When to Use This Cheat Sheet
Reference this when shooting candid life on the street. Speed and invisibility matter more than technical perfection. These presets let you react fast and shoot from the hip.
Quick Settings Reference
The table provides nine street scenarios. Zone focusing at f/8 with a 28 mm or 35 mm lens gives a deep enough sharp zone that you rarely need to autofocus.
Key Principles
- Zone focusing beats autofocus for speed. Set manual focus to 2.5-3 meters at f/8. Everything from roughly 1.5 m to infinity (at 28 mm) or 5 m (at 35 mm) is sharp.
- Aperture priority with auto-ISO is the street shooter’s default. Set your aperture, set minimum shutter to 1/250s, cap ISO at 6400. The camera handles the rest.
- 1/250s is the minimum for walking subjects. Faster if they are running or gesturing. Slower only if you want intentional motion blur.
- A 28 mm or 35 mm lens keeps you wide and immersed. Wider lenses force you to get close. That energy shows in the image.
- Shoot more, edit hard. The hit rate in street photography is low. Volume and curation are part of the process.
Adjustment Tips
- Set your camera to silent or electronic shutter to stay discreet.
- Pre-meter for the light you are walking into. Glance at the histogram once per block, not per shot.
- Use back-button focus so half-press does not re-focus when you have zone focus set.
- In harsh midday light, look for shadows and contrast rather than fighting the light.
Common Traps
- Chimping every frame and missing the next moment.
- Using a 70-200 mm from across the street; street photography rewards proximity.
- Over-processing to fake a “film look” when the image was flat to begin with.
- Hesitating. The moment is gone in half a second.
ShutterCoach Connection
Upload your street shot to ShutterCoach for feedback on timing, composition, and tonal contrast.