BootsnAll Travel Community

I will ask permission before I take close-ups, but you just can't ask every person in the picture. Somewhere in between is a gray area where people are used prominently in a picture. I like to use a wide angle (20 mm) and have a person off in the corner of my pictures. They have no idea they are being included and it adds a lot of depth to pictures.

I agree with PC that respect for the locals by asking them first is more important. In Bolivia, for example, older people still share the traditional view that taking their picture takes away their soul. No matter what's your oppinion on that belief, you have to respect it.

It did make me sad though that because of that I don't have one single picture at the witchcraft market in Bolivia, and that in Peru it means getting the picture but having to pay for that...

And depending on the situation a little bit of posing might not be that bad. I was walking around the Quinua village near Ayacucho in Peru, with my camera in hand, taking my time with the framing and pictures and this small girl comes to me and surprisingly asks me 'please take my picture' (and not for money) so I took my time portraiting her and although it is posed, I have her beautiful and sincere natural smile and it is one of my best pictures in that trip

The issues with always asking is difficult. In some cultures getting photographed is something done only when dressed fine. They don't understand that I find them great looking as they are; hence I cheat a little e.g. using a wide-angle lens.

Sometimes my girlfriend poses in front of the people I want to take photos of, and they can't see that I'm not focusing on them instead of my girlfriend.

Other tips:

1. Get closer on the subject and focus on "whats important"
2. Take close-ups of details. Its great for a collage of pictures showing multiple views of the place.
3. Turn around and look back. Most people walk in lines on the same beaten track and gets the same photos. Sometimes a surprisingly photo is right behind you.

Read my travel diares with photos on: http://www.clausjepsen.dk (English)

Read my travel diaries and view my photos on: www.clausjepsen.dk

I always have said that one must be patient to be a good photographer...not patient for the sun and the weather, but patient for the tourists who tend to stand right in front of the camera as if you are not trying to take a picture of what is behind them.

Christine

My reason for traveling....capturing the essence of the working people of America! www.workingintheusa.com

Yes!

Journeyon, you have hit on one of my 'pet peeves' (but that is a discussion elsewhere).

I find the contrast between a huddle of professionals and a bunch of tourists to be interesting. Sure, the professionals do fight to get the shot and might occasionally elbow a little, but most work closely together and will apologise later for getting in your way...

The tourists that don't even notice when you have spent five minutes lining up a shot before they walk in and ruin it, really get me.

You can be waiting for one person to leave your field of view and then a bunch will walk in and stand right in the middle!

Or, you can be lining up with others (polite tourists) and then just before you get to line something up, someone pushes in.

Just because I have a 'big' camera, doesn't mean that I am any different. I just like to take my time and practice the 'attention to detail' part of my art sometimes.

(Ok, rant over. Nothing to see here...)

_______________________
Rob - www.robstravels.com

so, I've found that there's this perfect balance to strike when taking a group photo (I've yet to strike it of course) where you sacrafice a bit of the patience of your subjects for the quality of the shot. If you make your subjects wait too long, then you can get distressed and too-forced expressions, but if you rush it too much, then you get a crappy pic.

I'm so bad at that and always rush it, then have a roll of film I hate.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nikos:
7. Don't shoot in harsh mid-day light. It casts ugly shadows under the eyes, nose and chin. If you must, have your subject turn their head at an oblique angle to the light, so that the face is lighted well, but still avoiding direct eye contact with the light source (see above)

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Okay, this may sound a bit strange, but if you have to shoot in the mid-day sun and you're close to your subject, use your flash. It'll help with those ugly shadows under the eyes, chin, and nose.

-S

- Make today a great day!

S- You're right. This is actually a well-know technique, called 'fill-in flash' But unless you can control when your flash fires, at what intensity, and have a sense of what to expect, it's not very easy to get good results. Once you know your equipment and have expeiremented a bit though, you can save a lot of great photos this way.

Travel Photography Blog

A while ago I did a course called 'Concepts of Visual Literacy'..quite a mouthful. One of the teacher's tips when dealing with still photos was 'cutting off the visual fat'. That is trimming off the stuff that surrounds your main subject that doesn't do anything for the photo. You don't need to 'get it all in' sometimes things get more interesting when you get closer.

Nick O'Neill
http://www.BaliBlog.com
BootsnAll's guide to Bali

Nick, this is a very well known and established concept... but the terminology: "visual fat" just cracked me up. So accurate, yet hilarious!

Travel Photography Blog

I like to get silly or weird photos. I have a digital camera so it is not like I am wasting my film. But I like to have photos of strange signs or the food I ate or my recent favorite one of a guy in Buenos Aries selling a fishing pole. I find that photos like that are fun to look back on a kind of break up the monotony of me in front of this historic site or a picture of another church or landscape. Not that any of those later ones are bad, but I just like to have a lot of variety.

I also find myself thinking that when I want to take a photo of something but then think people might think I would be wacko to take a picture of that then I push myself to not be embarrassed and take the photo, and some of those usually turn out to be some of the funniest ones I have.

