toronto photography

This talented Toronto street photographer takes candid shots of downtown commuters

If you're a commuter downtown, chances are you've actually had a professional portrait taken by a Toronto street photographer.

One photographer in particular, Anuoluwatobi Isaac Aniyi, has been making captivating videos showing his process and posting them to social media.

More than just the average step-by-step video showing raw images edited with successive filters, he shows how he brings out the inner spirit of ordinary people walking by, typically adding dreamy background music.

Living in Toronto for the past seven years, Aniyi has dabbled in street photography for the past five as a way of expressing his love for the city.

"I have been enamoured by the city and try to capture as much as I can," Aniyi tells blogTO.

"My current series started from a combination of trying to challenge my skill set as well as rediscovering the city and its people."

You might notice all his videos are captioned "get out there and live a little" - this is a reference to this process of rediscovering, as it's something we haven't been able to do much for the past couple years.

He tries to choose his subjects based on the location, their interactions with their surroundings and any interesting characteristics he notices. A wide range of people are represented, and while some are very stylish others aren't dressed in the latest fashions.

"Sometimes, people notice me with my camera and request photos to which I oblige," says Aniyi.

"While pretty rare, a few people have requested to not have their likeness captured or used to which I respect. When I'm editing and deciding which to share publicly, I gravitate toward the ones that tell a story in the video I captured as well."

Part of his secret method to capturing what feel like such soulful images is a "Moment CineBloom Diffusion Filter" which Aniyi says helps "bloom" light and soften detail.

He's been getting great feedback on this recent series of work, which is encouraging him to expanding into different areas of the city and even outside the city for the series, as well as hitting up special events like street festivals.

If you like what you see, Aniyi typically takes on a few paid gigs a month right now, and can be booked through his website where you can also find his portfolio.

Lead photo by

Anuoluwatobi Isaac Aniyi


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