How to capture streetscapes with the Z5II

First impressions of the Nikon Z5II

Street photography has made me a better observer of my surroundings. It helps me appreciate all the little things happening in the city – the details, the contrasts, the colours. That kind of awareness comes with a trained eye but, once you develop it, you start to notice the most beautiful things.

Working in bad weather, I need a camera that can handle the elements. I remember early in my career I used to worry about taking my gear out in the rain but, with cameras like the Nikon Z5II, it’s like being equipped with an umbrella. It’s durable, weather-sealed and in all my years photographing with Nikon, often in wet conditions, I’ve never had an issue with water damage. I also noticed straight away that the Z5II had a really solid grip, which made it comfortable to handle, especially during the long days exploring London.

For me, one of the camera’s top features has to be its fully articulating screen. I always try not to get too close to people, I tend to photograph people from behind, or only when they’re part of a wider scene. I also prefer to keep things more subtle, more abstract, maybe capturing someone in a reflection, behind a window, or using texture to slightly obscure the subject and make them anonymous. That’s why the Z5II’s fully articulating screen is so useful, particularly when photographing from hip level or low angles compared to raising the camera to your eye. It makes it so much easier to blend in and capture fleeting, natural moments without drawing attention to yourself.

Loving London’s low light

I only ever use available light, never flash, but, of course, working with available light is always different depending on the conditions. On bright days, I like to work with pockets of light between buildings or architectural features. I look for highlight spots, and when a subject walks into one I’m ready to capture that moment. In low light, available light becomes everything. I rely on neon signs, streetlamps or light spilling through windows from bars and shops, and that became a major theme in the images I created in London.

I really like to photograph around sunset and just after during blue hour and into the night, especially when it’s raining and there are plenty of chances to get creative with reflections. Blue hour creates a beautiful contrast with artificial lights, and everything takes on a different character in the rain. Reflections, puddles and raindrops all come together to create that magical mood. I also really enjoy photographing the sun when it’s low in the sky, particularly in spring or autumn. You get beautiful light, rich colours and long shadows. And when a subject walks into that perfect spot, it all clicks.

So during my visit to London, I was especially keen to explore how the camera performed in these low-light situations and to see how it handled being pushed to max ISO in some very dark scenes. I was genuinely impressed by how clean the images turned out. There’s no doubt that the Z5II handles high ISO incredibly well. I was able to capture night scenes that almost looked as if they were taken in daylight, while still preserving the mood and atmosphere. That’s a huge advantage for street photography after dark.

Finding focus

The Z5II’s autofocus was one of the things that impressed me the most, especially the face tracking, which was really, really strong. The fact that the camera can detect and lock on to faces that take up just 3% of the frame is super useful for building compositions. I was also photographing fast-moving subjects, as speed is very important in street photography. The autofocus was really great at helping me capture moments I would have missed if the technology wasn’t that quick.

Overall, the camera offers a strong combination for street photography, with great low-light capabilities paired with fast, reliable autofocus, even in challenging conditions. For example, I was working handheld, capturing moving vehicles such as buses passing through the frame while pedestrians stood still in the background waiting to cross. I managed to capture that at 120mm handheld with a shutter speed of 1/4 of a second and the images still came out sharp.

No tripod required

Another top feature I really enjoyed was the combination of in-body image stabilisation and Focus Point VR, which allowed me to experiment with long exposures handheld. It gives you a lot of creative freedom, whether you’re out photographing at night or using an ND filter during the day to play with motion blur. You can really push your creative ideas without needing a tripod, which is ideal for the kind of photography I do.

The Z5II offers up to 7.5 stops of vibration reduction through its IBIS system, and I made full use of its Focus Point VR mode during long exposure images. This setting prioritises the active focus point when applying stabilisation, giving maximum compensation when the focus is near the centre of the frame and adjusting accordingly when it shifts toward the edges. I used it while locking focus on pedestrians standing still in the street, which allowed that part of the image to remain sharp and stabilised. Meanwhile, fast-moving elements in the foreground, such as buses passing through the frame, became beautifully blurred. That contrast added a strong sense of motion and atmosphere, and the Focus Point VR played a key role in keeping the subject crisp exactly where I needed it.

That kind of performance really suits my creative vision. Being able to work at slow shutter speeds without a tripod, especially in street settings where a tripod isn’t practical, is incredibly helpful. You still get those beautiful, long exposure effects, like motion blur from moving subjects, while keeping the static parts of the image sharp.

Favoured focal lengths

When it comes to focal length, I mainly used the NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2. Because it’s so compact, it’s a really convenient choice for street photography. It’s narrow enough to help me focus on the key elements in a composition, but still wide enough that I’m not cropping anything out, so it gives me everything I want in the frame. And since I’m using full frame, I have the flexibility to crop in if needed. So the 40mm strikes a great balance for me – not too wide, not too tight. And if I want to go tighter, I just crop. It gives me a lot of control without having to switch lenses.

