Street photography has had a huge positive impact on my mental health. In this blog post, I’m sharing with you—from my personal experience—how street photography can be good for your mental health. Read this even if you don’t have a camera.
You’ll go out more often
When we’re not feeling well, we can tend to shut ourselves in our houses. Not going out as often as we should. Or maybe just when we have to (for work, appointments, etc). Street photography will motivate you to go out. It’s not something that you can do in your home. Once you’ll get a taste of it, it’ll be hard not to go out for your regular shooting sessions!
You’ll walk instead of staying idle
Staying idle can’t lead to happiness and well-being. It’s boring, it makes life dull and sad. Street photography will make you walk instead of staying idle. Walking has many benefits for your body but in my experience, it’s also great to get gray clouds out of your mind.
You’ll explore new places
You gonna be surprised by this one: you don’t know your city as well as you think. There are probably some nice secret spots you’re not even aware of. Prowling the streets of your city will lead you to beautiful and enriching discoveries. And this is excellent for your mood!
You’ll see the world differently
When you take on the role of a photographer, you’ll look differently around you. You’ll see the world differently. And seeing differently can lead to a paradigm shift. Where you may have been seeing sad gray urban environments, now you may see beautiful forms and interesting scenes. After some time, everything will look different.
You’ll have more self-confidence
When you’ll review your photographs, you’ll feel satisfied for having been there and captured that. It may not be immediate cause it takes some practice and patience to get good photos. But your self-confidence will increase with your results and the regularity of your efforts.
You may reduce your social anxiety
Social anxiety is a poison and it’s really hard to deal with. I struggled with this poison for years. But practicing regularly street photography helped me to significantly reduce my social anxiety. This happened after the purchase of my first camera. I was following a program I created to overcome my fear of holding a camera in public. All that led me to heightened well-being and I believe it can happen to you too!
You don’t need a dedicated camera
Dropping $1K on a camera is a big investment. If you don’t have a camera, fret not! Cause you already have one: your smartphone. You can use your phone’s camera to take your street photographs.
Street photography can be good for your mental health
Street photography won’t replace therapy, of course, this is not the point of this blog post. But it can be good for your mental health as I experienced it myself. It can help you to get a healthier lifestyle and heightened well-being.
At least give it a try. Schedule one or two weekly street photography sessions and keep up at least for a few months. With a dedicated camera or your smartphone, go out, take a long walk, and start seeing the world differently!
