The art of street photography is capturing moments everyone can see but only a few really notice. The locations are familiar to us, as they are usually public spaces. But the best street photography images are unique, giving us new perspectives on the world around us.
Good street photographers can see through the chaos to find the scene within the scene. Bringing details into focus, they find meaning and beauty in a busy, random world.
If you are looking for street photography inspiration, you’ll love this list of the best contemporary street photographers. This is not necessarily a list of the most famous street photographers of all time, but they are some of the most influential artists working today.
What Makes the Best Street Photography?
Street photography is a genre where the photographer takes pictures in public places. It’s often without people noticing that they are being photographed, and the majority of street images are candid rather than poses or set up.
You don’t necessarily have to include people in your images. Playing with colours, shadows, lights, buildings, and abstract shapes can also make great street photographs.
Street photographers have to always be aware of their surroundings. They train their eyes to see the unusual in the usual, the brilliant in the banal.
Some street photographers interact with the people around them. They might ask specific individuals if they can take their portrait. Or they might be confronted by a suspicious bystander. But generally, street photographers blend into their surrounding, avoid attention as best they can.
Who Are The Most Influential Street Photographers?
Let’s take a look at the work of 27 of our favourite contemporary street photographers. If you like the image examples in this article, click the links to see their websites or Instagram pages.
Joel Meyerowitz
Joel Meyerowitz is a true legend. He is an American street photographer who has already published over 30 books, and he’s planning more. His work has appeared in more than 350 exhibitions around the world and he has won several prestigious awards.
He lives in the USA and Italy, which brings great versatility to his photo series. His work is timeless, and it’s surprising how he manages to capture casual scenes to appear unique. He also manages to find a voice with the newer generations which is partly due to his amazing personality.
Instagram: @joel_meyerowitz
Brandon Stanton
Brandon Stanton became world-famous due to his project, called Humans Of New York. He was planning to make a catalogue of New York’s inhabitants so they started taking portraits on the streets. The project took off and now millions are following it on social media.
He doesn’t only take portraits of people on the streets, but he also writes their stories next to them after asking simple questions. His work is worth to follow. He can open people’s mind in a beautiful way and he makes us more open to the people around us.
Instagram: @humansofny
Phil Penman
Phil Penman was born in the UK but raised in New York. He’s been documenting the ever-changing life of the city for more than 25 years. Besides being a street photographer, he photographed celebrities. Also, he followed historical events like 9/11.
He has won several awards and he had several exhibitions and he is named among the 52 Most Influential Street Photographers. If it weren’t enough, he is also a published author at MOMA.
Instagram: @philpenman
Zun Lee
Zun Lee is a self-taught German photographer (and physician) who currently lives in Canada. He started Father Figure, his first famous project in 2011. His work is not strictly street photography, more like documentary photography, and he is a master of visual storytelling.
He observes and introduces the everyday life of Black communities. His images show intimacy, struggles and joy and other fundamental feelings and aspects of life.
Instagram: @zunleephoto
Todd Gross
Tood Gross is a New Yorker with a rye, cynical eye. He perfectly shapes the sights, figures, shapes, and oddities of the city he’s called his home his entire life.
His street photography bright, sharp, and inherently eye-catching. It’s clear he has an innate understanding of the city and how it flows. There’s an underlying humour, but also an appreciation. He loves New York, the people, and all its idiosyncrasies.
Instagram: @todd_gross
Joshua K. Jackson
The London-based Joshua K. Jackson is a street photographer, whose work focuses on the connection people have with their surroundings. He can perfectly capture small interactions between people as well.
He uses colour and lights to enhance the atmosphere an everyday scene can have. A lot of his images are shot at night when people are going home, sitting in bars or talking with each other. His perfectly composed images express love, loneliness and intimacy.
Instagram: @joshkjack
Girma Berta
Girma Berta is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is a self-taught street photographer who composes his images in a really unique way, creating contrast using strong and harsh colours.
His work guides the viewer through the everyday life of African people not in a documentary, but more like in a fine art style. His work has been featured in different publications, and exhibitions internationally and received several awards.
