Madrid Street Photography: 35mm Composition Break Down (Fuji X-T5)
When you first arrive in a new city, everything feels fresh. The streets, the light, the architecture—it all hits differently before you’ve had time to settle in.
That’s why I’ve always noticed that some of my best travel photos come from the first few days. You’re seeing things with fresh eyes, before familiarity dulls the edges.
In Madrid, this feeling was no different.
I wanted to capture that sense of novelty—the moments that stood out because everything was still new.
So, during my first couple of days, I walked the city with my Fuji X-T5 and the 23mm (35mm equivalent) lens, paying close attention to light, texture, and how people interacted with the environment.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the compositions I found while wandering through the streets of Madrid.
You can check out the video above or… if you don’t hear me ramble about composition for 16 minutes just scroll through the below photos.
Puente de Toledo: Framing With Foreground Texture
On Madrid’s Puente de Toledo, I noticed how the rough stone textures could add depth to a shot.
The afternoon light too created nice long shadows, and I used them to isolate a single person walking below.
Sometimes it’s all about waiting for the right person in the right movement to step into the scene.
Framing and The Flag
Walking next to the Puente Toledo, I liked how this man was sitting and dressed with the Spain flag in the background.
To lead the eyes more to the subject, I framed him with a tree in the foreground.
Puente Toledo, Madrid
Cathedral Santa María la Real de La Almudena: Framing, Gestures, Reflections
The Cathedral Santa María sits right next to the Royal Palace, and its scale is incredible from any angle.
Walking around, I found a great spot slightly down the hill on Cuesta de la Vega.
From there, you can really appreciate the size of the cathedral.
I framed it using the surrounding trees and pathways, which created natural leading lines toward the building.
To add a human element and fill the frame a bit, I waited for a subject to walk through the bottom of the frame.
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Man On A Bench: Gesture and Light
A man sitting alone on a bench caught my attention.
The soft light and tree shadows framed him nicely, but it was when he stood up that the shot really came together, adding just the right amount of movement.
Clock Tower Through the Gate: Framing
I found an old iron gate that created leading lines toward a distant clock tower.
I framed the shot and waited for someone to walk through, adding a human element to balance the static architecture.
Floating Shoes: Color
Walking in Madrid’s Arganzuela neighborhood, I noticed some old shoes hung from a wire, silhouetted against the clouds, almost floating there.
The row of yellow buildings surrounding it and the deeply saturated blue sky, made for some great complementary colors.
But it needed a little more, so I waited for something to come towards me to balance out the composition.
Gentleman by the Trash: Reflection and Gesture
Sometimes you just stumble on strange thing happening on the street.
Near a yellow building, I noticed a man rummaging through a trash can.
His posture and the way he was eloquently dressed caught my eye.
So I used the building’s reflection in a nearby car window to frame him.
The reflection, combined with his gesture, gave the scene some nice layers and depth.
Analogous Colors and a Reflection
In that same yellow building area of Arganzeula I loved the analogous colors of the red car and the reflection of the bright yellow building behind it.
A construction worker just happened to be in the frame, which added some movement and made the shot a bit more dynamic.
Centro in Mid-Day: Leading Lines & Light/Shadow
Shooting in the midday sun isn’t always ideal, but I found that the narrow streets of Madrid’s Centro to work in my favor.
The shadows cast by the colorful buildings created natural frames.
I composed the shot by bringing the camera low, using leading lines from a pole and the side of a building to guide the eye toward a lone figure walking by.
The yellows were muted in the shadows, but the composition still worked, with the shadows framing the subject well.
Calle Mayor: Light, Texture, Framing
Calle Mayor was perhaps my favorite area to shoot during golden hour.
The sun blasts directly through the street and there’s so many opportunities for cinematic scenes.
But I was a little bored of the typical subject walking with low sun behind them.
So I looked for something specific to the street to frame a subject.
Which does two things: 1) Gives texture to the image, makes a viewer feel a little more immersed in the photo and 2) Cuts out negative space and leads your eyes to a single subject.
Buses, Churches, Graffiti: Leading Lines
In the morning in Madrid’s Centro I stumbled on this scene of buses lined up for the early morning commuters.
The buses on the right and the wall on the left gave some nice leading lines into the sidewalk.
The colorful grafiti gave the scene some more character too.
Palacio Real: Contrast, Color, Framing, Shape
At Madrid’s Palacio Real, I was trying to cut through the tourist chaos and isolate a single subject.
A woman in red walked toward the entrance, and the contrast between her bright dress and the gray shadows of the palace made the shot work.
Her body slipping into the shadow added just the right amount of drama.
Across from the church at the Palacio’s gate, I noticed the gold ornamentation from the gate gave some nice foreground texture.
The shape was interesting too and just as I was noticing that, a man walked perfectly into the frame, shaped by the gates ornamentation. His gesture added the final touch.
Plaza Mayor: Symmetry and Backlight
A sunset in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor is something special.
The light streams directly through the plaza’s arches, creating these beautiful long shadows.
If you're patient and wait for the crowds to thin out, you can capture a single subject or two, framed perfectly in that golden light.
Hey one more thing before you go (FramesFrom Madrid)
If Madrid’s on your travel list and you’re after some insider tips to capture the city without the requisite Instagram hashtag doom scrolling… I’ve gotchu.
