> 5 minute read

Capturing the Essence of a Place

A travel photographer needs to be good at lots of things in order to tell a compelling and emotive story in pictures – landscapes, portraits, and street photography are all important parts of making images on the move.

Every location on Earth has a particular ambience and character to it, whether it’s on the other side of the world or just round the corner, and this is what we should strive to convey in our photography. A good set of images can bring memories flooding back, allowing us to relive the sights, sounds, and even smells of a far-off land, or somewhere closer to home.

In order to achieve all this, we need to use our feelings and emotions when we’re framing those moments as photos, as well as our eyes and cameras.

Researching Your Stay

A good place to start is to revisit what it was that made you book your trip in the first place. What did you want to experience – the amazing beaches and landscapes? An extreme sport? The food and drink? This has to be one of the things you photograph, although the location you’re visiting probably has more to offer, which is where research comes in.

Before you set out, read as much as you can about where you’re going, using everything from guidebooks to Google. Talk to friends who might have been to the same place and make notes to refer to when you’re out and about.

Part of your research should include the customs and traditions of the place you are visiting. You don’t want to cause offense, and it might help you understand strange or unfamiliar practices when you first encounter them.

Experience Life

The best way to really preserve the essence of a place on camera is to get out there and use all of your senses, not just your eyes. When you first arrive, what can you hear and smell? Where do your eyes go first? What are you first impressions?

If you can, try not to hang around with other groups of tourists – you’ll see a much more authentic version of your destination if you tread your own path. Eat where the locals eat, get up early, and stay out late, and don’t forget to indulge in a spot of people watching. Also, don’t worry about getting lost when you explore the streets – in fact, try to! It’s surprisingly liberating.

Always have your camera with you, and don’t be afraid to stop and photograph something, even if you’re not quite sure it’s going to work. Have plenty of spare batteries and memory cards with you, too, so you don’t have to interrupt your creative spontaneity.

Be Sympathetic to Your Subject

We don’t mean that you should feel sorry for it, but rather that you should try to match the subject you are framing with the style in which you’re photographing. So, if you’re standing on a rocky shore in front of a ruined sea defense, then you’ll likely want to photograph this in a very stark, brutalist way to match the harsh subject matter. A sandy palm tree-lined lagoon will likely need a very different treatment. The key is to use the best combination of weather, light, lens, and camera technique to frame it in a way that communicates this.

Photographing People

People are an essential part of travel photography, whether it’s the friends and family you’re traveling with or the locals you encounter while you’re away. In fact, you can use your travelling companions to add some much-needed scale to landscape and architectural pictures, and they’ll like these, too, as it’ll remind them of being there in years to come.

© Daniel Malikyar

© Daniel Malikyar

When it comes to photographing strangers, it’s best to ask permission to avoid making a scene or causing offence. Most people will say ‘yes’ and those that don’t won’t be offended, so you have nothing to lose. In places where there is lots of tourism, you might find people want a small payment in return for posing for a photo, and you’ll have to make your own decision as to whether this is something you want to do. In many parts of the world, poverty is such that you can make someone’s day for the price of a coffee back home and get a great portrait in the process.

Another option is to use an instax instant printer to offer an image in return for posing in the first place. You can print directly from your X Series camera to the printer, so you can take the shot and then hand over the print as a ‘thank you’ gift.

© Tillman Crane

© Braden Gunem

Your Next Steps

• CHALLENGE Summarise your next trip in six pictures that work together to tell the story of the journey. Post the results to social media with the hashtag #learnwithfujifilm. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.