Part 2 – Local Culture & Customs
One of the great things about this job is that you have the opportunity to travel to so many different countries and meet so many amazing people. It’s so important to take the time to interact with the local people, especially in the more remote parts of the world. One of the first things that I do before visiting a new country is to make sure that I at least know how to say “hello” and “thank you” in the local language. If you can take just a few seconds to say “hello” to someone before asking to take their photograph you should get a much better result. Just imagine how you would feel if a stranger turned up outside your house one day and took your photograph without saying a word.
As mentioned in my previous post, festivals are a great opportunity to experience and shoot the local culture. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Indian Subcontinent and Asia and I have to say that the festivals, especially in the more rural areas, really can be quite spectacular. There are a lot of places where the people no longer wear any traditional costume apart from during special events and festivals so if you manage to visit during festival time you can get some great shots.
Portraiture was my first love in travel photography and I remember being quite apprehensive in approaching people to ask to take their photograph when I started out. I think this actually turned out to be a positive thing as over the years I’ve seen some absolutely shocking behaviour by tourists with cameras. You should take the time to be polite and say “hello” and always ask permission before taking a photograph. If you get the chance to sit down and have a chat with the local people you can get to know a little more about them and their way of life, sometimes you may even get invited to special locations or events such as weddings. Either way, once you’ve had a conversation (no matter how short) and exchanged a smile you have a much better chance of them allowing you to take a photograph. You will also find that if you can show them the photo on the back of your camera they generally tend to relax a lot more and you can usually get some better shots afterwards, this is especially true with children and they absolutely love to see their own photograph!
It’s not just the language that you should learn, make sure you do your research on local customs. There are plenty of potential faux pas that can be made if you’re not careful, so it really does pay to do your homework before you potentially put your foot in it!
As the world is constantly progressing it’s becoming more important to try to preserve and document certain cultures that may soon cease to exist in their current form. Get out there while you can and immerse yourself in as many different cultures as possible, they’re not all going to last forever unfortunately.
Described by past clients as professional, unique, exceptional and inspiring, UK based award winning photographer Kimberley Coole is available for assignment or commission both locally and internationally, specialising in travel photography.
Kimberley is also a member of X-Rite’s prestigious Coloratti group, a guest blogger for Manfrotto Imagine More, a Manfrotto Ambassador, and a multi-image finalist for the prestigious Travel Photographer of the Year Award 2012 plus a category winner for the Eyes on Asia Awards 2013.