Understanding Street Photography: An Introduction to Shooting Compelling Images on the Street

by Bryan Peterson

Discover the secrets to mastering street photography—from city streets to country roads and the alleyways in between—from an acclaimed international photographer, teacher, and bestselling author.Street photography offers treasured moments at almost every turn, if you know where to look. In Understanding Street Photography, readers will learn the techniques for capturing brilliant scenes, including images taken around the globe, from the vibrant streets of Varanasi, India, to the crowded walkways of the Charles Bridge in Prague, and so many other corners of the world. In this master class, street photography is defined as images that convey evidence of human interaction, whether that’s a striking cityscape, an image of rush-hour foot traffic, the remains of a half-eaten sandwich, or a pedestrian portrait. Along the way, Bryan Peterson shares 120 “mini diaries”: the story behind each image; the thought process; the arrangement of the composition; the psychology of the colors; and the lens, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for readers to replicate his work. Professional and aspiring photographers alike will learn how to produce posed and candid compositions, capture light and movement, work with shadows, weather, and architecture, and hone your craft. Through lessons, exercises, and anecdotes, Peterson shares his best tips for capturing the unpredictable world of urban life in motion.

Genres: Photography

191 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2022

About the author

Bryan F. Peterson has been a full-time commercial photographer since 1981, shooting assignments all over the world for many of the Fortune 500 companies, including Kodak, UPS, and American Expiress. He is also a contract stock photographer for Corbis and Getty. He has been a contributing editor at Outdoor Photographer Magazine and is currently a contributing editor at Popular Photography and Imaging Magazine. Within the photographic community, he is most noted as the author/photographer of four best selling “how-to” photography books, Understanding Exposure, Understanding Shutter Speed, Learning to See Creatively and Beyond Portraits, with two new books due out in the spring of 2009, Understanding Close-up Photography and The Field Guide to Photography. He is also the founder and one of the instructors at the world’s number one on-line photography school, www.ppsop.net.

Reviews

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent primer on the subject; a very nuts-and-bolts approach to street photography with plenty of helpful material to get you going; did not like it as much as Think Like a Street Photographer: How to Think Like a Street Photographer but it comes close.

[Frieda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is divided into different aspects for effective street photography. However, it read more like the author's experiences with street photography and listed settings that he used for various photos printed in the book. It wasn't so much a guide. I reviewed his photographs for inspiration and did not read much of the text. For those serious about getting into street photography and are interested in developing an eye for the street, this book is not for you.

[Anatolii · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it’s a decent read, compared to the author’s other works, it doesn’t offer much in the way of fresh information or new ideas.