Be Brazen in Street Photography #streettogs

To be honest, you cannot control whether you make a good photo or not. However you can control your ability to take risks, and be brazen!

Whenever you attempt a street photograph, you’re taking a risk. You have the risk of getting yelled at, you have the risk of getting physically retaliated against, or the risk of some sort of social punishment/stigma.

To be honest, I’m far from being the best photographer or street photographer. But my greatest strength is my brazenness, disregard for social norms, and my appetite for risk!

It is true that shooting street photography is scary– very scary! Shooting street photography is the most scary and difficult genre of photography (perhaps second to war photography), in terms of conquering your personal fears to take photos, at the risk of pissing someone else off.

But also recognize that one of the most difficult things in street photography is just having the guts to ask for permission to photograph someone. I believe it’s more difficult to overcome the fear of rejection (while asking) in street photography, when compared to shooting candidly.

I can do both, and I like doing both! For some pictures I like to shoot without permission, and other times I like to ask for permission. It just depends on the type of photograph I desire.

And not every photograph needs to be scary to shoot. There’s a lot of street photos which depend on your openness and perceptiveness to the world around you; your ability to see the beauty in the mundane and ordinary!

To be brazen is to be bold, and to take on the (conscious) risk of breaking some sort of social “rules” or taboos! And just because you take a scary photograph doesn’t mean it will be a good photo. But I generally have found that letting fear guide you is generally a good indicator or guide whether a photograph will be interesting or not!

First of all, I want to acknowledge and congratulate you for having the guts and courage to even attempt street photography. You’re cut from a different cloth; not all humans will attempt street photography. So give yourself a pat on the back for being a risk taker!

Secondly, recognize that the more risks you take in street photography, the better. And the more risks you take in street photography, the more courage you will build! And this courage will help you in all domains in life; not just photography, but business, personal, and all aspects!

Know that ultimately your life is short. Take risks, be bold, and brazen.

Why live a normal life? What are you made of?




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