My Street Photography Process (with Contact Sheets) 

NOTE: The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that there are actually a couple of breaks in the image sequence on my contact sheet. This is because if I hit the shutter by accident when I'm out shooting, then I delete the image in camera on the spot, but I have included every image I brought home in the sequence.

Sean, you're great. Thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

You can’t imagine how much better that makes me feel about the times I come home and shots have not worked. Thank you

I just wanted to let you know that you've become a huge source of motivation, inspiration, and knowledge. Appreciate you, your work, and the fact that you put these videos out.

I was watching your video in my office and my wife shouted from another room "that guy sounds just like you going through your images" it made me smile but it also reassured me that I was at least doing something right. Another great insight and thanks again for sharing.

Love the way you applied the Magnum Contact Sheets concept to a bit of your own work and brought out the importance of noticing light and locations with potential, then working scenes and, in doing so, giving luck a chance. Your results are beautiful, but there is also beauty in the creative process that gets you there. And you remain one of RU-vid's most inspiring photography teachers, Sean.

Please don't stop making these videos. They're just what I need to get me out of my motivational rut(s) in photography. Your honesty and candidness are so refreshing. Thanks for being so vulnerable for us all. I finally found a modern photographer that I can actually relate to... thank you!

I can't believe how fluently he speaks. It seems to me that that's very rare these days, especially on RU-vid. Jump-cuts have become unbearable to me and Sean's videos really stand out with their flow. I hope more people follow his example.

Your remarks at the end remind me of Robert Frank's "The Americans" He took(and take this with a grain of salt, I don't remember the exact numbers off the top of my head) upwards of 20,000+ photos to end up with 80 something in his book. And that was in the age of film too.

I think that videos like this are the most realistic way to show and teach how to go about and make photos on the street, hope to see more of this Sean, really liked it! thank you!

Watching this made me decide to bring my Fuji X-T30 to the office tomorrow to take some street shots during lunch 🌁

I really can't believe the usefulness and the quality of these videos. Showing the reality behind taking great photos.

thanks for sharing Sean. Very generous of you to be so open, and greatly appreciated.

I love how thorough and honest you are when it comes to your videos, you’re one of.. if not the best influencer when it comes to photography on RU-vid to date!

Thank you once again for your candid remarks about prospective, process, and the reality of street photography. Helps me to keep shooting with emphasis to capture the moment.

Couldn’t agree with you more Sean. Being mostly a film shooter my measurements are in rolls of film -> 36 exposures. On a good day I’ll get through 1-2 rolls and out of those 72 exposures I’m happy to get at least 1 or two images. Also touching on working the scene, most of the time My roll of film is spent only photographing maybe 2-3 important scenes. A lot of the photos are made by working the scene like you were saying. This almost makes me want to just go digital because realistically speaking spending the money for film + developing each roll gets expensive. Your channel has sparked tons of thought and inspiration. Really digging everything you’re putting out man. If you’re ever in the San Francisco area, hit me up. Let’s shoot!!

Thank you, Sean for generously sharing. You have given us much needed insight, thoughtful encouragement, and most importantly for me, reassuring that self doubt is part of our growth process. Keep up the great work!

You are one of the most honest people out there. Thank you for your guidance. You are wonderful!

I appreciate the time and effort you put into this Sean. Thanks for sharing your process and for the research on the work of other photographers too. It helps a lot.

The way you put more courage to us is astonishing! I devour your videos not only to learn about photography but also to heal my failures and the succeeding frustration.

I love your attitude and encouraging words for all photographers out there including me personally, and I want to thank you for that. Keep it up so your words reach more people.

Thank you Sean. It is so encouraging to see that even the great photographers have a low hit to high shot ratio. I need reminding of this after I take a hundred shots and come home with nothing great. Your videos are all so well made and inspiring, moving even. Keep up the great work!!

