I believe that my way of doing street photography (in general, avoiding people to capture in the frame) is easy to do, but it is also hard to spot.
I wrote this text on the 25th of March, 2026. Today, I was returning from my office job with a heavy rucksack (it weighed almost 30 kg [66 lbs]). While walking along mundane Warsaw’s streets, I noticed (not for the first time in my life) that, in general, I prefer to take pictures without humans in frames. Many street photographers are waiting for strangers to walk into their frame, and then they decide to take pictures. Usually, I have an opposite approach. I prefer to wait until all the people have left the frame. Most people would say it is an easy, perhaps even cowardly approach. Perhaps such people would be right. Undoubtedly, it is easy to do pictures without people.
Nevertheless, I think it is also harder to spot such pictures.
When people are in frame, we can adjust and create a proper frame to take a photo almost all the time. With humans, I would say this process lasts endlessly, because we can create many great pictures when humans are involved. Still, without a model in the frame, the endless possibilities take pictures disappear. Of course, we still have many options to photograph the view that is in front of our eyes, without humans. The truth is that it is a different story and option. That’s why I believe that taking pictures without people is a little bit harder. The truth is that I enjoy both approaches to street photography. I hope to do street photography until the end of my life. I cannot wait for subsequent walks, even if I know that tomorrow I will have to focus on my office job.
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