As cliché as it sounds, I genuinely think that anywhere can be a great place for street portrait photography in Hong Kong.
Taking a corner that seems to be random, and turning it into a story-worthy portrait, is very good practice for photographers in training your eyes for better street portrait photography.
After all, street photography that makes people go ‘wow’ aren’t always the top trending pictures you see on Instagram; a lot of great work is created in the hidden parts of the town that no one pays attention to.
So in this guide, I will break it all down for you - what makes a good street portrait location, and where are my personal favourites in Hong Kong.
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For your easy reference, here is a video version of the guide on scouting out the best portrait spots.
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What makes a great street portrait location?
Less human traffic
Depending on who you shoot with, your model may have varying comfort levels regarding posing openly on streets.
Usually, professional models do not have much issues with that.
But if you are working with people who are not models, having them pose with a lot of passersby watching can make them feel extremely anxious.
If your model feels intimidated, it might show through your photos.
Also, this puts extra (and unnecessary) pressure on yourself to get the shot quick.
This photo below was taken right outside a night club - the owner of the club was asking our crew to leave every two minutes as we were setting up.
I remember thinking to myself, ‘now c’mon. This ONE shot needs to work’.
I was lucky and so we got it - this was the only single shot we had at this place.
But you do want to allow some margin for yourself to make adjustments - luck is not always on your side!
Besides, it is hard for your model to hear your directions without you shouting if the background is very noisy.
And most importantly, having random masses of people in the frame really detracts the attention away from your model in the portrait.
Therefore, choosing a relatively less busy spot for your street portrait photography session will serve you well.
Colour-match with your model’s outfit
Photography is much like painting using light.
To paint a picture, you need to choose the colours that go into your painting.
Likewise, to photograph a street portrait, you decide the colours that you want in your photo.
Studying the colour theory helps in this respect, but you certainly don’t have to be an expert to take advantage of this!
One easy way to get a visually pleasing resulting image is to leverage on colour pairs that naturally look good alongside each other.
Another trick that is pretty much dumb-proof is simply finding a wall with the same colour of the outfit, plus some whites and blacks.
This was a shoot I did at an old-looking building after learning that my model wants to shoot with this blue suit she got form Yesstyle.
Yes - it is this simple!
So, begin by thinking about the predominant colour your model will be wearing as well as that of her accessories.
Then, look at the background colours - I would advise not having more than THREE dominant colours in one photo, so that the photo doesn’t get overcrowded with different shades of colours.
Having a designated colour palette in mind is a very reliable yardstick in fine tuning your choice of location.
Value-adding to the story told
Interesting street portrait photography tells a narrative of a person and his city.
How?
This can be done through depicting the interaction of your subject and the background.
In simple words, pick a location that helps drive your message home, rather than one that just ‘feels’ nice!
If you picked a background that could effectively tell your story, it takes a lot of pressure off the styling and posing (not that they are not important, of course).
For this shoot I chose Pacific Place after talking to my model - she wanted to do a shoot with some designer items she owns.
As you can imagine, this casual every-day outfit would have required more posing and styling efforts to tell the same narrative - that of a confident, classy, fashionable young lady.
Where are the best street portraiture photography locations?
Here you go, this is your prize for sticking through thus far!
Enjoy my personal picks, on the best street portraiture photography locations.
Kam Lam Street, Mong Kok
This is arguably the best street photography location in Hong Kong - it represents the very local outlook of the buildings, while being relatively quiet.
The area consists of mostly industrial stores and people don’t usually hang out in that area.
For directions, see the map below.
Aberdeen Street/ Queen’s Road Central, Central
This one might be a little harder to spot - I am referring to the part where Aberdeen Street meets Queen’s Road Central.
This place I would highly recommend going in the evenings or late at night. During day time, the stalls will be up and running, and loads of tourist will pay that area a visit.
However, in the afterhours, when the stalls have closed, it almost becomes an outdoor equivalent of a studio!
Right to the left of the frame, I found a light that creates this yellow cast on my model - right at a 45 degrees angle from above!
Needless to say, this spot has a highly historic element to it.
What more can you ask for, in a street portrait photography setting?
For directions, see the map below.
Chun Yeung Street, North Point
This is my favourite wet market in Hong Kong - it is such a gem!
Most notorious for having a tram rail built in between the market, it is a great place to shoot street portraits that looks authentically Hong Kong.
One tip for you though - scout out a few locations along the tram trail to find the location that works for you and your model.
When I did this shoot, the people were commenting on us non-stop. Though my model didn’t mind, this is surely not the case always.
We went into the section where the trams parked before they left the market, and the human traffic was significantly lower than compared with the heart of the market.
For directions, see the map below.
Summary
In this article, we talked about:
What makes a location ideal for a street portraiture photography session, and
Less human traffic,
Colours that match with your model’s outfit, and
Strengthens your story.
Where to find the best street portraiture photography spots
Kam Lam Street, Mong Kok,
Aberdeen Street, Central, and
Chun Yuen Street, North Point.
More sharing coming soon!
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