Have fun at the fair

From long exposures to HDR and reportage, there are plenty of ways to photograph your local fun fair, as James Paterson explains

From long exposures to HDR, documentary style to reportage, there are plenty of unusual ways that you can capture your local fun fair

Fairgrounds and funfairs offer all kinds of opportunities for great photos. First and foremost are the rides – all twirling metal and lights. Then there are the thrill-seeking punters, the colourful sideshows and all the other details of the fair. With such vibrant visual treats, it’s not hard to come away with knockout photos.

It’s the thrill of high-speed action that draws the crowds to the fair, and all that motion is just as enticing to photographers. Armed with a tripod and a few simple camera skills we can capture the action as beautiful blurred motion. But shooting the fair isn’t just all about the blur – there are plenty of other tricks to try, as we’ll explain.

As with any type of photography, the light plays a huge part. Landscape photographers reap the rewards of the golden hour, but it’s the blue hour that often comes up trumps here – that time of day when the sun has dipped below the horizon and the light drops enough to draw out shutter speeds into several seconds…

With such vibrant visual treats, it’s not hard to come away with knockout photos