Shadowing Practice: 5 Natural Frames That Will Change Your Street Photography - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Seeing frames will improve your street photography almost immediately

and they really are hiding on every single street and once you start noticing them it's really hard to start unseeing them.

When I first started photography I was walking straight past them

most of the time however now I've grown accustomed to a few

that I really like so today I'm going to tell you about five natural frames

that you should look out for on your next street walk.

windows are some of the best framing tools for street photographers

because you can literally use them to frame your subject within their own physical frame

but that's only just the beginning they also have glass

which is a reflective surface

and it helps you create these really interesting shots known as reflection shots

so the next time that you're out and you're looking at a window see

if you can shoot through it

and see what's on the other side can you actually go to the other side

and shoot through the other side of that window?

Can you get close and experiment with some of the reflection options that it offers you?

Can you step back and take a photo of the whole thing

and see what it actually shapes and keeps inside of it?

Windows are really cool things because they do come in all different sizes

and shapes and they have a variety of different framing from squares to rectangles to archways to circles.

Honestly, they're probably one of the best things in terms of just looking for simple framing to improve your photography.

So next time you're at, see what windows can do for you.

Now buildings and architecture are going to come down later on the list.

However, doors just like windows deserve their own category because they are these wonderful natural framing tools.

And just like windows, we can go to the other side of them most of the time.

So not only are you getting two different backgrounds, you can really play around with how close you get to the door.

Can you use it as foreground blur to really create some negative space and to frame your subject?

Can you take a wider shot and get a silhouette shot?

There are a few different things you can do with doors, including things like match cutting for videos, doors come in all different sizes and colors.

Is it a double door, a single door, a revolving door which probably has a reflective surface?

Again there's a few different things you can do there so keep an eye out for doors, they're not as boring as you might think.

Buildings and structures are very easy to ignore

so really take your time to think about just

because we're surrounded by them doesn't mean that they can't provide more than just a pretty background.

We can get close to a building's corner

and use it to create negative space to get rid of unwanted distractions in a photo, creating foreground blur that helps frame a single subject.

We have pillars that run rows down a long corridor that create these leading lines that also can help frame our subjects.

Most buildings around your city will probably have an archway somewhere creating a unique shape, something different that you can actually use and look for.

Don't forget to look up.

You can actually shoot good architecture buildings through other buildings and windows that are probably in the roof as well.

So there's a variety of different things you can do with the architecture that is around you as well.

Something that I've actually been doing recently is trying to find artwork

and sculptures that are all around the city because they usually will have these really unique shapes to them.

There's one down near Haymarket that I used during my Sony ZV-E10 walk.

And I actually photographed people crossing the crossings, setting up umbrellas, sitting at restaurants.

And I used its funky shape as foreground blur to also cut out any distraction on the busy day, getting rid of most of the crowd and focusing on a single subject.

So have a look at where your sculptures are and statues are

and see what unique shapes they actually do offer you when you're walking around your city.

If you actually wanna see how that video turned out, I'll link it above somewhere and down in the description below.

And hey, if you are someone who's not subscribed yet, maybe consider subscribing.

I post mostly street photography walk videos

and I try to connect with the community to show my own personal growth

and see if we can learn and grow together.

So anything helps and it'd be nice to have you around.

Lighting is one of the most important things in photography, whether you are shooting with controlled lighting or natural lighting.

Lighting is our best friend, but also sometimes our worst enemy.

However, there's some regular rules, such as golden hour is going to produce this really nice, soft, warm glow.

Blue hour is going to be a bit darker, but it's also going to be a nice controlled light that's balanced and they're all good and well.

But let's say you are spending the morning shooting golden hour

or even the evening and the light is shooting across the city.

Take a look at the shadows as well.

Harsh shadows can create really interesting leading lines to frame our subjects.

And so it would be worth considering allowing them to be in your photo and not just ignoring them completely.

And that's not to say that you shouldn't allow this during the middle of the day.

