Sounds like a riddle, right? Well, that’s because it is, in the context of which are the best-selling types of editorial images! Some of my best street editorial sellers have precisely been a person walking in front of a shop. Easy as cake.

Why not just capture the shopfront without anybody?

Adding people will often add a human context when said shop/business is the subject of an editorial piece. A single person, in my experience, works better than a group of people as it’s less distracting. If you can’t capture just one person, the next best number is three.

Ideally, you’ll want to have a long-exposure to make the person unidentifiable, although for walk-around shots, as well as busy street scenes (especially during the xmas period), it may be challenging to execute.

The intention blur just makes it more dynamic, not that the plan is to submit as a commercial, as the subject remains the shop/business. It cannot be commercial anyways since the shopfront trademarks and logos are clearly visible.

Editorial Bread and Butter

I’ll let you on a little secret.

These types of shots are the backbone of the editorial industry. By focusing on new shops on the High Street (UK), Main Street (US/Canada) and Corso (Italy), you’ll be well on your way to getting more sales.

Otherwise, just stick with the classics like the Apple Store and other popular technology-type shops that feature regularly on all sorts of tech news.

Finally, here are some examples from my portfolio where my goal was to capture one person in front of a shop:

That’s my tip of the day.

Tomorrow I’ll be off to Brazil, where I’ll be sure to blog from the Cidade Maravilhosa, in between relaxing at the beach drinking from a coconut.

Abraço,

Alex