In my quest for a seamless street shooting experience I have found two things to be important. The first is I don’t want to be slowed down by having to mess with camera settings. The second is I don’t want to be chimping after every shot. I like to shoot in crowded places that are full of life — places where a multitude of unexpected things can pop up. Capturing the action on the street requires that you pay close attention to your surroundings. In order to do so, I need to make sure for camera settings for street photography are perfect.
To start, I’ll share some camera settings for street photography, which you can dial in when you’re ready to hit the street. This article primarily focuses on shooting in daylight. I generally categorize my settings into three light situations: direct sunlight, shade, and overcast.
Setting Up Your Camera
- Select Manual
- Shutter Speed, 1/100 to 1/200
- Select an aperture in the f/20 to f/50 range
- Set ISO 100 to 2500 range
- Use Continuous Focus
- White Balance either daylight or auto
- Shoot RAW
- Process in Lightroom
My three major settings are keyed to light conditions found on the street: they are direct sunlight, shade and overcast (indirect) light. One side of a street might be in direct sunlight while the other side might be in shade. On overcast days, there may be an even-tone light overall. This is where saving settings to memory makes it easy to toggle back and forth with a quick twist of the dial. On my cameras, there are three memory recall settings. Again, the less messy you are with settings, the more shots you will get.
The following are not hard and fast rules but simply a starting place from which I am continually tweaking the settings:
- Direct sunlight: 1/100 sec., f/22, ISO 100
- Shade: 1/180, f/32, ISO 400
- Overcast: 1/160, f/40, ISO 2500
To break this down:
- Shutter Speed: This is how fast your camera’s shutter opens and closes to stop and freeze people in motion. The faster the shutter speed, the better. My range is anywhere from 1/100 to 1/200.
- Aperture: This is the size of the hole which lets light into your camera. The smaller the numbers, the larger the hole. As numbers get larger, the smaller the hole. In my street photography work, I like to have a large depth of field. You will have to find your own sweet spot for this. Mine is f/45.
- ISO: This will darken or brighten a photo. Capturing fast-moving scenes in focus is essential. Shooting with a high ISO will allow you to photograph with a faster shutter speed and a larger aperture. I tend to shoot darker, knowing I can always brighten the image later in Lightroom. My ISO range would be 100 for sunlight, 400 for light shade, 2500 for dark shade.
Continuous Focus
On the street, continuous focus allows you to capture moving subjects much more quickly. The camera will re-focus every time you press the shutter-release button. I set my focus to the center of the frame.
My Sony a7C camera has a fast AF system which incorporates 693 phase-detection points along with 425 contrast-detection areas. This camera’s AF function locks onto subjects quickly using AI-based tracking on moving subjects. It also features a 5-stop effective 5-axis stabilization system that compensates for various types of camera shake.
1/320 sec. F/45, ISO 400
White Balance
I primarily use the white balance setting for daylight since most of my street photography outings are during the day. In this mode, the color tones are adjusted for daylight. If the sun is going down or it’s a really overcast day, I use the auto white balance setting. This gives a lot of flexibility because it automatically detects the light and adjusts accordingly.
Lenses
Typically, street photographers use lenses in the 18-50mm range. When I started out, I used a fixed 28mm. Over time, I tried out other lenses but kept returning to the 28mm.
Shooting in Automatic Mode
I find no shame in shooting in automatic mode. In crowded chaotic situations like a rodeo parade or a boisterous protest, I will switch my camera over to auto. In a fast-moving scenario, it’s critical to stay with the action and not have to worry about changing settings. The downside to shooting in auto is you are taking your chances and hoping for the best. When shooting in direct sunlight, for example, the image could be a bit overexposed. With time and experience, as you become more comfortable with your camera, your settings will become second nature.
Cameras
Street photography requires one to travel light and be as unobtrusive as possible so here is a list of my equipment. For more, check out this guide to pick the perfect camera for your street photography.
