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Travel photography ethics is a multi-faceted, contentious issue that almost always devolves into a heated argument between photographers (especially self-proclaimed street photographers).
It’s just one of those prickly topics.
The problem with travel photography is that it can be more harmful and detrimental than we initially realise and, with social media today, anything published has wide-reaching and unpredictable ramifications.
However, no matter our differences of opinions, there are certain things anyone can all do to be better, more responsible photographers when travelling. Below is a list of easy, actionable tips I always follow, no matter what, to hopefully ensure that my photos do no harm.
Note | I hate using the word/phrase ‘subject’ of a photo, especially in reference to people. It’s just so, I don’t know, degrading, or something. But sometimes I do within this post, for lack of a better option.
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IN THIS GUIDE //
Ethical Travel Photography
LEARN ABOUT YOUR DESTINATION
BE FRIENDLY AND OPEN
CONSIDER CONSENT
AVOID PHOTOS OF VULNERABLE PEOPLE
EMPATHY, BODY LANGUAGE AND AWARENESS
STEREOTYPES AND CLICHES
POVERTY TOURISM
FOLLOW THE LAWS AND NORMS
AVOID UNETHICAL WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
PAYING FOR PORTRAITS
REMEMBER COLONIALISM
HANDICRAFTS AND FOOD
WHY ARE YOU TAKING THE PHOTO?
POST-PROCESSING
SHARING YOUR PORTRAITS
BE CAREFUL WITH POSING
ANONYMITY
FINAL THOUGHTS – RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
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Responsible Travel Photography Tips
1. Learn about your Destination
Before doing anything else, learn about the culture and traditions of the places you intend to visit.
One specific topic to contemplate is the residents’ attitudes towards cameras. Nowadays, most destinations are reasonably comfortable with phone cameras (not all, though, so be aware). However, larger cameras with interchangeable lenses are still very much not the norm in certain countries and are treated with suspicion.
Saudi Arabia vs Japan is an ideal example. After six weeks in Saudi Arabia, I only saw one local resident with a DSLR type camera. I was (jovially) asked several times why I needed it, since all phones had cameras! Contrarily, during six weeks in Japan, nobody gave me a second look – cameras were two-a-penny.
Further to this, some cultures are much more comfortable in front of the camera than others. Always be aware of local attitudes to photography before pointing your lens at someone or something.
Tip | learning about a culture for travel photography is more than just about residents’ attitudes. Being aware of local religious symbolism, types of traditional dress or distinctive foods, ensures that you capture the images that really tell a unique story about a place. Without this knowledge, your photos are likely to lack depth and interest.
Tip | the same goes for language. Learning a little goes a long way.
2. Be Friendly and Open
If you’re out on the streets taking photos of anything (not just people), then be open, approachable, and overtly friendly (well, I do this, anyway!). I’ll compliment people, wave at their babies, pet their dogs, and show interest in any wares (even in a fish market as a vegetarian). A smile goes an incredibly long way, especially when there’s a major language barrier.
Apart from the fact that it’s polite to show interest in the details of people’s lives (beyond only taking photos of them), I’m always aware of my privilege to be able to visit others’ homes. By behaving in this way, we make a better name for ourselves as responsible photographers and may even encourage a memorable conversation or get a friendly invitation.
3. Consider Consent
With street photography, consent is a controversial issue that many people within the photography community do not agree on.
My opinion | within the street/travel photography genre, there are grey areas concerning consent. I believe, in certain circumstances, obtaining explicit consent is unnecessary or impossible – for example when capturing public events (depending on what those events are). Wherever it is feasible to obtain, I’d recommend doing so.
I also think it depends on where you are publishing the photos and the purpose of that publication – there is enormous merit in creative expression and editorial shots. If you’re just pushing a camera in somebody’s face with no thought as to why, though, I’d question the purpose.
Note | for me, where consent is sought, it’s not just a question of consent, but *informed* consent. Someone may be okay with you snapping their photo but not be aware that it will be published on social media to thousands of followers.
Tip | be aware of the type of consent – is it verbal, a nod of the head, just eye contact? Sometimes the manner in which it is given also matters.
Tip | please, just always think of the person you’re photographing, and consider if consent is needed (not just legally, but morally).
4. Avoid Photos of Vulnerable People
I’m not going to write much about this, because it should be obvious.
Do not take photos of anyone who *cannot* consent, or who has no choice. This is exploitation.
Examples include homeless people, mentally or physically ill/disabled people, kids (without both their and their guardian’s explicit consent).
