Steve Davey
Steve Davey takes you around the world in a dozen pages, showing you how to get your best-ever photographs of the people you encounter on your travels…
Steve turns his attention to one of the trickiest aspects of travel photography – shooting the strangers you meet on the road.
Photographing the local people that you meet on the road is one of the most rewarding, yet challenging, things you can do when travelling. Much of the world is a fascinating mix of cultures, interesting people and incredible faces, yet many photographers struggle to approach people, and end up just sneaking pictures that manage to be both intrusive and visually unsatisfying.
Although some of the time I will take pictures without the subject knowing, I much prefer to approach people and seek some sort of permission. Some photographers assert that you get a more natural picture if you take candids: I maintain that you get a more natural picture with time. Spend the time, whether it is a few minutes, or even a few hours, that will allow you to engage with someone, and then the picture will be more empathetic. The power of photography is that you are able to transport the viewer of your picture into a moment that you shot;
in some way they will experience the emotion that you experienced when you took the photo. If you feel engagement with your subject, they will too.
Engaging with people can also give you the chance to find out their backstory, and even establish a link with them in some way. I find this more rewarding than surreptitiously snapping from afar. It also means that, in some small way, you can be a part of their life, and them a part of yours. Thirteen years ago I shot some portraits of an old priest at Asheton Maryam Monastery in Ethiopia on a commission for the BBC. I was back at the monastery a few weeks ago, and showed the current priest the pictures on my phone. He told me that the old priest – who I’d long assumed must be dead – was still alive and living nearby. I was able to go and see him again, reminisce and show him the pictures I shot many years before. He is older, missing an eye, but still had the same great face. You won’t get that experience if you just photograph from the shadows with a long lens.
Pre-visualize and Prepare
The last thing you want to do after you have approached someone to take their picture is to be tinkering around with apertures, lenses or even thinking about composition. If you concentrate on your camera, not your subject, they are likely to zone out and the moment will be lost.
The key to relaxed, engaged and creative portraits is to do most of the picture creation before you even approach the subject. If you already know how you are going to take the picture and have the camera set up, then your focus can be on the person, and not the camera. You’ll be more relaxed, and so will they.
see the picture
Whenever you encounter someone you want to
photograph, try to pause before charging in, or even raising the camera, and think. Ask yourself the crucial questions: why do I want to take this picture, what do I find remarkable about the subject, and what idea do I want the person looking at the picture to get from the picture? If you don’t know this, then the person looking at the picture is unlikely to either. Once you have decided what you want to achieve, this will suggest many of the compositional and creative decisions, such as where you are going to stand, what sort of picture you’ll shoot and what things you will include into the picture, and which bits that you want to crop out.
Prepare your camera
Once the creative decisions have been made, prepare your camera – again before even thinking about approaching your subject. I always shoot on Manual, so I will make sure to check the exposure, and then set whatever shutter speed and aperture I need, and will also set the required active focus point (see next page). Obviously, I will make sure that I have the correct lens, and even have enough space on a memory card. In short, although I am shooting with a Nikon D850, I will get almost all of the camera stuff out of the way in advance, so when I am actually taking someone’s picture all of
The key to relaxed, engaged and creative portraits is to do most of the picture creation before you even approach the subject
my attention is on them, and I am in effect using my camera like a simple point and shoot.
understand depth of field
Whatever you photograph, it is worth downloading an app such as Stefsoftware’s Photographer’s Companion and having a play with the depth of field calculator. This is especially useful if you like shooting close-up portraits. I am not suggesting that you use an app every time you take a portrait, but it is worth entering in your typical shooting details and seeing what the results are.
I tend to shoot quite close to my subject, and using a 70mm lens on a full-frame camera at a distance of 1m and an aperture of f/5.6, you’ll only get a depth of field 6cm! This might struggle to get the eyes and the end of the nose in focus. So stop down to f/11 and you get 13cm of depth of field. Understanding depth of field will help you to decide what aperture you should use for a given shooting scenario; it will certainly confirm how vital accurate focusing is in certain circumstances.
Get composed
The composition of your picture doesn’t just affect how the image looks, you can use the composition to convey meaning, or even tell a story about the subject of your picture. Composition is the language of photography, and it is worth considering how to use it effectively.
convey a meaning
Meaning can be conveyed by combining significant objects in the frame, or, for that matter, by the objects that you decide to crop out of a picture.
