creates a more artistic and visually pleasing image. And notice, for example, how in Daniel's photo (with the graffiti background), when he is close to the background, there’s no sense of blurred background. This is because the subject and the background are at the same relative distance to the camera and lens. Therefore, first, if we want to create the blur effect, it’s important to move the subject away from the background.
Secondly, with regular cameras, when there’s control over the aperture, we’ll want to shoot with the aperture as open as possible (a low number like 1.4 or 2.8, depending on the available aperture on our camera). Some smartphones allow you to control the aperture or choose 'portrait mode,' which creates the blurred background for us.
Thirdly, the closer we stand to our subject, the more blurred the depth of field will be.
5. Composition:
The distinction between placing the subject or their face in the center of the frame versus placing them to the side of the frame using the golden ratio – the rule of thirds. If you scroll back, you’ll see that in Orit’s photo (with the Nahman Meuman sign in the background), she is positioned in the center of the frame = a sense of symmetry in the frame. In contrast, in the photos of Guy and Uzi, the subjects are placed in the right third of the frame = a sense of asymmetry in the frame. Again, it’s hard to say whether one photo is better than the other. It’s simply another tool that will allow you to diversify your photographic language. So how do we use the rule of thirds? We divide the frame into three parts and place the subject in the center of one of the thirds. Try it and see what works for you.
The Golden Ratio – The Rule of Thirds
6. Distance from the Subject:
The distinction between photographing the entire body from head to toe = usually called a 'full shot,' versus photographing from the waist up = usually called a 'medium shot,' versus photographing only the face = called a 'close-up.' There are also intermediate positions between these three shot types.
Sometimes we’ll prefer to photograph the subject in a ‘full shot,’ and other times we’ll get closer to the subject for a ‘close-up.’ It’s a matter of taste, the background of the photo, the chemistry you have with the subject, and sometimes it’s just an intuitive choice. I recommend that when you’re photographing a portrait, try shooting from different distances and later choose the image that works best for you.
That’s it for today. We’ve touched on a lot of topics – some of which we’ll revisit throughout the workshop in different contexts. I hope you enjoyed it and learned new things from the lesson.
To summarize the 6 principles we talked about today in relation to portrait photography:
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Lighting
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Background
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Angle
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Depth of Field
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Composition
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Distance from the subject