Anton Crone is a judge in the Africa Geographic Photographer of the Year competition as well as editor and custodian of Africa Geographic online magazine.  He has travelled extensively across the continent and particularly enjoys meeting and photographing people. In this blog Anton gives us some technical and creative photography tips for photographing people on your travels.

“Taking photographs of people is one of the most challenging photographic fields: people are often wary of having their image taken, they are inherently unpredictable and it’s difficult to control the light and situations that you find them in. Some photographers spend days getting to know the people they photograph, others shoot quickly and move on. Each method can produce wonderful results capturing not only the subject’s personality but also that of the photographer.

The thing that I love about this field of photography is that by involving myself with the people I photograph I learn more about them and their country.

There are technical aspects that are good to know, but much of it is up to your own imagination so I have broken this up into ‘technical’ and ‘creative’ tips. Ultimately the more you photograph people the more your images will improve and the sooner you will realise what works best for you.

Technical Tips

1. Choose your lens and stick with it

I find a 50mm prime lens is good for most situations. It’s wide enough to capture an entire scene while long enough to give a good sense of a person’s character and their surroundings. I use this lens far more than any other.

An 85mm prime is best for classic portraiture to capture the facial features and nature of a person.

I prefer these two prime lenses to zoom lenses because the quality and aperture of zooms are restrictive. Sometimes I carry two cameras, one mounted with each lens, but most often I use one lens and work within its limits.

2. Keep it wide open

Both the above type of lenses offer wide apertures of at least f/2.8 and as much as f/1.2. I seldom photograph any higher than f/5.6. The wider the aperture the narrower the depth of field. This blurs the background while the subject remains sharp – great for portraits.

I shoot using aperture priority so I have control over the depth of field. A wider aperture also means more light is let into the lens.

3. Keep it fast

People’s expressions change rapidly. Shooting at 1/125 sec or more ensures that their eyes or facial movements are not blurred. Skin of any colour is often best photographed in shade or low light such as early morning or evening. Adjust your settings to a higher ISO to achieve a higher shutter speed in low light.

4. Keep it old school

Large capacity memory cards are great for fast moving wildlife photography where multiple shots are needed, but for photographing people I use a lower capacity card. I find a 2GB memory card is sufficient for a full day of digital photography. This limits me to fewer frames so I observe the people and situation properly before shooting.

To enhance this I sometimes use a single roll of film (12 frames) in an old Hasselblad medium format camera. This 60 year old camera does not have a light meter so I have to really study the light to gauge the best exposure. It slows me down, but this is good, and it means my eye is trained to better assess the lighting when shooting digitally.

Creative Tips

5. Get down

Shooting from a low vantage point – on your haunches or lying down – elevates the stature of the person you are photographing so they look down at the lens and look prouder. It also puts you in a subservient position which eases tension.

6. Put your camera aside

To capture the essence of a person you’ve got to get to know them. Put your camera aside and offer them your time. If you don’t have much time, at least try and chat to them  – It’s remarkably easy to strike up a conversation with a stranger. When you feel you are both happy in one another’s company, or among a group of people, only then reach for your camera. No doubt you will capture something that is closer to their true character. By sensing who they are, you might also be able to coordinate their surroundings to enhance their character: sit them in front of a backdrop that suits them or near a window with the best light to capture their facial features.

If you have lots of time, spend it with the people you want to photograph. Keep on visiting them if they are nearby your location. Better still, stay with them if you are invited. I find this a wonderful example by Alegra Ally who spent a month with a group of Himba women in Namibia.

7. Give your camera away

One of the best ways to put people at ease in front of the lens is to turn the tables: hand them your camera and let them photograph you. This makes people feel more involved and in control of the situation – the camera becomes an olive branch instead of an intimidating factor.

8. Shoot first, face questions later

Not everyone likes having their photos taken. Unfortunately these are often the most interesting characters or scenes. If it seems like you’ll never be able to persuade a person to have their photo taken, or if you’ll destroy the scene by doing so, gauge the situation, plan your shot and if it feels like you won’t face recrimination from any others, take the shot. If the subject admonishes you then show them the image; they might appreciate it and calm down. Often I have done so and been invited to take more images. If they are still angry, apologise, delete it if they insist, and walk away.

Never photograph a person in military, police or other uniform unless you have his or her consent. It is just asking for trouble.

9. Swagger and a smile

I learnt this in Lagos, Nigeria, the capital of swagger: Be confident, dial up the attitude, but show you are friendly. Photographing people makes you conspicuous and this can invite attention from thieves and arrogant people. I’ve seen many people hang back and conceal their camera but this makes them even more conspicuous. Embrace the situation and make it clear why you are there. Dive right in. Keep your camera visible. Talk to people. Show them your images. Most importantly: smile. People appreciate friendliness and honesty, and by knowing exactly why you are there they will feel more secure. The thugs will also have the impression you know exactly what you are doing and leave you alone.

10. The moral and money question

There is a lot of debate about the ethics of paying people to photograph them. My sense of it is that if you intend selling the images, you should pay the people what you think they will appreciate. Shooting for stock image banks requires a subject’s written consent on a model release form, so you should carry these forms and be prepared to pay if that is how you intend selling the images. Selling art prints does not require consent but you should still pay the people as far as I am concerned. Often you can never be certain if an image will sell. I try to get people’s email or physical address and reward them in some way if it does sell. If they are close by, it’s a good excuse to visit them.

The water becomes muddy when you take photos for personal use or for editorial. There is no rule. I find that if I am shooting from the hip, i.e. situations or people that suddenly present themselves, I am less compelled to pay. It may sound selfish, but if I did pay for those shots I would be out of pocket very soon.

When it comes to moral, I try to imagine myself in a person’s position and how I would feel if someone photographed me. It is when I am involving myself in people’s life or work and they are willing collaborators, so to speak, that I am most comfortable. By doing so I learn more about their life and can offer them with what they really need, and often friendship is what comes up trumps. Often I photograph people associated with NGOs and I promote their work through editorial. Working with NGO’s in this way makes the photographs more meaningful.”

Follow Anton on Twitter: @antoncrone or Instagram 

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