Homeless people do not have a place to retreat to, and I’m assuming nobody would agree that taking photos inside people’s homes is okay. Kids are literally unable to consent to a photo, and the same goes for mentally disabled people.
It’s human decency.
5. Empathy, Body Language and Awareness
I’m a pretty camera-shy person while Nick is very at ease in front of a lens. We’re both quite different in terms of comfort. The same applies to every human on the planet – you just don’t know how they will respond (totally unrelated to culture).
Always do your best to be aware of the subject and respect how they feel (just because you’re comfortable with doing something, doesn’t mean they are). Usually, there are palpable tetchy, awkward vibes, and it’s always the best option just to stop whatever you are doing. When I’ve felt that way, I put my camera away completely for a while (I hate the idea that somebody may think I’ve travelled to their country just to take snaps).
I’ve been on the other end of this situation before, where I’ve noticed people photograph and video me covertly and without my consent. It’s odd and unpleasant.
Tip | watch for obvious body language, like turning away, mumbling and hand gestures. If in doubt, put your camera down.
6. Stereotypes and Cliches
A subtle ethical concern with travel photography is the potential for images to falsely perpetuate stereotypes. It’s a serious problem that can lead to sensationalism, exploitation, discrimination, and more.
If a photo only shows one side of a story, or glamourises something inappropriate, then it’s not cool. In the responsible travel photography genre especially, it could even be as simple as setting unrealistic expectations.
A straightforward example would be taking highly biased photos of a particular destination to make your trip look more adventurous. It could be focusing specifically on trash in the street, homeless people, pollution, or only photographing more impoverished areas. This rarely delivers an accurate depiction of a location. And, even if it does, it’s important to present that information with a narrative that does the destination justice, ideally to educate and not sensationalise.
Example | I live in Bangkok. It would be easy for me to share pictures of the street rats that are only seen during trash day. I could go outside my condo and photograph the catastrophic cable situation (even though I’ve never experienced a power cut). However, this is just a small part of Bangkok’s story and distorts the truth. The reality is that this city also has world-class malls, hyper-modern architecture, Michelin-starred restaurants, and the poshest condo buildings I’ve seen in my life).
Don’t forget that stereotyping can be even more problematic and more insidious – for example, making somebody’s skin tone lighter or darker when editing to push a narrative. That’s enormously inappropriate. Or, just focusing on one skin colour for your photos because it furthers a narrative – that’s also a hard no.
Tip | avoid cliches wherever you can. Take intentional, thoughtful collections of images that fairly represent your location and the people that live in it. This is another reason why researching your destination is essential.
I think this is a point that could do with an entire post of its own – maybe I’ll write it.
POVERTY TOURISM AND SENSATIONALISM
I think it’s a good moment to mention that ‘poverty tourism’ is, largely, not cool.
It’s understandable to be curious about how other people live, and that sometimes includes communities who are less well-off or are very different to our own. However, with that situation comes a power imbalance. This type of tourism often includes experiences sold as ‘slum tours’ or ‘reality tours’. When it comes to ethics, this is a very hazy grey area (another issue that deserves an entire post in its own right).
Engaging in this kind of sightseeing can be especially damaging if you’re a photographer. The concept of ‘exoticising’ your travels through these photos – the more ‘exotic’ the pictures, the more adventurous you are.
Tip | be aware of intentionally sensationalising your intrepid trip by taking photos of environments where people are living in difficult situations. Poverty is not (and never should be) a form of entertainment.
It’s *almost* always exploitative in some way.
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7. Follow the Laws and Norms
Every country has different laws about who and what we can document as responsible travel photographers.
For example, Saudi Arabia does not allow photos of people without permission, and France and Germany are pretty strict on their street photography laws, too. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, is pretty chill about people taking photos of almost anything in public.
Make sure you are aware of the laws before you point your camera at something or someone and, no matter the law, don’t take intimate photos of people’s homes and gardens.
It’s not just general country laws, either. Always follow any local signs that explicitly ban photography. I’ve seen people surreptitiously taking photos of something they shouldn’t – why? We went on a cave tour in Slovenia which banned all photography and there were still people at the back taking flash photography pictures, even after they were told off. It was exhausting and I was embarrassed for them.
The same goes for no entry/trespassing signs.
8. Avoid Unethical Wildlife Photography
Urgh, it’s just outrageous how much harm that photographs of tourists bathing and feeding elephants has done in the past decade.
