Photographer and Tourist
I just came home from a two week trip to Morocco and I realised how hard it can be to be both a tourist and a photographer. And often I want to be both.
So how do you combine the two?
It can be easy or it can be very difficult. Very very difficult.
Charles Bridge, Prague
Tips for taking photos and be a tourist at the same time.
1 - Take the “Hero shot” first. Imagine you are in Paris, France, and you come back with no photos of the Eiffel-tower. People won’t believe that you’ve ever been to Paris. Same with the Colosseum in Rome or the Charles Bridge in Prague (pic above). The hero subject of a destination doesn’t have to be the main subject in your photo(s) but it must be included somewhere. Do some research on what to capture, from where and what time of day would be the best and concentrate on the iconic thing of your destination first, then you will feel more relaxed and open minded for taking other pictures.
Chefchaouen, Morocco
2 - Try to have at least two days for your most important shots. Do the research day one, maybe take a guided tour or a “hop on hop off bus” (not recommended everywhere) and come back the next day and concentrate on your photography. A good idea is to take some snap shots the first day so you know exactly where to go the next time you come back. Also, sometimes the snap shots can turn out great.
3 - Include people or not? This is debatable and up to each and everyone to decide. I don’t mind people in my shots if I want to capture the atmosphere and vibe of a place, but if I want a picture to feel timeless I don’t want people in in my photos. There are of course exception to this; a guard outside a castle dressed in a traditional uniform, a gondolier in Venice etc. If you don’t want to include people in your image you can try these things:
Be there when there’s no people there. Early morning, late evening etc
Be patient. Stand where you want to take the photo and wait. It could be a very long wait but sometimes the opportunity appears.
Use a very long exposure. I mean, very very very long. 20-30 min or so and everything that have moved will disappear.
Take multiple pictures. Lay them on top of each other in Photoshop and mask out the people. As long as people are moving this works great.
Erase people in post production. Use the remove tool or content aware fill in Photoshop and remove the people.
Orthodox Church, Athens
4 - If you are in a guided tour try be the last in the group. Sometimes the only way to see things is to be in a guided tour. When the guide stop, look for the composition you want and have your gear ready. When the group continues stay and take the photo and catch up with the the tour. This could be stressful because you only have seconds to capture your images but it’s the only way to do it.
5 - Have your gear ready all the time. Minimise the amount gear you travel with, use a small tripod or a platypod and make use of your cameras custom settings so you can change quickly for different scenarios. I only travel with two lenses that covers 17mm-200mm.
