Most people’s idea of urban travel photography falls into two camps. The coffee table book and the ubiquitous city break snap. But urban photography can cover much more than this. What’s more you don’t need an expensive DSLR to achieve breathtaking shots and incredible detail. The smartphone in your pocket will do just fine.
Urban travel photography is all about capturing the essence of the city you are in, from the obvious to the not so obvious.
On Jet’s recent trip to New York, she endevoured to put together a wide selection of urban travel images using just her smartphone. Here, we look at some of the themes you might adopt when approaching the not so traditional urban photo, and to give you a few tips about how to take artistic photos while you are on your travels.
Finding the ‘unseen’
There’s nothing like a big bustling city, with a multitude of fascinating streets, shops, buildings and people. But, for the most part, those on a city break will only get their camera out for the main sights. If you want to capture the usually ‘unseen’ - from the day-to-day to the extraordinary random event - you are going to need to have your smartphone ready.
Getting gritty
There is a distinct part of urban photography which is often purposely missed by tourists. The real and gritty facts of city life. Cities can be dirty places, they can feel intimidating and isolating, even uninviting. And, of course, the city streets and the tourist sights are where those people who are homeless will be found. Capturing this side of the urban is about developing a full picture of The City through an intimate realism, while respecting people’s boundaries.
Urban nature and architecture
While the urban setting is synonymous with grand architecture and the high rise, it is often the contrast between nature and the man-made that makes for an eye-catching shot. Urban nature is often crafted as architecture, and buildings can resemble natural structures when you try out different focal points. Experiment with your shots using different angles, light and reflections in water or glass to see where you can find this overlap of the two.
Sense of humour
The City is a place of contrasts and, while it can have a serious or unapproachable side, it is also a place of great humour and exuberance. Keep your camera ready for the unusual and down right hilarious. It makes for a great conversation piece!
People watching
Part of the luxury of a city break is the chance to aimlessly wander or spend an hour in a coffee shop window. This is the ideal time to people watch. Subtly capturing people going about their day-to-day is endlessly fascinating and adds another level to dynamic urban photography.
Snaps or photos?
The difference between a snap and a photo is subtle but distinct. A snap is an image that will stay on your phone, whereas a photograph is more likely to be printed. The difference is often about formality and usage. For urban photography keeping both in mind is useful. It can be tempting to delete snaps as you go along, but snaps make for great memories and, when revisited, can form an interesting narrative alongside your more traditional photos.
Get editing
The versatility of smartphone photography means the ability to take many shots, both crafted and not, which can then be easily edited using apps, rather that the longer editing process of DSLR images. Always ‘take to crop’, meaning you aren’t zooming in. This means you retain the details and you won’t end up with a pixelated mess. The image above on the right is a crop from that on the left - taken on a phone from a helicopter.
Editing your shots, particularly if you are looking to post them on social or print them, can be a great activity to add a professional touch to your urban photography. A free app like Snapseed is a good option for editing on the go.
If you have a city break coming up or you want to learn more about smartphone urban photography, why not come on a smartphone safari.
To book with us, please visit https://www.jetblacksquares.com/#/booking/ or if you would like to know any more details or discuss setting up a bespoke smartphone safari, please email us below.
For safaris in London, Hertfordshire, Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge, email Jet at: jet@jetblacksquares.com
For safaris in Newcastle and County Durham, please email Becky at: becky@jetblacksquares.com