Skip to main content
UploadLanguage (EN)Support
BusinessMobileSocial MediaMarketingTechnologyArt & PhotosCareerDesignEducationPresentations & Public SpeakingGovernment & NonprofitHealthcareInternetLawLeadership & ManagementAutomotiveEngineeringSoftwareRecruiting & HRRetailSalesServicesScienceSmall Business & EntrepreneurshipFoodEnvironmentEconomy & FinanceData & AnalyticsInvestor RelationsSportsSpiritualNews & PoliticsTravelSelf ImprovementReal EstateEntertainment & HumorHealth & MedicineDevices & HardwareLifestyle
Lens Shutter, profile picture
Uploaded byLens Shutter
3,110 views

The 2014 Street Photography Poll

The 2014 street photography poll surveyed 126 participants, revealing that Canon, Nikon, and Fuji are the most popular brands, with nearly half of respondents practicing for less than five years. A significant 57% of photographers do not ask for permission before taking pictures, and most prefer to use automatic settings while blending in rather than engaging subjects. Additionally, only one-third of photographers earn money from their work, and social media platforms like Flickr and Twitter are prominent for sharing their photography.

Art & Photos◦Entertainment & Humor◦
Online poll, 126 participants, from 11/04 to 2/05 2014 First Edition - May 2014 THE 2014 STREET PHOTOGRAPHY POLL
MAJOR INSIGHTS & FINDINGS 1. Canon, Nikon and Fuji are the most used brands by Street Photographers 2. Almost 50% are on an intermediate level and 3/4 are practicing for less than 5 years 3. 57% of Street Photographers do not ask for permission to take photographs. 4. 34% of photographers practice for 2 to 5 hours/week and 36% always carry their compact camera 5. Only a third of Street Photographers made money from their photographs 3
MAJOR INSIGHTS & FINDINGS 6. Half of street photographers never took a photography class 7. 66% shoot and process both in color and B&W and only 8% shoot exclusively film. 8. Flickr &Twitter are the major networks where Street Photographers share their work. 9. Books, Blogs and Websites are the main resources for learning and enhancing skills for Street Photographers. 4
PRACTICE 5
YEARS OF PRACTICE • Almost 3/4 of respondents practice StreetPhoto for less than 5 years. • 27% are practicing for more than 5 years and only 13% for less than a year. 27 % 18 % 21 % 22 % 13 % Less than 1 year 1 to 2 years 2 to 3 years 3 to 5 years More than 5 years 6
HOW MUCH HOURS OF PRACTICE / WEEK • To maintain their skills and enhance their practice, Street Photographers exercice mostly up to 5 hours per week (66% of respondents). • Only 14% maintain a high rate of practice : More than 8 hours per week. 14 % 19 % 34 % 32 % Less than 2 hours 2 to 5 hours 5 to 8 hours More than 8 hours 7
HOW MANY PHOTOS / WEEK • 44% of respondents take less than 50 photos per week.A fair rate comparing to the number of hours of practice. • 18% take more than 250 photos per week. Go easy on the shutter folks ! 8 % 10 % 17 % 21 % 44 % 0-50 51-100 101-250 251-500 More than 500 8
CROSS REFERENCE INSIGHTS • 88% of Street Photographers with less than 1 year of practice are exercising less than 5 hours a week. • 42% of Street Photographers with more than 5 years of practice keep a rate of 2-5 hours a week of exercice. • ¼ of those who take less than 50 photos a week are photographers who have more than 5 years of practice. 9
DOTHEY ASK FOR PERMISSION • Our respondents say for 57% of them that they don’t care and shoot without asking. • And 41% do ask permission if it’s sensitive (children, homeless, etc). 1 % 41 % 57 % No, I don't care Yes, if it's sensitive Yes, every time 10
ATTITUDE • Street Photographers are more like Hunters.They prefer blend in and stay discreet, for 73% of them. • Only 27% do interact and engage with people on the street and their subjects when shooting. 27 % 73 % Blend in and stay discreet  Interact and engage with people/subjects 11
ONTAKINGTHE CAMERA • Almost ⅔ of respondents carry regularly their DSLR or Compact/Point&Shoot camera with them. • Only 20% carry their camera on an occasional basis. • 12% trust their smartphone to get the right photos. 12 % 32 % 36 % 20 % Occasionally  I carry my compact/Point&Shoot I carry a DSLR My smartphone is enough Never 12
FOCUS APPROACH • The Automatic mode is the king for almost ⅔ of Street Photographers, with 48% on mostly automatic. • Only 17% prefer the manual focus on a exclusive basis. 17 % 22 % 13 % 48 % Mostly Automatic Always Automatic Mostly Manual Always Manual 13
CROSS REFERENCE INSIGHTS • ⅓ of those who use exclusively the manual focus have more than 5 years of practice. • Half of those who use exclusively the automatic focus have less than 3 years of practice. • Almost 60% of those who prefer to blend in and stay discreet are users of the automatic mode. 14
