Brighton Street Photography - Composition Tips and Great Locations for Photographers

Introduction

I love Brighton. It seems to be an underrated place for Street Photography. With its many unique and characterful areas and attractions, Brighton Town actually offers many interesting opportunities for great street photos.

Where are these places, you might ask?

Let's get into it...

Brighton is Unique

A bustling town with beautiful Regency architecture, Brighton and Hove has many interesting places to take images.

The Lanes

The Lanes are situated in Brighton's historic quarter. Comprised of twisting alleyways and paved roads full of cafés, restaurants, beautiful boutiques, jewellery and eatery shops; you can be sure to find something aesthetically pleasing to shoot and you will definitely capture some exceptionally dressed individuals going about their daily lives.

Brighton Pavilion

Brighton Pavilion, home to King George IV (the Prince Regent), can make for some interesting Architecture / Street photography, depending on the weather, the people and the light conditions. The unusual-looking structure was built in the Indo-Saracenic style that was prevalent in India for most of the 19th century.

Brighton Seafront

Easily the best place for creative street shots, Brighton seafront boasts shops, art galleries, bars and restaurants. Some are built into the historical arched promenade architecture which is comprised of interesting textures and shapes that can be worked into your compositions.

In this shot, I was enticed by the colours and the textures in the shop's facades and the table and chairs. I also incorporated how the two deck chairs with the yellow table worked as a subtle leading line that goes up to the café door. I was fortunate to also capture the pigeons actually entering the café!

The Palace Pier

Not only do you have the seafront with all the interesting characters and the vintage details you also have the beautiful Palace Pier which is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier that was established in 1899. Long walkways, a funfair with original rides all allow for some minimalist or detailed colour or black and white street photography images.

I couldn't resist capturing this guy who was walking with his bright orange coat on, looking fairly melancholy. In Lightroom, I edited this image using a cool tone to accentuate the overall vibe.

The West Pier

The derelict, Grade I listed, West Pier is a hot spot for seascapes and long exposure photography. In its beautiful broken state, you can always find a unique perspective and Exposure setting to shoot from.

This shot was taken whilst standing on The Palace Pier.

Street Photography Technique in Brighton

One of the greatest aspects of being in Brighton and Hove is the eclectic mix of people and the liberal, relaxed culture. This really does make for some interesting characters wherever you are. This also means that I needed to shoot run and gun style, especially on the seafront. I used a monopod. All of my shots were shot with the Sony A7RIII, with the 55mm f / 1.8, ISO 400, f/ 8.0, 1/400 sec.

I also keep an eye out for composition, including layering, colours, leading lines, patterns and even triangles.

Triangles

Triangles are great tools to incorporate into your street photography arsenal as they can create balance in an image and also allow for movement. Just as the leading line draws the eye from foreground to background, the triangle causes the eye to move around the image.

You can find implied triangles in lots of street photography images. Some street photographers actively look for them to use in their compositions.

Notice the triangle in this image?

Without the pier in the frame, there would not be any balance in the photo.

Back to this photograph - notice that your eye can be drawn from the Pigeon to the door and then to the deck chair in the foreground.

For more detail on Triangles in Street Photography

Patterns

There are various patterns and shapes in this photo. I deliberately framed this image so that the main subject was at the top corner of the frame, with his cocksure personality and dark clothing I saw him. as being 'on top of the world', and with his 'Figure-to-Ground' he contrasts with the rest of the image.

Layers

There are various layered elements to this colourful street photo taken on the walkway above Brighton seafront. In the foreground, there is the yellow road/walkway paint. The main subject being the seagull looking in the direction of the busy shop owner. And in the background, there is the pier and the sky which gives the viewer a sense of location.

Colours

In this image, in post-processing, I worked carefully to accentuate the colours in nearly every detail so that they could be contrasted with the drab vintage clothing on the two lovely seated ladies.

Leading Lines

Leading Lines can be found everywhere, even on the paved walking area, which is, fortunately, beautifully curved. Also, the pier is a fantastic place to find leading lines, as it is pretty much a giant leading line.

In this shot, there is a leading line, yet it is littered with workman's utilities and tools which I chose to accentuate in Lightroom by boosting their vibrance.

How I Captured These Images

One of my favourite urban photography images is 'The Artist's Hand'. I was very lucky to capture the artist working in the darkness of his studio, where I could just see his hand painting away. In contrast, are the vibrant and striking paintings situated all around the frame. I also like the red, textured bricks at the top which match the colour of the Frankie Howerd painting on the bottom left of the composition.

In this unconventional composition, I wanted the textured sand to fill the bottom half of the frame, contrasting with the busy upper two thirds. Notice how the man, sitting on the left, is in direct balance with the ice cream statue on the right. The grooves in the sand lead the eye to the subjects.

Simple yet effective. I caught these two birds standing on this structure on Brighton Beach. Even though it was cloudy, the light coming through was pleasant enough. I chose a square crop as I wanted the focus in this minimalist street photograph, to be on the two birds on that interestingly detailed housing, surrounded by the repetitive pebbles and the sea.

Conclusion

I hope that these explanations into my working process gives you some food for thought when planning and shooting your street photography. I'm sure I will take another trip to the awesome town of Brighton in the near future. Maybe I'll see you there....

Go forth and create.