Sometimes simplicity can be the most evocative. If someone had a wonderfully distinctive face, you can emphasize that by making sure that you effectively fill the frame with it, cropping out anything that will distract. If all that the viewer of a picture gets to see is a face, then they will concentrate on the detail of that face. If they can see a hat and some clothes as well, then they will pay some of their attention to what someone is wearing. If you photograph someone with a thing, or another person, then you can establish a link between them, helping to tell their story.
The single most effective thing that you can do when shooting a portrait, though, is consider the background. This might be to select a simple background that doesn’t detract, or to make sure your subject is posed in front of a significant background that will help to tell their story.
shoot environment portraits
Although close-up head and shoulders shots can be compelling, and can show something of someone’s character, most meaning can be conveyed by shooting someone in a significant environment. This can be used to show where they live, who they live with, and even what they do for a living. Someone’s home or working environment will help to tell the story of their lives, as well as creating a more complex and visually stimulating portrait.
move around your subject
When I suggest combining objects in the frame, I am not suggesting that you have to actually move things or people: sometimes you can achieve the same effect by simply walking around your subject. For example, say we see someone we want to shoot who is standing at the side of the road in front of a wall; if you walk to one side, then you can completely change the background, effectively showing them in a different environment, conveying a different meaning. Likewise,
If you walk to one side, then you can completely change the background, effectively showing them in a different environment
shooting from a different angle can show another person, or no other people in the frame, giving a different meaning. If you change your angle, then you can virtually guarantee your subject will turn their head to look at you, maintaining eye contact, but also giving a different perspective to their face.
You can achieve a similar effect by shooting from a lower – or higher – viewpoint, which will change the background to the shot, but will also change the atmosphere of the portrait, depending on whether you are looking down or up at them.
engage your subject
Once you have decided on your composition, and prepared the camera, then it is time for the fun part of people photography – approaching your subject and engaging with them! This can be the most rewarding part of the process, but it is also what many people find the most intimidating.
show simple humanity
The best technique to engage with someone is to show humanity and empathize with them. Look someone in the eye, and smile. Show some interest in who they are and what they are doing, and even if you don’t speak the same language as them, talk to them in a gentle and humorous way and they will react to the tone of your voice; a little bit of mime can help too. If you think that someone has a beautiful face, or what they are wearing is amazing then motion this to them. Humour also helps: I’ve found that, even in the most remote places, people are as curious of us as we are of them – and like a good laugh. If someone is doing some sort of manual labour, have a go yourself. Chances are, you won’t be any good, but it’ll help break down barriers.
be prepared to pose people
Bizarrely, you might sometimes need to slightly
pose people to get a more natural shot. It might be gently getting them to move so that they are in better light, or against a more appropriate background. Sometimes you might have to use a touch of mime to get them to look in a different direction, or to look into the camera. Often when you ask to take someone’s picture they will stop what they are doing: sometimes they will stand to attention, and you will have to motion for them to carry on. Some of the best posing, however, can be done indirectly. People will often copy or mirror you. If you walk around them, they will often turn their head, and sometimes their whole body to face you. If you crouch or sit down, they will often do the same. Smile and they’ll often smile back, but if you look suddenly intense at them then just before you take a picture, they will often look seriously back at you – giving a more intense gaze to your picture.
show your shots
Once you have taken a couple of shots, then show your subject the picture on the back of your camera. This can help to relax people, and allow you to engage further. Pay them a compliment based on the picture, make a joke about something, or simply motion that you think they are beautiful. Showing someone the back of the camera is also a really
I’ve found that, even in the most remote places, people are as curious of us as we are of them – and like a good laugh
good way to get close to them, if you aren’t confident about approaching them, or think that they might be nervous about you approaching them directly. Start off by shooting an environmental shot from a distance. Take a few shots, to make sure that they haven’t blinked or pulled a strange face, then walk closer to show them the pictures. Engage a bit more, and then shoot a headshot, now that you are physically closer.
