Cities provide endless photographic opportunity, the trick is to see the potential and capture it.

Most of us travel through urban landscapes every day, but often the journey becomes an introverted routine, our gaze only captured by mundane cues, such as train announcements and road signs.

Next time you make a journey, even if it's your daily commute, take your camera along and try our some of these urban photography tips.

Capture the Moment

The father of modern photojournalism Cartier Bresson coined the phrase 'The Decisive Moment', and described it in a nutshell with the following phrase, ''Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."

I'm sure everyone can think of a time when they have kicked themselves for leaving their camera at home. So bring it along. Always. You don't have to bring your bulky SLR, just have something to capture the fleeting second that makes a superb photo.

Once you have your camera, there are other things that will help you to capture the moment:

- Whenever possible, have your camera out of it's bag and the lens cap off. Fumbling around as a great opportunity passes can be very frustrating!

- As you move through different lighting conditions, change the camera settings to suit them as you go along. It increases your chances of being ready when the moment arrives!

- Have your camera set to Aperture Priority, or even Auto (see my other posts about how these work), so you can react quickly. You can always change to other modes should you need it.

Take a Different View

Make your photos of iconic scenes stand out from the countless ordinary shots, taken from ordinary viewpoints by trying some of these ideas:

• Move three feet around where you would ordinarily take the shot. This includes moving to spots and angles that are tricky to access and getting down really low!
• Try taking a photo when the weather is bad. It's something you don't see in postcards much, but that's what you are after! 'Summer' in London provides ample opportunity to try this one. Our recent competition winner Al Lapkovsky demonstrated this admirably with his photo over on the right.
• Get in close and shoot details. These can be used to give an abstract shot, providing the viewer with an 'Aha!' moment when they work out the subject of the photo. Alternatively, tell a story with small details, revealing how people use a building, or the craftsmanship that was involved in creating it.

Use the Golden Hours

The first and last hours of daylight are called the golden hours and can produce spectacular lighting conditions. You end up with warmer hues, longer shadows and softer lighting. These all contribute to give what is arguably the best photographic light, revealing texture on buildings and giving warm saturated colours.

As we move into Autumn, the evenings draw in and mornings get later. The golden hours are at, let's say, 'more sociable' times, often overlapping with a daily commute. So there are no excuses to miss these opportunities.

Along with the excellent light, early morning photography has other benefits. The streets are usually cleaned at night, so if you want a clean, litter free shot, then early mornings are the best. If you are out really early, then you will have very few people in your photos, which can be a mixed blessing...

On People

It's rather obvious, but there is no getting away from people in an urban environment. People are an inextricable part of the urban landscape and are likely to be present in many of the photos you take.

When photographing buildings and cityscapes, make a concious decision over whether to include them. If they are present, make sure they add meaning, rather than providing a distraction. Some examples include using them to illustrate scale, or to show accord or contrast with their physical environment

CameraTrails runs photographic tours of London, led by professional photographers. Click here to find out more!

Trafalgar Square image copyright Al Lapkovsky