An observations of fellow travelers that I made on my last trip was that most of them seemed to focus on the ‘big picture’.
When the bus would pull up at a tourist destination they always seemed to step as far back from the scene before them in an attempt to fit as much as possible into the shot. This happened whether the scene was a landscape, a building or almost any other subject.
The results of their strategy was that they ended up with lots of great pictures of distant things.
One of the aspects of travel that I enjoy to photograph the most is the ‘little things’.
While I do enjoy the beauty and challenge of capturing the grandness of the massive architectural structures that seem to be a magnet to tourists I’m aware that much of the beauty of architecture is often in the details.
A prime example of this are the many cathedrals that we saw in Europe on our last trip. They obviously have a sense of awe and mystery associated with them as a result of their size but take a closer look and a photographic wonderland reveals itself ranging from fine details in stain-glass windows, to the amazing faces of gargoyles, to tomb stones with interesting inscriptions, to the pattern of tiles in mosaics, to wrought iron door knockers and fittings to the detail in statues, crucifixes and paintings.
Similarly the details of many other types of buildings and structures reveal other small details that make them what they are and that often say a lot about the region you’re traveling in.
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Last week we talked about What DSRL Lenses to Take when Traveling and in response had another question from the same reader, Trish:
“Thank you for your article on lenses, it’s helped a lot. I was wondering if you might do a follow up article exploring what else I should consider taking on my trip? I want to travel as light as possible but also want to be as prepared as I can. How much should I pack?”
Thanks again for your question Trish. Packing for a trip is a camera bag is a very personal thing and each traveler will have their own preferences as they attempt to balance weight issues with functionality but let me share a few of the items I pack as well as a few other options you might want to consider depending upon your own destination and requirements (Trish is a DSLR user and so am I so this will largely be aimed at people like us, although a lot of it will translate to point and shoot users):
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When photographing people in their local context there are a number of techniques that I try to use (not all of them in every shot as some are mutually exclusive). Keep in mind the principles of treating people with respect mentioned in our last post:
- Choose your Background - I’ve already talked about making shots contextual but one great way to do this is to think about what’s in the background behind the people you’re photographing. Ideally you want something that’s not too distracting but that adds to the context of the place you’re shooting in. Another technique for shooting shots of people that ignores the ‘contextual’ rule is to find a brightly lit position with a dark background. This can really help the face you’re shooting to pop out and capture the viewer’s attention.
- Fill your Frame - Some of the best shots I’ve taken of people while traveling have been where I’ve tightly frames people’s faces. This means either getting in nice and close to the person or having and using a good zoom lens.
- Go for natural (un-posed shots) - While sometimes the posed shots can work quite well they can also lack a certain authenticity. Photograph your subject doing something from their normal daily life. At work, in a marketplace, at home, feeding their child, crossing the street etc.
- Add another subject - Most of the shots I’ve taken of people over the years while traveling have been of single subjects alone in the shot. This is partly just my style (and is a good technique in and of itself ) but is something I’ve become quite aware of in the last few months. Adding a second person into an image takes a photo into a different place. No long is the shot just about a person and their environment but it somehow becomes relational. The viewer of the photo begins to wonder about the relationship and a new layer is added to your shot.
- Photograph a variety of people - Quite often it’s the shots of people dressed in national costume that tend to attract photographers when traveling. While these shots can be very effective I wonder if they are always really representative of a culture. Quite often these people have dressed up especially for a show or tourist attraction and the majority of people in that country look quite different. Mix up the types, gender and ages of people that you take photos of and you can end up with a very effective collage of faces of a country.
- Arrange an extended photo shoot - This goes against the nature of most travel photography which is usually very fast and spontaneous - but on one or two occasions when I’ve traveled I’ve had opportunity to sit with a person for a longer period of time and photograph them in a more extended manner. This enables your photographs to take a on a story telling nature and can lead to some wonderful sequences of shots using different photographic techniques, lenses and situations to shoot in.
