Street Style Photography

Photography Tips  •  Street Photography

Fashion Week is a bi-annual event held in London and sits alongside New York, Milan, and Paris as one of the “Big Four” fashion weeks. During this time, designers and fashion houses alike show off their newest clothing, and this is were you’ll meet Getty Images photographer Kirstin Sinclair. She takes part in “street style” photography where she photographs many of the men and women who sport designer clothes in their own personal way. The difference between Sinclair’s street style and a large scale fashion shoot is that street style doesn’t involve models, hours of posing, and extreme post-production. Street style is about capturing people in their natural state and how they interpret designer clothing:

Tips on Photographing People on the Street

• Always Ask Permission. Most people are not fond of being photographed when they’re unaware of it, and you never know how they may react. Plus, when you ask for permission, you can often get them to pose for you for a more interesting photograph.

• Be Friendly. You’ll be surprised at how positive people can react when you ask to take their photograph, but they can quickly be turned off by a rude or shy photographer. Make small talk. Be nice.

• Look for Color and Texture. Keep your eyes peeled for interesting, unusual, or well-suited clothing on people. Color, texture, shape, design, and style can all have an impact on a person’s photographed personality.

• Collect Contact Information. If you plan on selling your images, always collect contact information from the people you shoot so that you may have them sign a model release form. Many companies and publication won’t use photos of people unless this form has been signed. Plus, you may want to contact them to give them copies or inform them that a photo of them has been published.

Sinclair says she loves meeting people from all over the world and capturing them in their natural state

“It’s a more obtainable way of showing designers’ clothing in a way that the public can respond to where they feel that they can actually, potentially, re-create the look themselves as opposed to when they see shoots with models where they feel they don’t have the right figure or the right look.”