While legions of you have already enjoyed the benefit of traveling with and learning from David Lazar on Luminous Journeys photo tour workshops over the years, this long layoff may well find you a bit rusty! Or a lot rusty. Positively squeaky and creaky. Time to break out the WD40, don’t you think? Of course you do. So to provide some review and opportunity to re-fire some of those dimming synaptic connections, we present you with David’s article on Better Travel Portraits, which first ran in Australian Photography Magazine way back in the antediluvian period of 2018. Of course for those of you just discovering David’s work, or are just getting interested in travel photography, that goes 10 fold for you!

After having a read you might want to check out other articles around the web by Mr. Lazar, as well as by other Luminous photographers, which are accessible in our Resources section. To see upcoming Lazar workshop offerings as well as our complete photo tour schedule, be sure to visit our complete photo tour schedule page.

But first things first!
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David Lazar – 7 Tips for Better Travel Portraits

Want to shoot portraits that not only reveal the personalities of your subjects but also evoke strong emotional responses from viewers? Here’s my tips for getting started.

1) Connect with your subject

The key to taking successful portrait photos is your ability to create a rapport with your subjects and make them feel comfortable with you. This can be done fairly quickly if you are relaxed, good-natured, enthusiastic, and interested and respectful to those you meet.

The skill of meeting someone new and making them feel relaxed around you in a short time can be practiced by approaching others with a smile and a sense of curiosity to learn more about them. It’s important not to come across as being shy. It’s also best not to rush in with your camera to take someone’s photo, but rather take the initial moments to get to know each other and establish a connection…

Check out the remaining 6 tips and images here on Australian Photography. But not before you have a gander at the 7 bonus images below!

Apsara dancer, remote northern Thailand.

Snow Monkey – Japan

Legendary Red Crowned Cranes – Hokkaido, Japan

Girl in Yellow Hijab – Indonesia

Incredible India

Young Monk – Cambodia

Ao Dai Ladies – Hanoi, Vietnam