Street Photography in Lisbon with the Sony A7IV
Lisbon is an incredible city to photograph. I went on a bunch of solo street photography walks with my Sony A7IV camera when I visited. I decided to film this one, as I know observing someone else's process can help you take better photos. Here’s some commentary for the above video, in case you’re interested to learn a bit more about my photography process:
0:06: Here I am checking to make sure my GoPro is recording since this is the first time I’m doing a POV video. I then take a couple of test shots just to make sure my camera settings are dialed in.
0:33: There’s a woman looking out onto the street, which a local half-jokingly said is their way of having a neighbourhood watch. I’m trying to discreetly wait for a person walking by to balance out the composition, but the woman in the window definitely spots me.
0:55: I wasn’t having much luck finding interesting characters, but suddenly I see this man in a suit. I don’t end up with the most interesting composition, but he steps halfway into the sunlight and gives me an interesting side profile.
1:22: As I’m turning this corner toward a viewpoint, I stumble upon this colourful wall with a lot going on. Road signs, graffiti, and half of the wall is in the light and the other half is in the shadows.
1:45: You can’t see what I’m photographing here as my camera is pointed way up, but there’s a laundry line blowing in the wind. Simple, seemingly mundane, but fascinating to someone who isn’t used to seeing it every day.
2:06: I finally make it up to this viewpoint, which is called a “miradouro” in Portugal. Although a beautiful view, I don’t want to spend too much time just shooting the tops of buildings. One quick photo and I move on.
2:39: As I turn to leave, I notice this little boy staring at me and I quickly snap a shot of him while his dad is still oblivious to me. Definitely a personal favourite from this photo walk.
2:57: One more from this location catching these two young guys hanging out.
3:13: I happen upon this building with the light creating some interesting leading lines. Then it’s just a matter of figuring out your composition, being patient, and waiting for the right subject to walk through your frame.
3:46: I’m trying to figure out where to go when I notice this particular building being bathed in sunlight. As I turn around, this man emerges onto his balcony.
4:03: Light is the theme of the day, as I then notice this balcony being framed almost too perfectly.
4:24: As you’ll see, I spend a long time at this next location because the light is so nicely spilling onto this street. I think it’s a good exercise in being patient and finding different types of photos while standing in the same spot.
4:42: As I wait for an interesting character to walk through, I notice these birds flocking to a nearby balcony, presumably because this woman has food for them.
5:05: Still waiting, I decide to look around for other possible frames and I spot another colourful building plus a laundry line combo.
5:19: I finally get this character who reminds me of The Dude from The Big Lebowski.
5:31: I was pretty happy with that, but I linger a little longer to see if I can get one more character here… and I finally get lucky.
5:48: I find this alley with some incredible backlight creating some great contrast. One of the stair landings has a singular patch of light which is perfect for a subject. It would’ve been nice to have a more interesting subject, but he does walk perfectly through the patch of light.
6:17: I move back from that photo spot to try and capture a different perspective of the alley. At first, I try capturing a man with his dog but I realize it doesn’t look that great with the subject’s face turned away. Luckily I get a man coming the opposite way almost immediately.
6:56: Finally, as I chase the last of the daylight, I find this graffiti wall with the word “Amore” — which I believe is the word Love in Portuguese — as the only thing in the light.
Hope you enjoyed this photo walk and let me know if you want to see more!