SHOOT & PROCESS • ⅔ of Street Photographers shoot and process their photos both in color & Black and White. • And only 24% shoot and process exclusively in Black & White. 66 % 24 % 10 % Color Black and White Both 15
PRINT • Print is still useful, and even if 30% of respondents don’t print their shots, 67% of them do it for their best photographs. 2 % 67 % 30 % Never Yes, only for my best shots Yes, every time 16
PROFILE 17
COUNTRIES • Street Photographers came mostly from these 5 countries : USA, UK, France,Australia and Canada.They represent 67% of all respondents. • The remaining third is composed of a variety of countries : Sweden, Greece, Argentina, South Africa, China, Mexico, Panama, Russia… 8 % 13 % 20 % 28 % 31 % USA UK France Australia Canada 18
AGE • Young photographers (18-30) represent 11% of our respondents. • And 69% of Street Photographers are between 30 and 50 years old. 20 % 34 % 35 % 11 % 18 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 50 51 and above 19
LEVEL SELF EVALUATION • Most of our respondents have an intermediate level of practice and expertise. • Almost 3/4 of Expert respondents practice for less than 5 hours a week. 20 % 14 % 47 % 19 % Beginner Intermediate Advanced Expert 20
CLASS • Half oh the respondents never took a photo course/ classe to practice Street Photography. • Only 7% are planning to assist to a training to enhance their practice. 7 % 41 % 51 % Never Yes Planning to 21
DIGITAL / FILM • Street Photography is mostly practiced with Digital cameras. • 6% shoot exclusively in film whereas 30% of respondents shoot both in digital and film. 30 % 6 % 64 % Digital Film Both 22
DOTHEY EARN MONEY FROMTHEIR PHOTOS ? • Only a third of our respondents declared making money from their StreetPhoto shots, which confirm the fact that it remains a hard way to live only from StreetPhoto. 37 % 63 % No Yes 23
GEAR 24
WHAT’SYOUR GEAR ? • DSLR is the major camera used for Street Photography among the respondents. • Only 16% are shooting with Mirrorless 4/3 bodies. 16 % 26 % 38 % 21 % Point & Shoot / Compact Camera DSLR Other Mirrorless 4/3 25
CAMERA BRAND • Canon, Fuji & Nikon are the most used brands for Street Photography among our respondents. • Leica has a 10% share whereas Sony and Ricoh are on the same level : 7%. 7 % 7 % 19 % 17 % 10 % 19 % 22 % Canon Fuji Leica Nikon Other Ricoh Sony 26
CROSS REFERENCE INSIGHTS • 80% of Mirrorelss 4/3 cameras are FUJI users and are shooting both in color and Black & White. • DSLR Street Photographers are 40% Canon users and 40% Nikon users • 62% of DSLR users carry regularly their camera and 85% of Compact users carry regularly their camera. 27
WHAT ABOUTYOUR LENS ? 24 % 76 % Prime Lens User Zoom Lens User 29 % 49 % 18 % 4 % 10mm 24mm 35mm 50mm 3/4 of Street Photographers use a prime lens, and half of them are using the 35mm lens (equivalent). 28
CROSS REFERENCE INSIGHTS • Almost 3/4 of Zoom Lens users prefer blending in and staying discreet when shooting on the streets. • Only 30% of Prime Lens users prefer to interact and engage people when shooting on the streets. • Only 43% of Prime Lens users are using exclusively a 35mm lens. 29
SHARING & LEARNING 30
SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING • Flickr &Twitter are the major networks to share and show Street Photographs among our respondents. • Google+ Pages are the less used canal for sharing content. 5 %6 % 9 % 9 % 9 % 10 % 11 % 12 % 14 % 15 % Flickr Twitter Personal Blog Facebook Personal Account Instagram Facebook Page Tumblr Google Plus Profile Other Google Plus Page 31
THE MASTERS • Henri Cartier-Bresson is the most influential Street Photographer among our respondents (42%). • Vivian Maier is the most inspiring female Street Photographer. • Many other names were cited in the survey : Martin Parr, Robert Frank,Alex Webb, Bruce Gilden,Trent Park… 12 % 14 % 14 % 19 % 42 % Henri Cartier-Bresson Vivian Maier Elliott Erwitt Garry Winogrand Daido Moriyama 32
KEEP LEARNING • Books are a major source for knowledge and learning in Street Photography for 27% of our respondents, as of reading blogs and websites (32%). • Only 15% submit their work for critics and reviews. 11 % 15 % 16 % 27 % 32 % Reading blogs and websites Reading books Youtube videos Submitting your work for critics and reviews Other 33
ABOUT LENS & SHUTTER • Lens & Shutter is a set of photography resources created by Aref JDEY. • Tutorials, photographs, articles, and much more are shared on a regular basis with the online community. • The Lens & Shutter Newsletter is the primary resource to get up-to- date news about Street Photography, tips and advices to enhance your practice and skills. 34
LENS & SHUTTER Sharing Photography Passion