Work the light
One of the advantages of portrait photography is that you can shoot whatever the weather and the light. If you are unlucky with the conditions and don’t manage to shoot any good landscapes or cityscapes, you can still come back with a range of portraits. There are some things that you can do to improve the light, whatever the situation.
soft is best
Soft light from an overcast day can be very flattering – overcast days or shadow light can be better for portraits than sunshine! It’ll show up the detail on the skin perfectly, and the subject won’t be squinting into bright light. You will also avoid deep shadows, especially those cast by overhanging hats or headdresses. If the light is too harsh and sunny, then just move your subject into an area of shadow, or motion for them to turn around so that their face is out of direct sunlight. It can be a good idea to learn the words for sun and shadow in whatever country you are travelling in, or failing that a good bit of mime will usually do it. If you want to soften harsh light, then it is possible to use a diffuser – found by unzipping the cover of a 5-in-1 reflector – held between the sun and your subject, casting a light shadow to improve the quality of light.
Get a little flash
I try not to use flash for travel portraits, as it can be quite intrusive. People who aren’t used to being photographed can find flash quite intimidating, especially if you are taking a number of shots in relatively quick succession to capture different expressions or avoid blinking. In low-light situations, I would rather rely on the high ISO performance of the D850, rather than a flash. But there are times when fill-in flash is useful too. The main thing to remember is that you’ll need to adjust the power of the flash, by setting TTL exposure compensation for the flash only. This can either be done through the camera or on a Speedlight. I would recommend setting compensation of at least -1 stop, so that the flash doesn’t overpower the photograph.
reflect on success
If there are deep shadows, then a reflector can fill in the shadows in a way that is much more subtle than using fill-in flash. A fold out reflector can be really useful for this, and its twisty design can be an icebreaker too – especially when photographing children! It can be hard to hold a reflector if you are shooting on your own, but it is a skill worth developing, or simply press-gang someone else into being your reflector stand!
Reflectors are perfect for balancing directional light, such as that coming through a window. Simply place the reflector opposite the light source to lighten the shadows, significantly improving the picture. An example of this is the photograph of the smoking woman from the Chin Hills in Myanmar, shown on the left here.
People who aren’t used to being photographed can find flash quite intimidating, especially if you are taking a number of shots
shooting candids
There are times when you won’t want to – or even be able to – approach your subject to take a picture. It might be that you can’t get close enough to them, or that asking will ruin the moment. It might even be that asking could be more intrusive, such as if someone is meditating or praying.
The first thing to bear in mind – especially when you are travelling – is that there might be cultural or even religious reasons why someone might not want to be photographed. For me, respect and morality are paramount, and as the world becomes smaller and more connected, there is a good chance that locals around the world will see pictures that are posted on social media. If that shot is exploitative or shows them in a negative way, it can affect their lives.
Work unobtrusively
The key to successful candid photography is working unobtrusively. If the subject doesn’t register your presence, then they can’t object to being photographed. As with engaged portraits, preparation is vital. The more of the creativity and technical considerations that you can cover before raising the camera to your eye, the less chance there is that your subject will notice and be offended. You should also work quickly: if someone looks up and
If you only look out for pictures that you can take in that moment, then you will have to shoot quickly and accept you might miss the shot
notices that you are taking a picture, you will usually get away with it. If they look up again a minute later and you are still pointing a camera at them, then it is more likely to provoke a response. Make sure that your movements aren’t fast and jerky though, as this too can attract attention.
use extreme focal lengths
A good way to be unobtrusive is to use either a telephoto or a wide-angle lens. Most people are familiar with the idea of shooting with a telephoto lens, allowing you to take candid portraits from a distance so that your subject doesn’t notice, and looks natural. Shooting with a wide-angle lens allows you to get close to your subject and appear to point the camera at something else, with them in the side of the frame. Sometimes they will actually look at you, unaware of the wide field of view of the lens that you are using. Not pointing the camera at your subject can make focus more tricky, so focus on something you estimate to be an equal distance away as the subject, and rely on the inherent depth of field of the lens and a narrow aperture to ensure the subject is also sharp.
anticipate the action
Try to anticipate potential pictures that are about to happen. If you only look out for pictures that you can take in that moment, then you will have to shoot quickly and accept you might miss the shot. If you anticipate, then you might see someone who you would like to photograph walking down the road, and have time to compose a shot in front of a visual or meaningful background, and wait for the subject to walk into the shot. In these instances, pre-focus on a mark on the road where you expect them to walk, and lock the focus until they reach the spot. Then you can shoot knowing they will be in focus, but without appearing to be photographing them directly.