How to get started in street photography with a simple setup, explains Sebastian Oakley
(Image credit: Future)
I have been taking photographs for as long as I can remember. My mother and grandparents were photojournalists and made me want to pick up a camera at a very early age, which really nurtured my curiosity about photography. My first memory of photography was sitting with my grandparents – both of them showing me their photos and explaining why they took them in the way they did. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were teaching me the importance of composition and emotion within an image.
My interest became a hobby, and that hobby then became a job working for newspapers, first with film and then on digital. Fast forward to today and one successful career shooting international equestrianism later, I was longing for a new venture that would rekindle my photographic passions. Street photography seemed like a good contrast; if I was successful, then it could get me known for my style rather than just being the guy who photographed horses at the Olympics.
Street photography is the art of capturing photographs of strangers and their surroundings in everyday life and documenting unique moments that are unlikely to occur again. For me, it’s the perfect genre for learning to love photography, and the best camera for street photography can always help with the craft.
I shoot exclusively with a Leica M-E Typ 220, which always has a 50mm f/1.4 lens attached to it. However, if I’m shooting on tight, narrow streets, I will then opt for the 21mm f/1.4. The Leica M system is the perfect camera for me – its rangefinder is bright and allows me to capture images quickly while seeing my frame lines and who or what is around them.
I like to keep things simple when I shoot. With street photography, you have to be quick to react to your surroundings and if you are constantly changing settings then you are losing images. Therefore, for days with a lot of clouds or sun, I set my shutter speed to 1/500 sec and keep my ISO at 400. If it’s raining, I set the ISO to 800 and shoot between 1/750 sec or 1/1000 sec shutter speed.
I like to keep to the ‘Sunny 16’ rule: this keeps shutter speeds one stop over the selected ISO. I will constantly change apertures, depending on the light available: f/16 for bright sunlight; f/11 for the sun with clouds; f/8 for overcast; f/5.6 for dark days or shooting in shade, and f/4 for times around sunset. In the UK I normally shoot at around f/8-f/5.6, and f/16-f/8 in the US.
Leica M bodies do not have autofocus so focusing your lens manually is the only way to focus on a scene. For my style of photography, I enjoy the thrill of getting a sharp shot as I had to work for it. I will also use zone focusing, where I set my lens to a certain f-stop and distance, then everything between me and the subject is in focus.
Sometimes I walk the streets and capture subjects on the move when I spot something I like. At other times I will see a scene that I know will look great, and I wait for the subject to walk into frame – this could be a person or animal. Street photography is about capturing the essence of your surroundings, and pigeons can be a great way to get your eye in when starting out, before plucking up the courage to shoot people.
For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specializing in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound, and many more for various advertising campaigns, books, and pre/post-event highlights.
He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science, and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is a member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected into BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.
He is familiar with and shows great interest in street, medium, and large format photography with products by Leica, Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa, and Sinar. Sebastian has also used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI, and everything in between. He now spends his spare time using his trusted Leica M-E or Leica M2 shooting Street photography or general life as he sees it, usually in Black and White.