Sometimes you are out in the harsh middle day sunlight.

don't forget we are in a city where the buildings throw shadows no matter what time of day it is

so allow them to guide your eye and to guide framing your subject

when you're struggling to deal with those quite strong lights this photo for example

that I got in the city was in the middle of the day

and I'd actually caught the Sun bouncing off of a building window

and it created this silhouette this opening of light for this subject that was sitting at the bus stop.

Finally, there are always the expected unexpected things such as people

using people in a city to create frames is such an easy task because there's so many of them.

Just get close to a group of people and then shoot through them.

Let them be the foreground blur for whatever is on the other side of that group that you are photographing through.

They create this nice natural feel of a because we know that cities are filled with people moving around, hustle and bustle, doing their thing.

And so allow them to create shapes, allow them to just be in the photo themselves

and to shoot through and find the subject that you actually want to photograph or the thing that is there.

Then we also have plants.

We travel through these concrete jungles so often.

Don't forget that there is plant life.

Look for planter boxes that have been put in.

Use them as foreground blur.

Use them to shape around a subject.

Look for the trees that are growing.

They hang over things and they create negative space if you are above them or under them.

They can create silhouettes as well.

There's so much you can do with just the natural plant life that is in a city.

Don't forget that there are just many different things

that you can shoot through and use as a framing tool in the city.

You can use elevators, you can use escalators, you can use benches and chairs and tables and all sorts of things.

Just see what your city offers up.

At night time look for where the light is coming from.

Chances are that's giving you a frame for a nice silhouette perhaps.

Take this for example, it's this really cool light that's on the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney

and then this was taken on one of Scott Howe's photo walks while he he was here in Sydney.

And he's actually the person in the photo where we framed him up in the center of this arrow light

that points down.

And we've got this really cool silhouette of him.

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And that is just another unique way of using the spaces that we have.

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So make a mental note, take photos like I do, and just put them in a, I want to go back here folder, pin them on your Google maps.

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There's so many things you can do in the city.

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You just have to take the time to think of, well, what's the frame I'm working with right now?

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Frames are all around us.

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So next time you go out

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and you are struggling to figure out what you want to take a photo of just try

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and think of one framing tool that you want to use don't try

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and pick them all up because

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that might be overwhelming just think today's just windows today's just doors today's just plants today's just people use

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that as a way to guide your photo walk

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and don't ignore other photos you'll pick up a lot of things along the way

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but what you'll find is

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that perhaps most of your photos will at least be attempting to use

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that framing technique now give this a like if you learned anything

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or it helped you in any way

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and comment down below the types of friends that you like to use

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because i am also learning just as much as you're learning

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and i just like that we're building a little community here where we help each other out

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while i'm growing as a photographer

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and i just want to share what i kind of use

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that helps me right now so thank you very much and i'll see you in the next one

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148 sentences

Speaking Goals for This Clip

This video is perfect for boosting your English speaking practice by targeting fluency in descriptive, conversational speech. You’ll learn to explain ideas clearly, use varied vocabulary, and maintain a natural rhythm—key milestones for sounding confident when talking about hobbies or creative processes. Plus, it’s a great chance to practice the shadowing technique (or "shadow speak"): repeating phrases aloud as you watch, to mimic pronunciation and flow.

Phrase Bank

"improve your [skill] almost immediately"
"grown accustomed to [something]"
"keep an eye out for [something]"
"get rid of unwanted distractions"
"focusing on a single subject"
"a variety of different [things]"
"don’t forget to look up"

These phrases are reusable in daily conversations—try them when talking about photography, art, or even exploring a new city!

Fix Your Weak Spots

The video’s friendly, conversational tone helps you master connected speech—how native speakers link words and stress key terms. For example, "it's really hard to start unseeing them" flows smoothly when you reduce "to start" to "t’start." Practice shadowspeak by pausing and repeating these lines: notice how "come in all different sizes and shapes" blends naturally. This will make your speech sound less choppy and more authentic. Learn English with videos like this one, and you’ll soon find your rhythm improving—one phrase at a time!

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are filled · have been put · was taken
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've grown · have been put

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 5 Natural Frames That Will Change Your Street Photography - Learn English Speaking with Video

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