2.8 Street Photography

Street photography is often done as a candid shot, sometimes “shot from the hip” as you are walking by. Classic street photography from the old days was often done with rangefinder cameras which had no automatic focus or exposure. Your camera, with its autofocus, flip-out display and completely silent operation (via Silent Shutter) makes it a perfect tool for the job. Here’s how to shoot in this classic style:

• If it is not a bright day, set your ISO to 400. Otherwise, 100 or 200 will do.
• Use a wide-ish lens – 24mm to 35mm or so.
• Use Manual Focus mode and manually set the focus to infinity. (This will get most things into focus.)
• Use Manual Exposure mode, set your f/stop to f/5.6.
• Meter for the sidewalk to set your shutter speed. (Sidewalks are usually pretty close to 18% grey. If it’s a light-colored concrete, then overexpose the reading by 2/3 stop.) If the resulting shutter speed is slower than 1/60^th, increase your ISO or open the f/stop to compensate.
• Silent Shooting mode is best to minimize the chances of getting beaten up.
• 

  Shoot away!

Notice that if you’re shooting on a well-lit street at night, the same procedure (metering off the sidewalk) will work equally well, although you may have to boost the ISO to 3200 or greater.