- Get Candid - keep your camera to the eye for taking those spontaneous shots between the more posed ones. It’s amazing what images that you can find when the person isn’t ‘ready’ for you to shoot (or just after you’ve taken a shot). These shots often include people interacting with others or expressing true emotion. I find setting my camera to continuous shooting mode (where it will shoot burts of frames quickly) often leads to some wonderful candid shots.
- Lens Choice - I’m a big believer in that virtually any lens can take a good portrait shot if you work to it’s strengths. Having said that, some lenses do tend to lend themselves to great portraits. I find that a focal length between 50mm and 135mm is a good range to work with. Going for wide angle lenses can also produce interesting shots but you will often find that they do distort your subject’s face a little (sometimes this is very effective). Choosing a longer focal length can be useful for putting your subjects a little more at ease.
People are not ‘Sites’
One realization that I had a number of years back after a trip was that I was actually thinking in terms of ‘capturing’ photos of people. In a sense I was photographing them in a similar way to the other tourist ’sites’ that I was photographing along the way - almost as trophies.
I realized that my approach was totally arrogant, disrespectful and very rude. People are not ‘tourist sites’ - they’re people and they deserve to be treated as such.
A much better approach is to take photos in a relational way. This doesn’t mean you need to have talked to them for hours, swapped numbers and told you deepest secrets before photographing them - but it does mean that taking their photograph can actually become a friendly interaction between people from different cultures.
Learn a few words in their language, smile lots, tell them something about yourself (or show them a picture of your family at home), take an interest in their work, home and family, show them the pictures you’ve taken of them on your LCD, tell them that they look great, shake their hands and generally be polite and warm and you’ll find that photographing them is a much richer experience for all.
Also knowing a bit about the culture and what is and isn’t appropriate in terms of your dress, interactions between genders and more can be very useful to know.
The results of this approach are that not only do both subject and photographer potentially come away having experienced something of value - but the photographs you take are generally better as the subject is more relaxed, you might have been able to get a little closer and there is some kind of connection between the two of you.
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Don’t spend your whole trip with your camera to the eye
I’m often amazed to see groups of travellers driving up to a location - all piling out of the bus for a 2 minute stop so that all forty people can run out and take exactly the same shot. Sometimes travel groups look more like press conferences.
Last time I was on a tour overseas I heard two fellow travelers talking about how devastated they were to run out of batteries at one location and to not be able to get a shot of themselves there.
While I understood their disappointment I was stunned to hear one of them say that the ‘whole day was a complete waste of time’ because they didn’t ‘get the shot’.
Travel is about more than just the photos you take.
Put the camera down and enjoy the moment.
You don’t need to capture a moment to make it a valid experience.
In fact sometimes the drive to ‘capture’ every moment can become a distraction from the true joy of travel.
Photo Source
Put subjects in context - Another thing that can really lift travel photography, especially shots of people, is work hard at putting your subject into the context of the place that you’re photographing them.
As I critically look at some of the shots I’ve taken of people overseas I realize that a lot of them could have been taken virtually anywhere in the world. They could have added so much more to the viewing experience of them to include some element of the country they were taken in.
Now I’m not saying every shot taken in France needs to have the Eiffel tower in the background or that every shot of people taken in Italy needs to be of them eating pizza - but there are many ways to contextualize your subjects even just by thinking about the framing of your shots.
For example if you’re shooting a local you might like to try to get them at work doing something from their daily rhythm of life. People working can tell people where you are in much more interesting and creative ways than the standard shots of landmarks.
If you’re shooting a picture of a travel companion you might like to frame the shot with the meal that they’re eating in the foreground or with a sign in the background that’s in the language of the place you’re in (rather than a tight head shot) etc.
Being contextual doesn’t need to be cheesey or forced (although sometimes the cheesey shots can work out quite well if you go right over the top with them) - rather it’s often the small and subtle touches that can add so much to travel shots.
Photo Source - Burmese Nun
