subject: 5 Steps To Being A Moral Travel Photographer [print this page] If there is any place in the world that hasn't been photographed yet, then it just hasn't been discovered yet. Between things like The Discovery Channel, and then just individual tourists snapping away on their camera phones, no image gets left uncaptured. But, the truth is, what for you is a photo op might for someone else be a private moment. Travel photographers get a bad rep for exploiting things, people and places for their imagery. If you want to turn that reputation around, keep these things in mind when traveling and snapping.
1.) Always ask first. Events like parades, public performances or other places where people obviously know they're being looked at and photographed, are exceptions. But if it's a simple, every day happening (for the person in the picture) ask their permission before snapping away at them, their home or their belongings. If you don't speak the same language, usually just pointing at your camera and then at your subject of interest will get the point across.
2.) Do not offer money. You do this out of kindness for someone agreeing to be in your photo, but this sparks what some call a kind of prostitution. See, locals might get accustomed to offering to be in a photo for money, and then they'll pose or set up the photo in a way that makes their life look more photogenic than it really is. So, you'll begin getting the wrong impression of things.
3.) Make friends. Want authentic photos of the authentic happenings in a place? Try to develop a friendship with a local, or even a group of them. When they know they can trust you not to exploit or misrepresent them, they'll introduce you to authentic and amazing parts of their world.
4.) Capture it all. My close friend is always jet setting and brings her camera everywhere. She is a voice coach, and posts the photos in her studio for her students to see at their singing lessons. She wants to inspire them to travel. But, she knows kids can easily get the wrong idea and so she tries to take a large number of diverse images from everywhere she goes to give the place a fair portrayal. Along with coming in to learn how to sing, she wants her students to learn about the world.
5.) No matter how temping, do not snap photos of illegal happenings. You could put yourself in danger.
by: Vera Esther
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