We see a lot of this on Tiktok and YouTube nowadays. People go up to random strangers and ask to take a fancy video about what they’re doing. As wonderful as those videos might be, I feel there’s still a certain charm in captivating viewers with just a single frame of someone else. Here are some of the best photographers we’ve featured who love finding a unique and curious face to take a street portrait of.
Iwona Pinkowicz
She’s probably one of the first street portrait photographers we’ve interviewed. Iwona actually started out by taking photos of people on the streets without their knowledge. Soon after, she learned that the secret to getting a better street portrait was to engage with them directly. Her initial shyness has given way to a lot more confidence now, and she is able to approach strangers in better ways to ask them for a chance to take their portraits.
Will Crooks
Will would have found the process of street portrait photography quite repetitive if it wasn’t for the challenge of finding the best available light no matter where he was. An introvert by nature, he finds taking photographs of strangers to be his escape from the clutches of a technology filled-life.
Jonny Baker
“The street is the world’s best catwalk,” says photographer Jonny Baker over his choice of location for photographing fashionable strangers. While most people reach for a cup of coffee to kickstart their mood, Jonny grabs his camera instead to refresh his feelings. Drawing influence from various fashion photographers, he loves traveling to feed his photography cravings.
Anthony Kurtz
While volunteering in Senegal, Anthony Kurtz came up with the idea of doing street portrait projects there. He headed to Dakar to do more strobist-style photography once his volunteer work in the south of the country was finished. It wasn’t straightforward to get his subjects to pose for him, but he enjoyed the challenges that came with the work.
Jamiya Wilson
Being direct is one of the best ways to capture a stranger’s portrait, according to Jamiya. “Don’t be a weirdo,” he bluntly says about the best way to connect with someone for the same. His project, 100 Faces, is a collection of portraits of the various people he came across while out and about in New York.
Dominik Schulze
Manual capabilities on his Nokia Lumia 920 phone’s camera app got Dominik Schulze hooked on photography. He prefers to be inconspicuous while on the streets and finds that this helps him blend more easily with the surroundings. His prime choice for street portraits is a Ricoh GR III.
Miguel Raimundo
If you thought taking photos of people on the street wasn’t challenging enough, then you should read about Miguel’s choice of cameras for this genre. He loves having fun doing street portrait photography, and analog brings a lot of fun to his life.
Dimitri Mais
He’s a seasoned portrait photographer, and Dimitri and his friends decided to put those skills to best use in his photo project. In the summer of 2013, they teamed up to shoot a series of portraits on the Coney Island Boardwalk.
David Stumpp
The Lunchtime Portraits is a project that UK-based American photographer David Stumpp started some years ago. Self-contemplation during a lunch hour one afternoon led him to begin a habit of never being without a camera anywhere. He hopes to create a book of these portraits shortly.
Salvatore Matarazzo
Visually very different from everyone else in this article, notably because of the in-your-face bright flash style of photos. Smoke is just one of Matarazzo’s series exploring this technique.
Ernest Em
Who said street portraits can’t be futuristic? Utilizing neon light surroundings and adding a prism to his accessory arsenal, Ernest produces some delightfully creative images of people outdoors.
All images are used with permission and are copyrighted by the respective photographers. The lead image is by Ernest Em.
