My Biggest Fear in Street Photography

It’s not confrontation, per se. It’s something deeper. This is how I’m moving past it.

If I had a collection of all the shots I’ve ever missed, I swear, it would make a best-selling photo book.

Okay, maybe not best-selling. But more people outside my immediate family would want to buy it.

That’s because over the years, I have missed many magical moments from the streets. I close my eyes, and I can picture the vivid scenes:

A big man flipping pizza dough into the air on the sidewalk outside his restaurant. A woman smoking in the bus stop, bathed in heavenly light during golden hour. All those other little moments when the light hits just right, or I get fleeting eye contact from an interesting subject.

In all of these examples, I forgot to press the shutter.

But it’s not from the fear of being confronted for taking candids.

It’s the potential of missing a good shot, and then regretting it.

So as a temporary solution, I put street photography on the back burner. I pretended I didn’t love it as much as I used to. But I knew deep down, I was lying to myself.

My near break-up with street photography

At some point around 2018, things went a little downhill for me. As a result, I lost some of my street photography confidence due to my increased anxiety.

You could see it in my results: I was missing decisive moments, and I was standing much further from my subjects.

Prior to that, I was sometimes quite bold, snapping unaware subjects from a few feet away. I would also engage with people more often for street portraits.

When I look back at some of the photos I took from 2018 and earlier, I sometimes wonder, who was that awesome guy behind the camera?

Sure, I was still somewhat cautious while shooting on the streets–I’m no Bruce Gilden. But you could tell I had some level of comfort with capturing candids in public, often from close range.

The difference now is that I’m snapping less, and thinking about snapping more. I’m afraid that if I take a shot I know could’ve been better, I will beat myself up over it during editing.

After the stress (and lockdowns) of the pandemic in 2020–2022, I lost even more of my edge. I found it more difficult to get into “the zone” when out shooting, from the collective uncertainty hanging in the air.

While I had experienced verbal confrontations with street subjects occasionally years prior, I was almost always able to smooth it out with them (and in many cases, come away with a posed shot and a new Instagram follower.)

But as my confidence slipped, I found confrontations with my candid subjects to be less of an opportunity to chat about my craft, and something more mentally taxing.

I was getting too worn out to explain to people what my motives for public photography are (to make art, obviously.)

What that translated to was shooting a lot less, and getting less keepers as a result. Lately, I come home from shooting these days without a single decent frame.

For example, just the other day I was walking with my son on one of the other scarce sunny days we’ve had this year. I didn’t have my DSLR with me, but I had my iPhone 15 Pro, which can capture people (on the streets or on stage) quite well.

We passed by a laundromat. The sun was shining brightly, making for interesting reflections. But then I saw it: a woman was hugging a man, and they were pressed up against the window from inside.

It was a beautiful moment. The 2015 version of me would’ve pointed the phone camera and fired. But this time I walked by, making brief eye contact with the woman. I think she smirked, I’m not sure.

What am I sure of, though, is that I missed a great photo that would’ve been perfect for a Valentine’s Day post.

In lieu of my missed photo, here’s one with the same theme in a laundromat, from one of my favourite active street shooters:

These missed shots have happened a lot for me after 2018, when my cloudy brain got the better of me.

I started dreading street photography for a while, because it broke my heart to miss out on these fantastic moments.

However, I eventually got around this by shooting photos from moving vehicles (including my bike) for a while during the pandemic. That got me back into the habit of shooting strangers.

But I still wasn’t where I was at years ago, when shooting street had almost become second nature to me.

But then something else occurred to me, and it took some pressure off me.

Candid life always offers photo opportunities

I have realized that on any given day, whether cloudy or sunny, summer or winter, deep downtown or on the fringes of town, there will be something interesting to shoot.

Life has so many characters mixed with so many intangible factors, that you’ll definitely see something (or someone) worth capturing.

If you don’t, it means you’re not tuned in enough to the world around you. Or maybe, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to get the perfect shot. Now, instead of feeling pressed to get “the shot” every time I go out with the camera, I treat it as a passive exercise.

I enjoy the outing primarily for the walk, and the photography is secondary.

Before, the point of the walk was to take photos — so if I didn’t get a good photo, it was a failed walk.

Now, even if I come home with duds, I still enjoy noticing things that most people would probably strut by without a second thought. This tells me I still have the power of observation that street photographers need.

If I happen to snap a good image on my outing, then it’s a bonus. I’ll have something extra to show for my decision to go out and get some fresh air and vitamin D.

However, unless I’m being paid by a newspaper or magazine for photojournalism, I will no longer pressure myself to capture the perfect frame. I’m learning to appreciate just observing a moment, without mourning the fact I did not press the shutter.

Besides, many of these missed moments live inside my photographic memory, so to speak. I can access them anytime, and I know there will be more.

I’m also now looking at my “time out” from street shooting as a blessing. I spent more of my time admiring the work of other street shooters, observing their techniques. I also realized that shooting further away from subjects offers more context, which can really add to an image.

In essence, my style was developing from 2018 onwards. I no longer get into people’s personal space, unless they invite me. I no longer use a zoom lens to isolate subjects, which some street photographers list as a sin. I do all my street shooting with a 50mm 1.4 now.

Rediscover the joy of the streets

So that brings me to yesterday.

The sun was shining outside on a clear day, which has been rare in my part of the world lately. My instinct was to grab my camera to capture all the wonderful light and shadows of street photography — but something was stopping me.

I could’ve used the excuse that it was cold outside. It was -8C in Ontario (for you people who still use the other system, that’s 17.6F.) I could’ve used the excuse that I still had a lingering cough, and should take it easy. But those weren’t the real reasons.

My camera was sitting on my desk in front of me, the battery fully charged, the card formatted. I could practically hear it begging me to take it out for a walk, inspired by the cloudless sky.

So I did.

I didn’t get any photos that would deserve to be hung in a gallery. But I did get a couple of decent ones, like this example:

Instead of feeling down about it at the end of a very long walk (and bus ride home), I focused on the good stuff: I got a lot of exercise. I enjoyed the sunshine. I slept well last night.

I even met a new business owner downtown when shooting the exterior of his barber shop (he came outside to see what I was up to). I ended up doing a quick indoor portrait for him, which was fun.

It felt good to get out there and just stop trying so hard.

When you do this, the photo ops tend to come to you. (The barbershop guy asked me for a picture, not vice versa.) And even if they don’t, you’re way more likely to just enjoy the moments, and forget about the shots you didn’t get.

Remember: there will always be more to see tomorrow.

Have you ever hit a wall with your street photography for any reason? Let us know why, and how you’re working to get over it!