7 street photography Instagram feeds to follow

7 street Instagram feeds to follow

At some point in the last few years, street photography landed on my doorstep. It was never a sudden bolt of lighting. Nor was it a thing that had always inspired and certainly never destined to be. But this unknown genre took over my shooting very gradually. After researching a few celebrated photographers and few more recent ones, this concreted my decision. Street photography would be my genre. When your friends and colleagues start saying they like your street photography, your mind has been made up.

Before we move on to a selection of 7 street Instagram feeds to follow. Let us look briefly at street photography. We will start by staying “street is really nothing more than fun photography”. There is a skill to capturing the image, but usually less time in the darkroom. Good quality work can make you laugh, cry, intrigued or impressed. There are many different ways to interpret the art of street.

From the feeds you will see differences, some people shoot on small cameras. While others use large full frame DSLR’s, which really stand out. Photographers use shadows and light to enhance an image so they can work in harsh lighting conditions. Some photographers can mix genres like portraiture and architecture in with their street photos. Street photography can also cross over into documentary or photojournalism too.

It is my belief anyone shooting street is, without doubt, a skilled individual. To try to compose shots quickly in a candid fashion can be hard. You have to think fast, work your camera settings and compose all without affecting the subject.

One of the main elements you notice with street photography is the composition is so important. This could be where the person is in the frame of what is in the background. So many rules can be used well – such as space and leading lines.

Another great reason for shooting street photography is a chance to use an analogue film camera. The feeling is amazing to use such primitive technology and create interesting work. Although you are shooting candidly it’s amazing how many people will approach with inquisitive questions.

Anyway, before we get carried away and start talking about why a film camera will help your photography. Let us introduce the people who are featured in this 7 street Instagram feeds to follow.

Why other artists?

The idea behind this article was a series about artists from different fields of photography. Each one is focused on a genre (portraits, architecture and street) but will expand to others too.

This would involve friends, people we have worked with in the past and online cousins too. Some of these we are just fans of and follow their work. Social media allow you to engage with real people so why not reach out yourself to them?

Each and every artist will deserve to be on the list because of their quality work.

Why Instagram?

Instagram is a fantastic source for photography which is open to anyone around the world. But in essence here are a few reasons:

quick
genres
worldwide
friendships
alerting

Quick

Pictures are a very quick and easy way to look at someone’s work. The Instagram app is fast so you can quickly scroll through hundreds of photos. Using different feeds like the Phlogger, you can separate your interest to a specific account. This allows you to focus this account on one type of photographer.

Genres

With so many different genres of photography around, there is something for everyone. You can search through hashtags ‘#’ or search for friends and artists. Every field has thousands of examples, whether you are into Gothic portraits to drone photography or newborns.

Worldwide

Because Instagram is international, you have the world at your fingertips. Each country will have something unique to their region, that maybe not possible where you live. Think of the snowy countries like Russia and Canada. Maybe you like the sun and palm trees from desert islands.

Friendships

The Phlogger has met some lovely people because of Instagram. Some of these have been from China, Scandinavia to Washington in the USA. It’s truly amazing that you can share a passion and within seconds, converse with them. For instance, after chatting with Chris Miralles enough times we became friends and was interviewed for the blog (link here).

Alerting

Instagram is always changing and developing new ideas. Recently they introduced video and story functions – more on this in future. But a key function is the “notifications”. These provide a push message on your smart phone when a new post is available from the artist. if you “follow” an artist you will then see their work on your daily feed (like a Facebook wall).

7 street Instagram feeds to follow

In this article we are looking at 7 street Instagram feeds to follow. The feeds were chosen because their work that stands out. So here goes with the list…

1 – Thomas Leuthard

There is one reason alone for including Thomas – he is amazing. His work is truly stunning, the images use all manner of composition rules. The edits are first class and often produces simple pictures.

He has produced his own courses and has books published all over the world. A true captain of the industry and he doesn’t even work in the industry! He has also said he works in I.T. and photography is a hobby.

