SHOW A TRAVEL NARRATIVE
Avoid standard landscapes and tell the story of your location
Creating a narrative in travel photography is about more than just taking pictures of pretty landscapes. To capture the essence and flavour of a place, you need to incorporate a variety of visual components that tell the viewer more.
This could mean shooting the entire scene to give context: using a wide-angle lens to provide more information about your location and include an overview of the landscape, revealing the lie of the land. On the other hand, using a prime lens and a longer focal length to capture local people and streets will also add narrative to a place. Photographing specific details of a location – famous statues, road signs or close-ups of architectural features – add interest, but avoid cliché postcard shots.
A narrative can also be created around a particular travel-related subject, for example food markets, vistas or street interactions. If you find yourself in a marketplace and want to create a story with your photos, document the variety of different stalls, the market vendors and even the products on offer. With landscape shots, include focal points like trees and foliage that work alongside the sweeping views. Whatever you shoot, try capturing some images that show interesting parts or another side to the main subject.
All these tips add up to the same thing: in order to show more context in your travel shots, you need to capture elements that provide an insight into where you are. Really consider what makes each place unique, exotic and worth visiting. What scents fill the air? What can you hear? What is the atmosphere like? It’s easier said than done, but try appealing to the viewer’s senses through your imagery.
You may be lucky enough to encounter a local festival during your travels – or you might have had the foresight to book a trip that coincides with one. Photographs of a major event will tell a viewer more about your location and reveal insights into the lives and the culture of the people that take part.
Pro travel photographers don’t shoot like tourists. Anyone can take a picture of a famous landmark such as the Taj Mahal or Süleymaniye Mosque, so to truly succeed, focus on a specific part of the building, as well as its surroundings – giving unusual meaning to a familiar sight. An object or person in the frame adds scale to a scene and can again provide more context about the environment.