Mastering Light Street Photography with José Sarmento Matos June 2026

Mastering Light Street Photography with José Sarmento Matos

This two-day workshop with photographer José Sarmento Matos focuses on mastering available light and colour while developing a coherent street photography narrative on the streets of London.

Working primarily in Soho, participants will explore how light, colour, reflections, movement, and human interaction shape visual storytelling in a dense urban environment.

Drawing from his experience in street and documentary photography, José will guide participants through the process of observing light and colour, anticipating moments, and building visual consistency within a single location. Through a combination of presentation, practical shooting, editing, and group discussion, attendees will work towards producing a strong and coherent ten-image photographic story created during the workshop.

What You Will Learn

Participants will develop an understanding of how to observe, anticipate, and use available light and colour in complex urban situations. The workshop explores how colour, contrast, shadow, reflections, and natural light can be used as narrative tools in street photography.

Attendees will work on framing, composition, exposure, and timing, while also developing confidence in approaching and photographing people in the street.

A key focus of the workshop is learning how to construct a coherent short-form photographic narrative. Participants will learn how individual images function together, how to edit and sequence photographs, and how to build a visually consistent story within a limited timeframe and location.

Who This Workshop Is For

This workshop is aimed at all levels from amateur to professional photographers who wish to strengthen their street and documentary photography practice, as much of the tuition is aimed on a 1–2–1 basis.

This workshop is particularly suitable for those interested in working with light and colour, visual storytelling, and developing short narrative photo series in urban environments.

Schedule

Saturday

10:00 – 11:30
Welcome, participant introductions, and presentation of José Sarmento Matos’s recent street photography series and documentary work. Introduction to visual storytelling, anticipation of decisive moments, and composing with available light and colour in a single location.

11:30 – 12:00
Discussion of participants’ work. Attendees are asked to bring a five-image selection from a previous street or documentary project, along with a short reflection on the main challenges they face in their photography, use of colour and use of light.

12:00 – 12:30
Briefing with the participants about what to work on, what to focus on and how to develop ideas for small photography series on location.

12:30 – 13:30
Lunch break

13:30 – 16:00
Practical shooting session in Soho, focusing on light, colour, reflections, human interaction, and narrative development.

16:00 – 17:30
Editing session. Jose will go through every participant’s work, group and individual critical feedback. Understanding what can be improved for the second day of the workshop.

Sunday

10:00 – 13:00
Morning shooting session in Soho, refining individual stories and continuing to build a cohesive visual series.

13:00 – 14:00
Lunch break

14:00 – 15:00
Second sequencing images session. Participants create a first selection of approximately 50 images.

15:00 – 17:00
Guided editing and sequencing session. José works individually with each participant to refine the selection and shape a final eight-image story. The process is shared with the group to encourage discussion and collective learning.

17:00 – 17:30
Final group review, individual feedback, and workshop conclusion.

Date and Time

Date
Saturday, 13th and Sunday, 14th June 2026

Time
10am to 5pm each day

Location

Leica Akademie UK (Leica Client Services)
First Floor, 15 Greek Street
London, W1D 4DP

About your tutor

José Sarmento Matos is a an established photographer working across editorial and documentary practice. He has worked on editorial work on assignments for international publications including HBO, HISTORY, Sky, NZZ, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, alongside his long-term documentary projects. He had published is book JAMAIKA in 2024 and have seen is work in group and solo exhibitions around the world for more than a decade.

Website: www.josesarmentomatos.com
Instagram: @josesarmentomatos