18.05.10
Steve Davey explains what to look out for when photographing overseas
Telling a story with your holiday images is a great way to practise different photography techniques while abroad. Thinking about your shots can lead to inspiring encounters with local people and engender a better insight into the culture. Professional photographer Steve Davey explains what to look out for when photographing overseas.
As a travel photographer, there is no substitute for just getting out there, putting in the hard yards and exploring your destination. If you see a hill, climb it to see the view; if you pass an alley, look down it; and if you hear sounds of festive music, head out to see what is going on. It is by having an enquiring and exploring nature that you will be able to truly discover your destination.
I try to research what there is to photograph at a destination, including speciality foods, classic monuments, indigenous culture and traditions, but it is important to keep flexible and to react to things you discover. I try not to do too much picture research, as it is possible to get so hung up on trying to recreate a particular image that it stops you seeing what images are actually around you.
As well as all of the recognisable buildings, there is a whole lot of life and culture that you should try to photograph. It is often this that gives you a more personal and evocative coverage of your destination. Much of this can be seen in the faces of the people you meet and in the life that you find on the streets. I find it is seldom the famous monuments that show the true nature and atmosphere of a place. When you are walking around looking to take pictures, it is important to be enthusiastic and passionate about the subject matter as well as your photographs. Put some effort in: look for different angles and viewpoints, and vary your focal length and subject distance. This will help to make your pictures more visually striking. One good technique is to always look around for higher viewpoints where you can go to shoot an overview of a place. It is also a good idea to work in different planes, having pictures with a close item in the foreground, a midground and a background. Pictures like these will have more depth.
It is also important to engage with people — even if you aren’t planning to photograph them. You might want to shoot their stall, climb their ladder or even use their vehicle! Some people like to work on their own; others find it more comforting to walk around with other people. I wouldn’t recommend walking around with too many people, as you run the risk of being intimidating to those you want to photograph and also shielding yourself too much from your surroundings. You should also make sure you only walk around with people who are disciplined not to nick your pictures. Not only is this annoying, in the case of portraits, it can ruin your shots. Obviously, this works both ways, and you should be aware of not copying other people’s shots, too!
When you are away, there is a tendency to run around like a headless chicken and shoot everything in sight. This can result in a bewildering and unconnected mass of images that will be jarring and somewhat confusing to the person who looks at them. Worse still, because you are looking for everything when you are walking around, you might end up seeing nothing and come away with fewer shots than if you were shooting to a theme.
When you choose a theme it should represent your interest in a place. This could be food, transport, or in this case, street life. Try to plan what you are trying to show. Look for any peculiarities about your destination, such as the hand rickshaws of Kolkata — then try to put yourself into positions where you can photograph them. Obviously, as you are photographing around a theme, you shouldn’t ignore anything else that crops up. For example, if you are photographing food, but suddenly stumble across a religious procession, don’t ignore it. When it comes to editing your pictures, perhaps the shots of the procession will be in a different gallery than the food shots. When you shoot to theme, try to vary the subject matter and treatment, otherwise you run the risk of creating a very similar set of pictures. Look for different viewpoints and angles; use different lenses and subject distances, and also shoot in both horizontal and vertical orientations. Try to imagine you are shooting a photo story for a magazine and go for a range of shots: a double page establishing shot that explains the whole theme, a few close-up details, a close-up portrait, and a more environmental portrait and action shot. As well as this stylistic variation, try to shoot certain predetermined subjects that fit your theme.
Be willing to wait for shots: if you see a fantastic background, be prepared to wait for something interesting to come past to complete the photograph. Even though you might be looking for certain subjects to fit your theme, remember you have to take creative photographs of them, not just record shots to tick them off the list.
Once you have your themed group of pictures, it is important to show them off as a set. There are a number of ways that you can do this. There are plenty of websites, such as Flickr, where you can upload galleries of images, but make sure that you only upload low-res copies and review the privacy settings so people can’t just steal them. It is also possible to create your own gallery of images to upload to your own web space, using programs such as Adobe Lightroom, or you can of course upload them to the Photography Monthly online gallery. Before uploading, make sure you have put your pictures into a sensible order. If you have the design skills, you can lay up a series of images and text to create your own dummy magazine layout. If you have a large collection of pictures, consider creating your own photo book using an online service such as www.blurb.com.
Steve Davey is a professional photographer and travel writer based in London. Over the last 20 years he has travelled to 84 countries to write and shoot stories for books and magazines. He is the author of the international bestseller Unforgettable Places to See Before You Die. He also runs London-based photography courses and travel photography tours with Intrepid Travel. www.bettertravelphotography.com
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Steve's Words of Wisdom:
“If you photograph something or someone alone, then you will have a picture of what it looks like. But if you photograph combinations of things, then you can set up higher levels of meaning. This might be something as simple as including a significant background to give a picture a sense of place. Not only can this give meaning to a picture; it can create a more visually interesting image.”
This feature is from the May 2010 issue
Back issues can be ordered by calling 01858 438840 or by sending an email to photographymonthly@subscription.co.uk
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