We all love to have a place to ourselves, but many times, that’s just not possible. There are some unwritten rules when shooting in crowded areas that every photographer should know.
Many of the most beautiful and accessible places you will ever visit will likely be inhabited. The more accessible a place is, the more likely it is that you won’t have a place for yourself. You can see that when the sun rises, the percentage of people taking pictures is higher than people not taking pictures, but it really depends on the location.
This is one of the most famous sunrise sites arguably in the world, the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, a spot that’s always crowded no matter how early in the morning, as you can tell. This chaos is not something I enjoy, and after experiencing this sunrise, I will never go back, even though it is one of the most accessible picture-perfect locations. that you can find. Thankfully, this place has a somewhat natural wall that you can’t really walk through, so the queuing here is pretty intuitive.
That being said, don’t be this guy. Even though I got there early I wasn’t the first or even the fifth person there. I had a few options for my composition, but in reality, nothing I intended to shoot would be unique, so I just found a comfortable position that I liked. As more people showed up, the space became more crowded, and this man encroached on my position as closely as he could. Now, he asked to be with me, but I certainly didn’t expect him to be this close. It’s hard to spot in this photo, but there’s a large ledge right where my camera is facing, which my backpack is resting on one of my tripod legs. This person got so close to me that a simple mistake could have pushed my camera over the ledge. Please never do this.
Other photographers
As a photographer, if you find yourself in a beautiful location, it’s likely you won’t be the only one wanting to capture those locations. Of course, not every photographer will be walking around with a tripod, but I usually have someone in a tripod location as the photographer. This has resulted in many people finding a shot and sticking with it until the conditions they hoped for occurred.
The rule of thumb in these situations is who gets to the point first determines what the shot will look like. So if you’re the first one there and you put your tripod down and wait two hours until the sun goes down, you’ve indicated where the others should line up with their tripods and wait for that weird moment. that magic. This is the standard rule in these situations when it comes to communicating with other photographers. Some places like Mesa Arch have a very obvious shot, while others won’t be as intuitive, and that’s where common courtesy will come into play.
When I shot the sunrise scene on Mormon Row in Grant Tetons, there was a lot of composition to shoot. The photo I chose involved telephoto photography to compress the background behind the famous barn to fill the frame with mountains. This requires me to be as far away from the field as possible, leaving plenty of room for anyone else to get in my way. Thankfully, since I was the first there, every other photographer who showed up at sunrise was kind enough to not get in my shots. The only last people in my photo showed up after I finished and were so far away that made me suspect they even knew we were taking pictures!
Communicate
The people who walked into my shot were definitely not there to set up and wait for specific lighting. You can call them tourists, but in reality we are all tourists in those situations and have no right to location over anyone else. That’s why the most important rule is to communicate only and respect the other person’s space and time. Many times, non-photographers just want to step in and take a few pictures and be on their way. Maybe they just want a picture of themselves in front of the iconic scene you’re in, and you could even offer to take their picture.
Being friendly and communicating can go a long way. This is something I’ve noticed many times. Many photographers, especially landscape photographers, tend to be introverted. Living on the street means I’m almost non-social and find myself putting in more effort to just talk to the people around me, especially in spots like this, even if it’s just someone who just likes it. Sightseeing or a fellow photographer. Pushing myself to do it in general increased my overall pleasure of crowded spots.
Instead of letting yourself feel let down by a densely populated area, finding a place you enjoy and being friendly with will make your experience so much better. Not only did I meet some of the other great photographers I now call friends, it also showcased photographers in better light overall to those just passing by. You may not know it, but we certainly have a stigma that it is possible to use as much positive light as possible. Always remember that our time is not more important than anyone else, no matter how far we have traveled, what time we wake up to get there, or how many devices we are using.
If someone is trying to get into your photo while you’re shooting in that perfect light, speak up. By taking care of others, you also get their attention. Communicating in a positive and healthy way is all it takes to never have any real problems. I look back at that time I was at Mesa Arch and realize that I should have talked to the man lying next to me. It would be much better to voice my concerns than just biting my tongue and getting annoyed like I did.
Just be kind and considerate to others, no matter why they’re there. Communicate openly and don’t be afraid to talk to those around you. We could all use a little more positive communication in our lives, especially with strangers around us.
