Street Photography in Prague

The square is the busiest spot in the city after Charles Bridge. The main event is the astronomical clock, where crowds gather every hour with phones raised for a short show. Shooter Files calls it an uninspiring attraction but a funny scene for people watching. Stand to the side of the clock and shoot the crowd, not the clock: a sea of raised phones and upturned faces. Street performers and tour groups fill the rest of the square. In December the Christmas market takes over. Caution: pickpockets work the clock crowd.

Musicians and portrait artists line the bridge, and tourists fill the rest. By mid morning it is shoulder to shoulder. Go at sunrise. You get soft light and a few early walkers moving between the statues. Use the statues as dark silhouettes in the foreground with a lone figure behind. Later in the day, climb the Old Town Bridge Tower for a view straight down the bridge toward the castle. Mánes Bridge, one bridge north, is quieter and has a good view back. Caution: pickpockets work the bridge crowds.

This is more of a long boulevard than a square, with the National Museum at the top and the Old Town at the bottom. It has hosted Prague's big demonstrations and celebrations, and it still draws locals for shopping and food. That makes it one of the better places for a real mix of people. Walk down the middle strip and work the crowd coming toward you. Trams cross the lower end. Late afternoon light runs down the length of it. Caution: the lower end gets rowdy at night with bars and hustlers.

Josefov was the Jewish ghetto. Most of it was demolished around 1900 and rebuilt in a Parisian style. A few synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery remain. Pařížská Street is now one of the most expensive shopping streets in the city. So you get tour groups at the synagogues and wealthy shoppers a block away. The streets are quieter than the Old Town, so it works for clean frames. Shoot a figure against the grand facades in side light. Caution: be respectful around the synagogues and cemetery, and follow any photo rules posted inside.

The castle complex is one of the largest in the world. The district around it is palaces and narrow lanes, with quiet corners away from the crowds. Watch the guards at the castle gates and the tourists lining up to photograph them. The changing of the guard happens at noon. Climb to the top for the view over the orange rooftops, and look for people along the walls. Late afternoon light hits the lanes from the west. Caution: do not touch or crowd the guards, and expect security checks at the castle entrance.

Žižkov is where I'd go for real Prague life. It is a bit rough, with graffiti on old tenement blocks and a famous density of pubs. The TV Tower has David Černý's giant baby sculptures crawling up it. Shoot late afternoon and evening, when locals head to the pub and tram stops fill. Frame a figure against a graffiti wall, or stand at a pub door as the light fades. Caution: this is a residential area, not a show, so shoot quickly and don't linger with a lens on one person.

Nové Město, the New Town, is working Prague: offices and busy tram junctions. Around Masarykovo station, old station buildings sit next to new glass offices, which gives you reflections and layers. Commuters stream through at rush hour. Stand in front of a glass wall and wait for a walker to line up with their own reflection. Shoot at 8am or 5pm for the crowds. Caution: it is a transit hub, so stay out of the flow and don't block exits.