If you want to learn or get started with street photography you should not miss out on his excellent courses on Udemy (link here). Interestingly Thomas uses modern technology (Olympus) to great effect but uses some clever techniques too.

Please check out his work – @thomas.leuthard

2 – Marius Vieth

Marius is a Dutch artist now known as “Vijce”. He is a young but has now created his own magazine (?????. What is really nice about Marius is he comes from a simple background in a quiet village. Some of the pictures you will see are simply outstanding and shows the level of patience he has. Marius can go to the same place and just wait for that moment. He always says you can shoot anywhere and don’t need to be in New York or London.

On his website, you can see free and paid books, as well as his podcasts. He has coined the phrase “eyes, heart and soul” which is very apt.

Anyone who read my article about the “shotkit” book will be pleased to know you can find out more about Marius here.

Please check his feed – @eyeheartandsoul

3 – Adriaan De Toit

During summer 2017 we first contacted Adriaan through Instagram. His street work and street portraiture was really high quality. What struck me was the dynamic range and tones in the images, considering the lighting situations.

Adriaan clearly states on his feed he uses a d750 and this alone is very brave. Using a large DSLR on the street will stand out. After some discourse on Instagram, we finally arranged an interview (link here).

He has a fresh attitude on street photography as a newcomer and finds great moments. Adriaan has always said it’s about the interaction that is important not the camera.

Find out more: @adriaan.dt

4 – Sarah Street Media

Let’s start off by saying Sarah is a lovely and friendly person. We have recently started following each other’s work and had lots of messages and comments.

Sarah has a mix of street, portraiture and other shots but you can see her passion. Capturing everyday people in New York going about their daily lives. She has an eye for detail and the compositional side too. Some of the work is close up too, which is really brave and rewarding.

Her feed is growing in followers all the time and you see real comments from people. We wish Sarah all the success in the future. Currently, we have plans for an interview soon, so keep watching the blog.

Drop by her feed here: @sarahstreetmedia

5 – Lee Jeffries

Something very different this time, street portraiture. So not technically “street photography” but Lee’s work is top draw. For me, these 2 genres of street and portraiture do fit very nicely together. You capture people in their environment but causes you to interact, totally unlike true street photography.

What Lee does with his work though, through great editing is deliver great results. Each photo has a feel to do it, but normally a gritty look. Lee manages to find such interesting characters and bring them to life. His work is even shown in galleries and offers limited prints too.

Check out his feed – @lee_jeffries

6 – Julien Roger

Now here is a guy who is through and through street photography. You have to commend his work for how close Julien gets to the subject. Often the work looks like portraiture but they are candid shots.

You can tell Julien enjoys his photography, he has the skill and compositional skill to deliver. There are many examples of single people in the images and often staring straight at the camera.

The pictures are about the everyday elements on the street, which has captivated a lot of comments and likes from the public.

Switch on those notifications now and watch his work now – @julien.rg

7. Alan Karsenty

Here is another example of a fine street photographer. You will notice Alan has a great appreciation of shadows than most. He uses them so well in his work, to compliment the image.

Alan has some great “reflection” shots using strangers on the street. He also uses the wet weather and detail on the street really well. One of my favourites is the broken umbrella.

His work is very popular and has many followers, another one to enable your notifications.

See more here – @ak_nice_photography

Conclusion

You have now seen the 7 street Instagram feeds to follow. The work from these artists is both varied and interesting. With so many millions of photographs and artists out there, it was difficult to pin down such a small selection.

It was nice to feature the people who Phlogger holds in a high regard. Showcasing this type of work can only help more photographers try this nice of photography.

You can see from the featured artists, that you need to understand light. One of the critical messages with street is to be prepared to shoot. There are opportunities to interact with the public, sometimes not by choice.

Go out, try it and enjoy. Your heart will race, you may have shouted at or foul-mouthed.

Street photography is about life, humans and our silly ways. Forget your virtual reality, forget the so-called “reality tv” revolution, get out there and shoot.