Street Photography Quick Tip 18 – Layered Faces
In time for the weekend here is the eighteenth edition of my Street Photography Quick Tips. Some short, easy to read and easy to use tips that I think could help you while shooting in the streets. Today’s post is about adding interest to your street photography by shooting layered faces…
A great way to add interest to your street photographs is shooting layered compositions. Herby you combine things happening inside your viewfinder in the foreground, middle ground and background.
As you can see from the two photographs above and below, it is irrelevant in which of the layers you place your principle subject.
Layers can be used to frame your main subject, or add a story to your composition. Layers can include all different sorts of subjects or objects, gesture or scenes. I love playing with combining layers of faces or heads into my street shots. The added interest captures the viewers attention, trying to read a story into the image, or trying to determine the relationship of the subjects included in the frame.
For shooting street photographs with layers of faces or heads, you best use a zoom lens or a prime with a long focal length. Not so much for the reason that you can keep your distance from the subjects (although some street shooters prefer just that). But the longer focal lengths tend to compress the perspective of the image, thus pulling the focal panes of the layers closer together.
These photographs were all taken with my mZuiko 12-100mm F74 (24-200mm full frame equivalent), all at the longer end of the focal range. So if you want to go out and shoot some properly socially distanced street photography, grab your cam and a zoom, head to your streets and photograph some layered faces or heads.
If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography, head to my free Learning Center.
Take your cam and practice. And have fun!
Wish you a great weekend!
Marcus
Related Posts:
Street Photography Quick Tip 11 – Using Color Accents
Street Photography Quick Tip 12 – Shoot from a Gallery