Consider this – one person shared a picture of themselves in a river with an elephant, and somebody else decided – “I also want to bathe in that poo-infested elephant water”. From there, the hoards arrived, all desperately wanting their unethical selfies, without thought for an animal that has no place being around people.
The same goes for monkey selfies, feeding wildlife, handling baby turtles on beaches, giraffes swooping their heads into hotels for breakfast, and more.
And why am I *still* seeing pictures of oblivious tourists posing with drugged tigers?
It’s not just that these actions with wildlife are inappropriate, it’s that the photos represent them as fun, safe and ethical. These pictures are continuously perpetuating an untruth which harms, well, everyone and everything.
Tip | it’s worth being aware of the dangers from geotagging any photography involving an endangered species (or leaving location metadata on a photo). It can be enormously damaging to publish this to tourists, plus it also provides valuable information to poachers.
Note | generally, if you can interact with a wild animal, it’s unethical. If you see pictures of these interactions, do not spread them around the internet – it just compounds an already vast problem.
WANT TO TAKE A BETTER PHOTO?
There are three parts to travel photography –
◊ Planning your trip
◊ Taking the photo
◊ Editing the end result
To get the highest quality, most sophisticated photos from your travels, you’ll need to perfect all three (plus a tiny bit of luck).
So, we’ve written a lot of country-specific guides about planning trips to various destinations, and also collated our absolute top tips for taking photos on location. We’ve also written a dedicated post on how to take the best black and white travel photography. Check them out if you’re interested!
We also write about typical editing mistakes to avoid. To complement that, we’ve collated a more intermediate user’s guide to editing travel photography. This covers more elegant, advanced and refined skills, ones that will promote your photos to the centerpiece of anybody’s wall.
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9. Paying for Portraits
Somebody in cultural dress, sat by the side of the road, asks you for a dollar for their photo. Paying that dollar seems pretty innocuous, right?
Well, this behaviour sometimes comes with unintended consequences. For example, the faking, staging or exaggerating of cultural traditions just for tourists (which has long-lasting consequences leading to the commodification of these embellished customs). This can also encourage children to skip school, forsaking education to make a few easy dollars.
Once again, this is another topic with more underhand consequences.
Beyond the above, there is both a power imbalance and a financial disparity between you and the potential subject. On the face of it they appear happy for you to take a photo of them, their child, or their home. However, they may only be agreeing out of economic necessity. Personally, I don’t want anybody to feel like they must give up their integrity, dignity and values to earn a dollar.
Having said all that, there are appropriate places to pay for a photo! Just ensure to ask yourself if taking a picture is detrimental. Maybe you’ve taken up a large amount of their time and they didn’t ask for anything in return, so it could potentially be nice to tip them as a thank you in some cultures. There are also certain locations where it’s an established business to dress up for tourists.
Tip | try to figure out if the person regularly asks for money for a picture. If it seems like they do, be wary.
Tip | if you want to photograph local people then consider buying wares, food or souvenirs, and talking with vendors. This way, there is at least a fair trade of goods, instead of bribery! You’ll almost always catch me walking through markets with a bag of bananas or carrots for this reason.
Tip | avoid anyone with animals offering picture opportunities – like men with monkeys in Morocco or large birds in Tunisia, for example. It’s animal exploitation and not cool.
10. Remember Colonialism is a Thing
There are many countries that have very real, very recent memories of (not exclusively, but mostly) Westerners coming in and taking things that weren’t theirs. (It’s still happening all over the world, and neocolonialism is a whole lengthy post’s worth of content alone). It was (is) often brutal, bloody, and violent.
If you happen to be a European in many parts of Africa, for example, there is a chance you will be perceived as part of that problem. This is especially true if you take sensationalist photos of kids or villages without adding further depth to your travels.
Even the phrase ‘taking a photo’ implies an unbalanced action.
Tip | local guides can be very helpful in navigating the complexities of travel in countries where there is a significant power imbalance or delicate politics/history. They can assist in helping you take the most appropriate photos and also give you a balanced view of a region.
I don’t really have any other tips here, as such. I just want to implore people to behave in a way that respects everyone, and that you give back as much as you take.
11. Buy Handicrafts and Food
I mentioned above already but buying regional handicrafts (avoid any mass ‘made in China’ crap) or market produce is a great way to take photos while interacting with residents of your chosen destination.