Sean, you are a natural teacher. Thank you for this! Getting back into photography after a long absence, I'm still very much discovering my eye again. This look into your creative process is invaluable.

I like watching a lot of photography youtubers, but you... you are THE most inspirational. I see a lot of my work the same way you described all of yours. Thank you.

Sean, this episode was remarkable! It's such a valuable insight to see how the process works, I never saw light the same way again after watching your videos. You're a mentor in many ways. Thanks!

Always can't wait for your videos!! Love seeing the process you go threw..Love your work, thanks for sharing!!! Cheers!

Thanks Sean. You're a very honest person. We look at the photographs of great photographers and wonder in awe at how all their shots are great and are disappointed when we go out and 90% of our shots are just not keepers. It's encouraging to know that even the best photographers go through the same trial and error process to get that one keeper.

Yet another great class Sean. Thanks for the personal conversation and in-depth sharing insight. Exposing the contact sheets of a day's outing and viewing each image and collection - brilliant. This covers the base we all experience, and your assurance of it's usual, and to be expected, common outcome across the photographer spectrum was so encouraging.

Thank you Sean for, not only your expertise, but your honesty. I’m an amateur photographer and your videos are so helpful.

This is easily one of the reasons I subscribe, this behind the lens/inside the head stuff. Thanks so much for sharing, the processes are always so interesting.

Seeing the photos that 'didn't work' is incredibly motivational. It shows, just as you said, that there's no point'n'shoot but rather a trial and error process.

Sean, you truly are the most insightful person I follow on youtube. In an age where people are exposed every day to content makers with hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of followers, its easy to forget the journey that they have all been on to get where they are. Unfortunately we've been conditioned to show only the exceptional, not what it takes to get us there. I find your work and your sheer honesty inspirational. Dont ever stop!

Such a comforting video. I've just got back from an early evening wander around a rainy Winchester. Took 33 shots, got one shot which I really like, the rest were rubbish! Which is perfectly normal for me. So I'm relieved to hear that the experts have the same kinda ratio. Keep up these wonderful, articulate videos. Great stuff.

A quality, considered piece, as ever. Contact sheet and talk through is excellent. It helps not by copying your process and strategy, or tactic.. but by making one realise what OUR methods are.. Enjoyed your effortless, soothing and supportive words.

By far my favorite photography channel on youtube. Another, thought provoking, interesting and inspiring video. Thank you.

note i am really new to photography, still taking courses, I have taken 8 pictures,plus drone photos, a few cell phone. but you are my kind of photographer, you have the ideas i see, I'm not doing this for weddings,or portraits, i love buildings,landscapes,animals,big trucks,etc..you are the first i have heard about street photography, before you said anything I had in my head I don't care if everyone is better at it than me,take a lot of photos and choose the ones you like, you can hear it from your voice you really are a photographer enjoying walking around taking photos the planning,etc.. keep the videos coming, even if someone don't like your photos (which i do) its your story..i get down sometimes cause i have a 80 hr job,and i have a lot to learn,i'm still discovering more things..

I follow a few photographers but you are the only one I can sit and listen to without drifting off and/or getting distracted. You could make a great audio book.

Have this book too. It's defiantly a great book that inspires and teaches photographers a lot by showing what those great photographers were thinking and under what conditions when they took those photos. This is a book that can be studied for good

So, I guess you fall into the "Impatient Fisherman" category... 😉

Fantastic episode Sean. Absolutely glued to this one. You really are a guiding light for us vulnerable photographers .

Amazing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to make this video.

Another piece of inspiration for those of us who wonder at the images of the masters. I adopted a philosophy a while ago of 20 crap photos a day and this has helped me to learn to see potential even if at the end of it nothing is shared. It’s the process for me not necessarily the result

One of your absolute best! Watching the contacts and listening to your comments was a Master Class experience. Please do more like this!

Sean, took a lot from your episodes! Thanks! Amazing how you manage to combine tech and Inspiration where the latter always is more relevant.

