Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Photography: Photographing people when traveling

orginal post by dps blog

Still on vacation mode, i m hoping to get there sometime soon! A few more weeks to go then this blog will take a break, i m looking for some one to sub for me while i m going so you guys stick around.


Choose your Background:

When snapping those people abroad you want think of whats in the background (even tho you will probably use a smaller f number to blur the background) there are just those moments were a background will kill a photo, this doesn't only apply to portraiture but anything in photography. But what your looking for is a background that adds to the context of the place your shooting over at, or if you see the person is in the sun, go manual and bump the fnumber up and try a short shutter to make the background black!

Fill your Frame:

I haven't really shot any people abroad, but a general rule that almost works for all the cases is to fill your frame, even if it means cutting of some of the face, you may have seen some good portraits where part of the face is cut of, why is it so good? Because the subject occupies the entire frame. But if you just cant, you can always crop.

Go a la'Naturale:

Try to grab some shots were the people are just doing ordinary things, this can often be archived easier with longer focal lengths. Try to capture some of their daily rituals, i already have in my mind what i m going to try to capture in Spain. There is this place where i get these things called "Churros" and the family that does those down in the town square have been doing it for as long as i can remember, i m going to go over there and snap them while they are doing them or when or when they are hanging back, same goes for those elders sitting on the various benches by the square's during the afternoon, or the teenagers sipping their coffee in the afternoon at the various bars.

Try out a variety of people:


Often when i think "travel" photography, specially portraiture i think of that old woman/man sitting there very worn out, very popular for a B&W shot. But try something different, grab some shots of the people young as well as mid age as well as adults, women, men and everything that is a living. In the future you could put together a nice collage of the faces you seen abroad.

If you have time, go out for just a extended photo session:

This is quite a "complex" matter for a few out there, because when your are on vacation people tend to spend time with family and asking for a time out for a few hours to go take some photos can be a very touchy area, but if its okay then i suggest you go for it. Take your camera gear and walk about were you are. Be prepared, i would suggest have a tele mounted if your aiming for portraits, and vice versa for landscapes.


I haven't taken any portraits abroad, which is something i regret not doing, so i don't have any photo examples to share, but this doesn't mean i m going to shoot alot this summer ( i will, trust me) and then i will share them with you all. If you have any portraits that you taken abroad, leave a link in the comment section and i will post them here if that is okay by you!

Now Sweden is playing Greece in the Euro Cup, so if you got nothing better to do, watch it and cheer for my nation! Have a great day!

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