Tip | if you can’t buy anything (I sometimes struggle at heavily meaty markets, being vegetarian), ask questions about what things are – often residents just sharing about things they love! I had the most fascinating, memorable conversation with a man in far northern Laos once just because I asked him what was wrapped in all the banana leaves.
I couldn’t eat any of it, but he was just so happy to tell me about his cooking. (He let me take a photo, but it was a long time ago and due to some catastrophic online media management, I have no idea where that photo is now!).
12. Why are you taking the photo?
I wrote about photographers with(out) egos in a recent post regarding street photography at a Hindu Festival in Malaysia.
I commented there that responsible travel photography should always be about the subject of the photograph, not the creator. Every picture that is captured is part of somebody else’s life, and it should never be about clicks, likes, kudos or glory.
Ideally, travel photography should educate, tell a story and do the subject justice. Personally, I aim to provide an accurate impression of the moment I capture, hopefully providing some depth and ‘food for thought’ to the viewer. There’s a complex balance (one that I may not have always gotten right myself), but it should always begin, and end, with preserving the integrity and dignity of the subject of your photo.
Tip | ask yourself ‘why?’, every time.
13. Post-Processing
Just a quick note to say that, although editing a photo is always an individual stylistic choice, be particularly careful of things like accurate skin tones and misrepresentations of a destination.
It’s always okay to play around with the light, shadows and vibe, just be aware of what your photo is telling its audience.
14. Sharing Your Portraits
If you take a portrait, it’s always nice to show it to the subject of your photo. Most people are pretty excited to see what you create, and many will even be keen to have the pictures sent to them!
Lots of travel photographers talk about the Polaroid idea – taking photos on a device that prints immediately, so you can give them out. This is my favourite idea of all time (I literally love it), but I don’t do it because I travel long term (and ridiculously lightweight).
If I took shorter trips, I definitely would, though! (be aware of the number of photos the device can print and the cost of ink and paper refills – can you tell I’ve looked into this?).
15. Be Careful with Your Posing
There are a few facets to this:
Posing with people | do not treat people as accessories. A nice photo of you with somebody you met is wonderful, but don’t do it for the clicks.
Posing at religious/spiritual/sensitive locations | think holocaust monuments, war memorials or active religious centres. Honestly, there’s no need for a photo of you somewhere like that, even if you’re looking somber. If in doubt, just don’t.
Posing and cultural appropriation | this one is a bit of a complex one, so hear me out. Using poses, hand gestures or clothes of another culture *can* be inappropriate. It’s all dependent on the situation but being extra aware of what classes as cultural appropriation, rather than appreciation, is important.
As an example, I really dislike the Buddhist prayer position used by some tourists in photos taken at Thai temples. If you sit and watch at a popular place, you’ll see countless numbers of very non-Buddhist tourists rocking up, posing like the local religious residents praying next to them, then walking out. It feels kind of grim to me.
16. Anonymity
Within responsible travel photography, sometimes it’s best to not take pictures of people’s faces. Maybe it’s the law, the culture, or simply that it’s just not an appropriate place (schools and play parks spring to mind). In these situations, there are quite a few options for some creative photography instead:
Hands | I love hands. They’re expressive, and can often demonstrate an activity without the need for a full person shot (think musical instruments, chefs, dancers, farmers – they all use their hands in unique ways to tell a story).
Silhouettes | these are a great way to get a full body shot of a person while maintaining their anonymity. It obviously depends on the lighting and environment, but even in places that you wouldn’t expect, there are options for darkened figures to take centre stage. It’s possible to darken a figure slightly in Lightroom too, if they are a little too light and you can still see their face.
Shots from behind | I actually take loads of photos of people from behind as these still tell a story. What people wear, how they hold themselves, what they do – they’re still powerful shots, they just don’t show somebody’s face.
Masks | these are very helpful! Often, in places like southeast Asia, much of the population wear masks! In other places, like the Middle East, women wear face masks or coverings, too. This makes maintaining somebody’s privacy a little easier.
Final Thoughts – Responsible Travel Photography
The whole ‘leave only footprints, take only photos’ stuff that is parroted around leave no trace groups is a little bit reductionist, at least when it comes to responsible travel photography.
Any photo can absolutely leave a lasting mark if it’s inappropriate or shared in a way that doesn’t do the subject justice. At its most severe, it could lead to the death of animals, destruction of the environment, the imprisonment of people or worse.
Or it could instead be somebody’s beliefs or dignity that’s offended or lost.
As photographers, we are responsible for the photos we take and, more importantly, what we do with them – always think it through with empathy.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day!
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