Instagram: @gboxcreative
Michael McIlvaney
Michael McIlvaney, a UK-based photographer, shows harmony and also contrasts between different subjects of the streets. He is a street photographer, who adores taking images where people are interacting with the structure of their surroundings.
He aims for candid shots. He waits, then captures the decisive moment professionally. His work consists of both digital and analog shots, and he received the LensCulture Street Photography Awards 2020.
Instagram: @mikemcstreet
Haluk Safi
The Turkish street photographer, Haluk Safi‘s motto is “Looking for improvisation music on the streets.” and his work reflects this.
He captures unlikely scenes, in an almost surreal way. He notices the appulse of different people and subjects, and he composes his images in a way where everything seems to be connected to everything.
Instagram: @haluksafi
Monaris | Paola M Franqui
Paola Franqui, who is also known as Monaris, was born in Puerto Rico and now is living in the USA. Being a curious soul, she loves capturing people while thinking about what might they go through and what their lives can be like.
Her images show people doing their usual routine, going to work or using public transport or even document protests. Her subjects seem lonely and silent, although they are usually at really crowded and noisy places.
Instagram: @monaris_
Mike Chudley
Mike Chudley is a British photographer with a strong eye for composition, capturing knock-out images wherever he goes. Bright, bold colors play a big part in his street photography, setting him apart from more traditional street photographer who like black and white.
Mike likes to mix things up, shooting in both digital and film. Either way, he has a knack for capturing dynamic shots. He’s also a photography vlogger, so you can catch a glimpse into his process on his YouTube channel.
Instagram: @mikechudley
Michelle Rick
Michelle Rick is a native New Yorker. Her images have been exhibited and featured in renowned places and magazines. Also, she is a member of the NYC Street Photography Collective.
Her work carries a documentary character, and she is a master of catching moments where the subjects in her frame interact in exciting ways. This is what makes her a great visual storyteller.
Instagram: @villagegirl
Dimpy Bhalotia
Dimpy Bhalotia is a fine art street photographer, who completed her studies in Bombay and now is based in London. She won a lot of different awards globally and different magazines and exhibitions have featured her work.
She was even named as the Best Street Photographer of 2019. She plays professionally with shadows, silhouettes and shapes in her black and white images. She also seems to never miss the decisive moment.
Instagram: @dimpy.bhalotia
Marcin Ryczek
Marcin Ryczek is a Polish photographer, who is most known for his minimalist and symbolic style. He uses geometry to create contrast and patterns in his images. His work has been presented in several countries, and he received numerous awards internationally.
Huffington Post has named his photo, “A man feeding swans in the snow” one of the best 5 in the world in 2013. That same image is on the cover of the “100 Great Street Photographs” book by David Gibson.
Instagram: @marcinryczek_photography
Navin Kumar Vatsa
Navin Vatsa is a photographer from India with a breathtaking style. Photography is more than a hobby or profession for him, “Photography is my meditation, my stress buster.”.
This is visible in his images, and we can feel it too by looking at them. His images are street, travel and documentary photos, all connected by an incredible atmosphere. No wonder he has been awarded and recognised internationally.
Instagram: @navinvatsa
Efi Longinou
Efi Longinou is a Berlin-based actress from Greece, who started photographing in her home country. It started as an artistic expression but soon became her passion.
Her work has been featured several times in the media, and she participated in group exhibitions. She is a member of Burn My Eye and interCollective. She considers the streets as a stage, and she always seems to be prepared to perfectly capture what she observes.
Instagram: @efi_o
Alan Schaller
Allan Schaller is a master of black and white photography. He lives in London and his images are characterised by geometry, contrast, shadows, lights, a bit of surrealism, and humans.
His work has been featured in a lot of famous magazines, and he co-founded the Street Photography International Collective (SPi), the largest dedicated street photography resource. Besides being a photographer, he is a musician and he also wrote articles on humanitarian issues.