Swede
http://swede.nuphi.net

In reply to KT about being too shy to ask for pictures...the only way you'll learn to do it is by practicing. Put a new roll of film in your camera and head to the nearest city...as a bit of an assignment take a full roll of shots of strangers...restrict yourself to only using focal lengths between 24mm and 35mm. The only way you can get decent shots of people with these focal lengths is by getting close...about 4 feet away and at the same time, keep an eye on the background. It's really tough to do this but sometimes people will be really flattered that you want to take their picture. A lot of people will ask what it's for...parents of young children will usually be very cautious...just tell them all that it's for a photography class assignment and that it's Ok if they'd prefer you didn't take a photo. If they're seeming hesitant you can always slip in a 'It just looked really cute seeing you play with your child' or something like that to butter them up! I've had people change their minds and let me photograph them after saying something like that.

-b

Cameras and their lenses don't see the way the human eye does. You might see something you like in your view finder but the result might be completely different. Why?

The human eye can 'see' about 11 stops. It's brilliant. 'Normal' film can capture less than this. A reasonable, digital camera can come at about 3 stops. A "stop" refers to how open your lens is to the available light when you're shooting. For example: in a bright light situation with an f/1.4 lens, you might change it to f/1.8 (the next 'stop'). Most lenses (apart from the really expensive ones), work better stopped down at least one stop. Try it and see for yourself.

Much more importantly is getting a grasp on the concept of how to 'see' like a camera. The two most important things (as far as I can tell), are the differences between the lightest and darkest parts of your masterpiece and the amount of contrast. Experiment with this and you're sure to get better results than click-and-shoot. Just remember: what your eye sees and how it's represented by your camera on film or digitally are completely different things. That's where most of us get disappointed.

Composition is another thing, of course. Personally, I don't like seeing almost great shots of somebody with their feet cut off. Then there's the "golden mean".

There are millions of photography sites on the internet and if you have the time or inclination, you can find more there.

Photography is like painting with light - doesn't matter what kind of camera you've got, you've got to learn to 'see' like your instrument does. The rest is art.

Get closer, you can never be too close. Remember if you ever want to be published vertical is more likely to make the cover. Fiim does make a difference use what the pro's do.

Very simple: Point and shoot NO, stop and THINK yes!

That and remember that chance favors the prepared mind.

Rule of thirds! It was already mentioned somewhere on this thread, just thought I'd reinforce the importance of composition.

along the lines of asking locals for a photo, I thought I'd throw my own two cents in.

There are times when I ask a local. If you're taking a close up shot of one person, or if you're in a country (eg Latin America) where people like to get paid to be in photos. If a person features prominently in a close up photo, I'll ask to take the photo.

However, as some people have said, stealth photos can often be nice. I try to reserve these for traveling in Europe or North America or in big cities where people aren't likely to be bothered by a picture. I've got a Nikon 4500 digital camera that will lie flat as I take the picture (as in, I can hold the camera at my hip and the screen faces up while the lens faces out toward a subject). I pivot the lens until I've got a neat photo and then snap that. I use this technique for photos of people in action (notably, I used it to take a great photo of a woman selling spices).

Sometimes, you must be respectful. Other times, you won't get the picture unless you're stealthy. If someone notices me taking a picture and makes an annoyed face, I usually back off. But, for the most part, if people are in public in a "first world" nation, they're fair game for a photo.

Again, tho, like others have mentioned, all bets are off when you are in an area where the locals are known for not wanting photos taken. In that case, always err on the side of caution and ask everyone.

Some very good tips so far. The rule of thids, get closer, etc. The one I want to add is to 'think outside the box.' If your standing where all the other tourists are, then try looking for another angle. A different perspective on the scene. Maybe theres a higher angle, or even one from crouching down and looking up. Experiment with what looks good in the viewfinder and then hit the button. If you've gone digital, than keep them all and pick and choose later what you deem worthy. Some abstract shots always add some flavor to your travel photos.
Happy Trails.

That idea of cutting people off-joint was great! Here's my two cents from some me and some photo friends of mine:

1. People; focus on the eyes. If the eyes aren't in focus it doesn't work.

2. Rule of thirds; try dividing your pic in thirds horizontally so there's not too much water or too much sky.

3. Light matters; light from the side draws out contrasts and contours, great for texture. light in front smooths out wrinkles

4. Not everything is a picture! Be picky. although now with digital you can erase easily.

5. Go manual; In vietnam there's a lot of crap , litter, people in loud colored pajamas, usually surrounding what you want to photograph so I would use manual focus and blur around a subject.

I've got some of my own stuff online at Amanda's photos

Keep on snapping! -Amanda

A former professional photographer friend of mine gave me a bit of advice which I still use - "FILM IS CHEAP." Take lots of pictures. My friend was always really pleased if he got one or two good pictures off one roll of film. Of course, with digital photography, "film" is even cheaper... Still, keep snappin' pictures, and don't delete anything until you can look at it on a bigger screen than the puny one most digital cameras come with. You might find one you thought you hated turns into the one you like best.