Thank you for showing us the underwater view of how the swans glide effortlessly along the pond. Many photographers may not like people to see the hidden hard work underneath so as to prop up their mystical anterior. I do enjoy your videos. Thank you for being insightful and truthful.

It's about time someone came out with the reasons behind a shot. I've asked many street photographers why they have taken a specific photo and their thought process, but the majority can't answer. I look at street photos and try to unravel why the shot was taken especially if it's a bland 'street' shot but it seems with this genre of photography anything goes and for me, it dilutes the purpose of street photography. We all go through some thought process before a shot, even the spray and pray amongst us. It was so refreshing to hear your reasons, good and bad(?) on why you took a particular shot. Well done and thank you.

Thank you, Sean !!! Always inspiring and informative !!!

Really enjoy your visual and verbal storytelling Sean.. I've grown as a photographer by watching and learning from what you so generously share with your audience.

Always appreciate you sharing your experiences/knowledge. Looking forward to your next video.

I am not a photographer and still like your videos. I think its the honesty what makes me watch them. Thanks.

Wow! This video does a great job of demonstrating how difficult street photography can be. A good lesson for those of us that want immediate results, with as little effort as possible. Thanks.

Sean, just so you know, no one really judges your work. I looked through those contact sheets, and I knew exactly which ones you would pick. You have accomplished it actually. I know your eye. So cool to see the process, thanks. I would have loved to work on a couple that your eye didn't like. But, that is why we are human, and that is why I love your channel for a larger reason. Thank you.

Love the message Sean, it's so easy to get discouraged when I take so many pictures or videos and only 1 or 2 meet my standards. It's all just part of the process

Sean, I am not sure how I found your channel however I am very pleased. Awesome content I can relate to even as a novice. Finally a real photographer and not an over produced RU-vid program. Bravo.

THANK YOU for this episode. So open and unguarded. Totally resonated with my photographic journey....

Sean. You're low key my favorite.

Thank You Sean for explaining your process. I learn so much by following your channel. Keep up the great work!

Every video you make is so timeless.

Your videos are always so informative. Love them all

Good to see your thought process.

Love it! As usual never fail me ❤️🙏

Thank you! Very encoureging to keep on taking pictures. Really thank you for the honest look inside your work.

It’s always a joy watching one of your videos and this was no exception, really informative and inspirational , thank you.

Fabulous, great BTS for all of us to learn from. Good job Sean

Another amazing episode! Thank you!

I really appreciate your videos, so easy to connect with your guidance. So inspiring Sean, Thank you!

thank you Sean!

Just loved this video of yours. Its given me a bit of a morale boost to now go out and shoot without any added pressure 😊

Thanks Sean, found this video really useful in your approach to working a scene. I've stopped watching most you tube photography channels as I don't think I learn much from them. Your videos are thought-provoking and educational, keep em coming, please!

I just moved back from Paris to my home in China, so many photo books and one of the few I took back is the Magnum Contact sheets. The presentation and the content of the book are so unique and en point, it is absolutely brilliant and I cant see myself apart from it

Brilliant video. Thank you for sharing your candid insights about your process. I found it super useful.

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼always a good notification to get... when you post a new video. Great work. Always inspiring

Thanks for the video, Sean. Loved the final set of images at the end.

Hi Sean, your take on street photography and general philosophy is inspiring, thank you.

Your videos are incredible. Such deep thought and thorough explanation of things. Thank you!

Soooooo good! Thanks again Sean!🙏

Excellent video! Thank you Sean!

thank you very much for sharing your thought process.

Really interesting vlog, it’s great to hear everyone’s back story as to how they got the shot, however seeing it with a contact sheet is even better. Great work Sean.

This was a fantastic lesson in patients and perseverance. Thanks for sharing your work flow with us. 😀

Really helpful and instructive. Appreciate your honesty and vulnerability in sharing these images.

