Photo tips for travellers

Your travel snaps are wonderfully scenic - but where are all the people? LISA CARDEN has some photographic tips for getting up close and personal.

Josiane Sanders was in Mexico when she fell in love. The object of her affection was a toddler who had been plopped on a pavement with a home-made flute in the border town of Tijuana.

Sanders guessed the parents hoped he would draw attention to the wares they were selling nearby.

"I was dying to take him with me," she said.

So she did. With a point-and-shoot camera she snapped the tot's picture and walked away with an image she treasures.

Sanders may not be the typical camera-toting tourist. More often than not, you'll see visitors pointing their cameras at the nearest mountain, or trying to capture a sunset, or maybe assembling the family for a group shot.

Nothing wrong with that. But when a visitor trains his or her camera on a local, they go a step further in capturing the essence of a place.

"The spirit of a land is often revealed as clearly through the appearance of its people as through its scenery or monuments," preaches the Time-Life book Travel Photography.

"Sometimes you see some very interesting personalities, especially in small countries," says Sanders, who keeps an eye out for intriguing characters when she travels.

Anita Vrionides, an art teacher, does the same. When she and husband Peter recently spent 18 days in the Greek Isles, they were drawn to the local residents, such as a crinkled old man who wore coloured pins on his hat and jacket. The American couple spied him sitting outside a restaurant and paid him to pose with his donkey.

On another Greek island, they saw an old fisherman snoozing on a bench near the water. As they began to take photos, he awoke, turning towards them with a look of pleasant surprise, which Anita captured on film.

"That element of surprise made it a great picture," she says.

However, snapping people you see during your travels is not as easy as just pointing and shooting, so here are some tips from the experts:

Portrait or candid? The type of shot you set up may depend on your camera. For instance, if your automatic camera has a short lens, you would be best to take a close-up portrait, according to National Geographic's Field Guide to Photography.

Of course, if you want to do this, you'll have to strike up a conversation with your subject and ask them to pose.

Anita Vrionides admits she is a little shy about doing this.

"I do feel self-conscious about photographing people. It's something to overcome. For the old man [with the donkey], that's how he got money. The fisherman was asleep, so I wasn't afraid.

"Now that I'm back home and that place is halfway across the world, I wish I had gone up and asked more often. The worst you can get is a no."

She admits she sometimes resorted to her zoom lens so she didn't have to ask permission.

A zoom lens of between 80mm and 200mm will "enable you to remain at an inconspicuous distance, but remember there is a fine line between working politely from afar and appearing sneaky," writes Jeff Wignall in the Kodak Guide to Shooting Great Travel Pictures.

It's best not to force your subject to smile, advises Wignall. "Allow them to be shy or pensive or curious."

Even when you're trying for a candid shot, your subject may be aware of what you're doing. This was the case when Karen Duble stopped to take a photo of a man and boy sitting outside a mosque in Old Delhi, India.

"I was standing right in front of them," she says. But they didn't seem concerned, and neither was she because she knew from her travels in the country that most Indians "don't seem to mind when you walk up and take their picture."

If you're caught in the act of taking someone's photo smile and be friendly, says Photography Field Guide. "Tell them what you are doing. If you are concentrating on a person or group, ask permission. Usually people don't mind having their picture taken if you are unobtrusive and act quickly."

Respect local customs. Before going ashore at the San Blas Islands off Panama, the cruise-ship guides told Judy Moore that the locals were used to being paid for posing for photos. When she encountered a mother with her child, seated in a dugout canoe, she says, "I motioned with my camera to see if I could take a picture, and she nodded yes. Afterwards I gave her $1."

Paying people to sit for a photo is also a custom in Native American communities in the western United States. Peter Schreyer, who has led groups of photography students on expeditions in the region, says some people are taken aback by the idea of paying a subject to pose.

"As an outsider, you come from a different situation. In some ways, it does seem degrading ... but the money gives them the opportunity to say no, and a lot of people live in areas without a lot of economic opportunity."

Some Native Americans have posted signs asking that photographers ask permission before snapping their photos. And because of religious beliefs, some don't allow themselves to be photographed on certain days.

"Older people in some Native American villages do not want to be photographed because they don't want to be bothered," he added.

If you're not sure of the local policy, ask a resident or tourism official.

Consider surroundings. When Carol Ellis took a tour of San Francisco's Chinatown, the tour guide stood in front of a Masonic hall as she talked about the city's history.

"That red door behind her really caught my eye," Ellis says. The result was a stunning portrait of the guide.

Don't shy away from taking a picture of someone who is working. It shows what real life is like in other parts of the world. And the people come with built-in props such as tools or machines.

Wignall has some more tips for photographing people when you travel:

* Work quickly and with a minimum of gear.

* Use available light. If midday light is harsh, try positioning your subject in a gentle shade .

* For a portrait, choose a simple background or one that will be out of focus.

* Frame your portrait subject tightly, taking in just the head and shoulders.

* To find interesting subjects, go to markets or crowded streets.

NZPA