Recipe for success

During my time with the Nikon Z5II I created my very own picture recipe via Nikon Imaging Cloud, which was the first time I’d used the feature. It gave me a more realistic impression of what my personal style looked like in real life while I was looking through the viewfinder. Thanks to the imaging recipes and the colour grading you can apply, I basically saw the final image in the viewfinder as I was taking it, and that was really helpful for my creative vision.

Composition conundrums

In terms of compositional techniques, I try to draw the viewer’s attention to subjects via leading lines and in street photography that can be anything. That can be streets themselves. It can be windows, it can be parts of buildings or even street signs. In street photography, there are a lot of leading lines that can be used once you start to look for them.

Shadows also play a big role in my photography and they’re really fun to work with. I like creating contrast between bright areas and deep shadows, which can give the image a more minimalistic feel, and sometimes they add that extra something that makes a scene more visually interesting. I also often use them to hide parts of the frame I don’t want, which helps keep the composition clean and intentional.

Some people think there are certain elements in street photography that have maybe become a bit clichéd. Things such as hats and umbrellas. They were particularly common in the work of photographers like Saul Leiter in the 1960s, and in recent years they’ve made a big comeback. I have to admit, those details still catch my eye, and I still incorporate them into my work quite a lot. It’s a fine line, though, because they’ve become part of a wider trend, but there’s something very aesthetic about them. They often give a photo that little extra something. So in my photography, they still play a role.

A deeper dive   

Reflections

The woman in the glass reflection features many of the creative elements I enjoy exploring in my street photography. There’s a beautiful bokeh created by the small light sources inside the bar, and several layers that add depth, including the steamed-up window, that give the whole scene an abstract, dreamlike quality. The colours work really well together and that’s what initially caught my eye. I took it through the window of a pub in London. You can see the subject inside interacting with the glass. She’s trying to get a better look at the street outside and, in doing so, creates a compelling gesture. The Z5II’s low-light performance really stands out in this picture. Even at ISO 2000, the detail is sharp and clean, particularly in the contrast between the texture of the glass and the softness of the background and bokeh. There’s a lovely mix of soft and sharp elements. For me, this is probably my favourite image from the whole collection. It has that quiet complexity I’m always looking for. And I love that her brushstroke across the glass just happens to obscure one eye, it adds a layer of anonymity and makes the gesture feel almost like a spontaneous painting.

Long exposure 

This is one of the long exposure images I mentioned before, where I really took advantage of the Z5II’s in-body image stabilisation. Despite the slow shutter speed, I didn’t need a tripod at all. It’s a great example of how the camera performs in low light and how the stabilisation system allows for creative handheld work, even with longer exposures. The aim was to create a strong sense of motion through the blur of the passing bus. In the foreground, you’ve got a classic London cab stopped at the traffic lights, while a red bus moves through the background. That contrast, the stillness of the cab versus the movement of the bus, adds a dynamic energy to the image. There’s also a pedestrian on the far side of the street, which is where I locked focus before the bus came through. That person remains sharp, as does the man visible in the window on the right-hand side of the frame. The whole scene came together naturally: two characters in the background, two vehicles crossing paths, each bringing its own mood and movement.

Leading lines

This image (above) is one I’d say really represents my style. It was a gloomy, moody day with a fair bit of fog in the background, which helped obscure the London skyline and add to the atmosphere. There are some nice leading lines in the scene, and then the main subject, an older gentleman wearing a hat, caught my eye just as he was about to walk past me. I only spotted him at the last second, so the Z5II’s fast autofocus really helped. I quickly raised the camera, tilted the screen to aim from a slightly lower angle and framed the image. I was also trying to stay a bit discreet, and the rotating screen helped with that. In the end, I was able to track him smoothly and get a clean composition. You can see the leading lines of the fence in the background and also a strip of light that runs through the scene. It helps divide the frame into thirds, so you get a strong sense of structure and balance. And then, of course, there’s the overall atmosphere: the fog, the soft colours and the way his coat pops just slightly against the muted tones.

Final thoughts…

When I’m somewhere new, I like to go with the flow. It’s very rare that I have an explicit spot in mind that I go to. Instead, I like to really explore the city. I just stroll around, being mindful of my surroundings and seeing what my eye is drawn to. If I find a good spot, I may stay there for quite some time – an hour or more if it has potential. If I’m somewhere I know, such as at home, I do have a few favourite spots where I know how the light will be at different times of the day, different times of the year. Spots where, if I hang around long enough, I know I will eventually get a good image. But the beauty of street is you can do it wherever you are. You don’t even need to be in a major city. You can do it in a small town, or even out in nature, as long as you’re observing and noticing scenes that others might miss. Even something as simple as a shadow can result in a powerful street photograph.