It can help to have a friend along to watch your back (and to make sure you don’t do anything silly).ĭepending on what you're going for, you can take traffic photos with almost any type of camera, though I strongly recommend using a camera that gives you full manual control over your settings. You can always find an interesting-and safe-vantage point to take a picture from, but you can't take any pictures at all if you're dead.Ībove all, be aware of what’s around you. Whatever you do, stay off the roads themselves, no matter how tempting it may seem. You could also shoot from a congested part of the inner-city-sidewalks are generally pretty safe, although it pays to be alert wherever you are in the city, whether you're taking pictures or not. The balcony of a building near the interstate would be a good choice. Instead, find a vantage point to shoot from that is not in the danger zone. That's a really good way to get a one-way ticket to the emergency room. I do not recommend standing on the shoulder of your local interstate taking pictures during rush hour.
And cars being driven by frustrated people can be even more so. I don't have to tell you that cars can be dangerous. No discussion of photographing moving vehicles would be complete without some discussion of safety. And to do this, you need to carefully consider the way you approach your traffic photography. Your goal should be to take a photo that makes your viewer think. So this type of photography needs to capture more emotion and meaning than aesthetics. There really isn't a lot of beauty in traffic when it's moving, either. Unless you're a naturally sadistic person, the chances are pretty good that you don't find a lot of beauty in stopped traffic. So most of the time, the goal of your traffic photography should be express that-or at the very least to convey some sense of the meaning of traffic: what is it like to be stuck in it, what it is like to be a slave to it, and ultimately, what it says about life in the city and the human condition in the modern world.