I don't understand people criticizing others' work...because someone is making different images, it doesn't make them bad! This is an art form - I think you are a wonderful photographer!!

I love your work AND the WAY you work. Stay true to yourself, as always. If you love what you do, it means that you are doing the right thing. Embrace it and never stop experimenting because as you once said, art comes out of experimentation! Keep it up! And it's good for every single one of you reading this ;)

Sean, Great stuff as always, informative and to the point. Love your work man!

Thanks for sharing. Brutally honest. Really interesting to watch and learn from your reflections and observations. It’s all about being out there capturing those moments and enjoying it. Thanks.

A great book - I got it a few months ago and it does make you appreciate the process of creating a great composition and how my images evolve from seeing a potential scene in to a final image.

Amazing as always! I would love to see a video where you explain your approach to organizing your image collection. With what your goals are with organization, what matters to you, what's less important, what tradeoffs you came across, and so on. Along with some specifics like: * What folder structure do you choose? Folders kind of force organizing along a single "dimension" - eg, at the top-level one can organize by genre or location or year/month/etc, but not all of them simultaneously without a combinatorial explosion of folders. * What kind of tagging system do you use? Do you arrange the tags in a hierarchy? How do you choose your tags? * What's your workflow for adding new photos to your collection after a shoot and ensuring they're organized right? * What physical media do you use? (eg, how many hard disks, what capacity, etc) * What's your strategy for backups? On-site, in the cloud, etc. How many copies do you keep, and how do you ensure that new photos and any changes get propagated correctly? * How do you avoid vendor lock-in with any tools you use? Eg if one day you were to stop using Adobe and move to something else, would all the organizational aspects of your collection carry over? * Do you keep most of your images that you bring home (including the visual notes, photos you know you won't use, etc)? * Any other considerations for scaling to a huge collection? It would be great to hear about your approach to this!

Haters will always hate but that's more of a reflection of who they are and their personal turmoils. There are some of us who genuinely love your work and what you represent. Great work as always Sean!

Wow! I really liked this a lot Sean. Being new to photography this took the pressure off of thinking I'm failing if I come home after a day of shooting and nothing great to show for it. Your videos are truly inspiring and motivational, thank you.

Sean this is a brilliant video. Thanks for sharing it. It was really insightful to see your process and reassuring that we don't always have to come back with that perfect shot!

This has been on my mind a lot lately! I work as a photographic archivist organising the stills photography collection for a tv production company. The collection covers the last 40 years and all the film stock contains everything the photographer shot (which is the property of the tv production company) and the one thing that really blows me away - and gives me enormous confidence as a photographer - is to see the full range of shots that were taken by the photographer on any given day. (My job is to make selections to get the items digitised so I do a lot of comparing and assessing to make my selections. It's a great job!)

Very inspiring! Tank you for sharing your knowledge. As a visual artist, I look up to you, your work and most importantly, your philosophy!

Excellent video Sean! Thanks a ton for sharing!

I always learn so much with you. Thank you.

As always great and informative. It's always great to have your own style and this is what's unique about everyone, we all different...

Great ! Thank you for your really useful and high-quality teachings!

Brilliant video, thank you so much Sean!

What i like about sean is he doesnt focus on the gears, he explain it tho. But the art in photography is what makes me watch him. Im new to photography and im glad I cross at his videos his vlogging/filmmaking style is so far from any other vlogging photographer. I just want to say thanks for your videos, Sean. Keep uploading to inspire more people. Stay Safe. Im from Philippines btw.

This was an incredible video Sean! I've always found street photography to be quite difficult and seeing your process was tremendously beneficial. It will help me focus my approach next time I go out. Also, just getting a glimpse into how you think when you're shooting is of tremendous value. Thank you so much for putting the time and effort into creating this video! It was one of the best photography videos I've watched in a long time.

Your work is amazing !!! I just started back in being interested in photography/videography. Everything you said made so much sense and it caused me to stop and think about what I am looking for in any image. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!!