Street Photography Part 3

If you have been following my series on street photography,

(Read Part 1 and Part 2.)

I hope you have had time to shoot some candid photos yourself!

I snapped quite a few street shots at the Fourth of July parade in a nearby village.

Once you take your street photos, you will want to edit them!

One of the first decisions is whether to turn them to black and white.

I love color so much, that it just about kills me to remove color from my photos.

But, I must say, with street photography, I often prefer black and white.

If a photo has a lot of detail, color can confuse the eye:

Notice how the colorful background clutter fades away

and now the eye focuses on the subject...the waving beauty queens!

Black and white can also help with lighting problems you may have encountered.

I was at an outdoor market in France and saw this lovely lady

in a white ruffled dress.  I stalked her a bit because I loved that dress!

I was finally able to snap this photo, but the bright sun created harsh shadows.

The black and white fixed that issue.

I think it's worth trying ALL your street photos in black and white!

I'll continue to show you the comparisons of the photos I shot.

In this next photo, I prefer it in color...love that pink and green!

But, it's really what YOU like best!

Some people think you should not edit street photos.

I disagree!

                                     Unless you are a photo-journalist and it is ethical to show

it like it is...you should EDIT!

At the very least, add a bit of contrast,

boost the saturation if necessary,  straighten the horizon, and sharpen.

I ALWAYS edit every photo.  

You can edit as you please...you are the artist 

of the photo and you can do whatever you want with it!

I often remove distracting wires in photos using the clone tool in Photoshop.

Click here to watch my video tutorial on how to use the clone tool.

There are no laws against editing.  

I want to create a pleasing photo!

I like to boost the color a tad:

And, edit just like I do any other photos I take!

I even add painterly effects

I wanted to create some whimsy on a rainy summer day,

so I added falling rain to these next few photos!

It WAS raining, but it's hard to capture the raindrops falling.

You can add rain using my rain drop brush that I am sharing for free!

Click here to download my rain brush.

Once you download, 

the download will open in Photoshop and load your brush.

This is a unique brush, so to learn how to use it, 

watch my video tutorial.

Now, that you know how to create rain...challenge yourself

to go out on a rainy day and shoot some street shots.

I LOVE the photos with people dealing with rain!

Capture a bit of your own umbrella in your shot!

All my rain photos were taken with my iPhone. 

You can edit right on your phone with what I consider

 the best all-around editing app called

Snapseed!

If you are going to be taking lots of photos with your phone, you really need

 to learn how to use this app that is FREE from Google!

Click here for a good tutorial on how to use Snapseed.

You can do basic edits while out and about or on vacation and

share your photos on social media rather than waiting to get home!

If you want to add rain and cool effects with your phone,

check out this app called Rainy Daze.

It's $1.99 in the App Store.

One of my favorite editing apps for iPhone photos is

Brushstroke for $3.99 in the App Store.

With just a few clicks, you can turn any photo into 

a beautiful painting!

An app called AfterFocus for 99-cents will blur the background for you.

I hope you will continue to explore street photography...

I notice PEOPLE so much more since 

I began snapping street photos....wherever I happen to be!

I'll share more as I shoot more...