Instagram: @alan_schaller
Peter Turnley
Peter Turnley is an award-winning and internationally exhibited American photojournalist and street photographer who is well known for documenting historical events.
He has beautiful street photographs and photo essays, my favourite is “French Kiss – A Love Letter to Paris“. All his images reflect how openly he observes the world. He is not only documenting huge events, but he pays attention to the small momentums as well.
Instagram: @peterturnley
David Turnley
The names are not a coincidence, David Turnley and Peter are twins. David is a photojournalist and street photographer too.
He won the Pulitzer Prize, two World Press Photos of the Year and the Robert Capa Award for Courage. He is shooting almost solely in black and white. He is sensitive to his surroundings, and always spots the small gestures as well as the dramatic ones.
Instagram: @davidturnley
Charalampos Kydonakis
Charalampos Kydonakis or Dirty Harrry is a Greek photographer and architect, living in Crete. He has a unique, sometimes shocking style and he shows the world in a way what makes you question what is real.
He is a member of iN-PUBLiC, a street photography collective and his work has been featured in several books and publications.
Instagram: @dirtyharrrry
Angelo Ferrillo
Angelo Ferrilo is a photographer from Italy. He joined AFIP International (Associazione Internazionale Fotografi Professionisti / International Association of Professional Photographers) in 2014.
He is not only a great photographer who has amazing street photos, but he also teaches photography. His images are mainly everyday scenes, captured in different public places in a way he shows connections between his subjects in his frame.
Instagram: @pherrillo
Melissa O’Shaughnessy
Melissa O’Shaughnessy is an American photographer with a degree in journalism. She is based in New York, and her work has been featured in various publications and exhibitions.
She is a member of UP Photographers, and she got her book, Perfect Strangers: New York City Street Photographs published in 2020. Her images show the everyday life of New Yorkers, and she definitely has the eye for finding uniqueness in the most usual scenes.
Instagram: @melissaoshaughnessy
Steven John Irby
Steven John Irby (or Steve Sweatpants) is a New York-based self-taught street photographer. He is a co-founder and director of Street Dreams Magazine which features upcoming photographers.
Most of his work shows the streets of New York, and he also takes documentary images. One of his latest works, in which he documented the BLM movement was even featured places like the New Yorker.
Instagram: @stevesweatpants
Jasper Tejano
Jasper Tejano started with trying out different genres of photography. He needed time to find himself in street photography and how fortunate he did. His work has been recognised internationally and his images appeared both in print and online, several places around the world.
He started approaching this genre from the documentary side, but now his images are more subjective, they sometimes seem almost surreal. He plays with shadow and reflections, and he always manages to capture something interesting, even in the most casual venues.
Instagram: @jaspertejano
Donato Di Camillo
Donato Di Camillo is a self-taught photographer, who was born in New York, from Italian parents. Photography started to interest him while he was in prison in Virginia, and he eventually started photographing while he was on home confinement.
He started with capturing everything he had access to at home. Now his work consists mostly of portraits of different characters. He has a great eye for spotting the interesting moments and people around him.
Instagram: @donato_ducamillo
Clarissa Bonet
Clarissa Bonet is a Chicago-based artist, who aims to explore urban spaces. Her work has been published in several famous magazines such as The Guardian or The Wall Street Journal. Also, her work is in the collections, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Her work is diverse. She has street and urban photographs and also amazing editorial images. Geometry and colours dominate her street photographs and she visualises the connection between people and their surroundings, by placing them in frames, made by buildings.
Instagram: @clarissabonet
Rui Palha
Rui Palha is a street and humanist photographer from Portugal. He is based in Lisbon and he has devoted a lot of time to street photography for the last 20 years. He has had more than 20 individual exhibitions and his work was exhibited in several collectives.
His almost dream-like street photographs, mostly shot in black and white, got him several well-deserved awards and publications.
Instagram: @rui_palha
Conclusion
It’s always a good idea to seek some inspiration from other artists work. Writing this article made me want to go out and capture everything around me, and hopefully, you’ll feel the same.
Do you agree with our list? Drop us a comment with your favourite street photographers under this post!
