Photography vacation tips

Even better, strike up a conversation – about the produce they are selling, the food they are cooking, the artwork they are creating. If you don’t get a photo, you’ve still learned about the local culture (and local people are encouraged to see tourists as people they can engage with, not just people who come along, take a photo and leave). And if you do get a photo, you’ll have a lovely story to accompany it as well.

Except in certain circumstances (Ethiopia’s Omo Valley being a notorious example), you shouldn’t offer money for photographs, or give sweets or trinkets to children. Sometimes it may be appropriate to give gifts to a village elder or local guide to distribute later on. However, if you are taking a photo of a stallholder or craftsperson, for example, it’s a nice gesture to purchase something from them. Alternatively, in more remote regions where people rarely have the opportunity to take pictures of themselves or their families, you could offer to send them the printed photos, but only do this if you are sure you are going to follow up on your promise.

Geraldine Westrupp, from of our supplier Wild Photography Vacations:
“Check out the people who’ll be working on the trips, have a look at their website thoroughly and see if you like the style of images that the tutors are putting out. Phone the people up and talk to them – ask them questions and really find out what you’re getting into before you pay you money. Make sure it is a proper, committed photography learning vacation because a lot of companies nowadays have jumped on the bandwagon of saying ‘photo tours’ – and they’re just glorified bus trips where you hop out and take photographs. So ask hard questions of what you learn and how it’s structured.”