Often while traveling, we don’t have the liberty of time. We’re visibly foreign to the natives of another land. While language barriers can occasionally make it difficult to ask someone to pose for a photo, sometimes a warm, genuine smile can establish a rapport quickly. Here are some of the best travel photographers we’ve seen who excel at taking portraits while they’re globetrotting
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Nick Compton
Former England national cricketer Nick Compton began a photo series to document the various homes across South Africa. Along the way, he bonded with many amazing people over stories of their lives and how they built their homes. Photography for him is his creativity and eye coming together to create stories.
Giacomo Bruno
During a 2016 trip to the beautiful country of Sri Lanka, Giacomo documented the intricate process of the cinnamon harvest there. An arduous process goes behind the production of this spice before it reaches the rest of the world.
Eliza Malkhasyan
A country that most travel photographers would love to visit, Eliza found some beautiful faces during her trip to Iran. Muted colors and quiet locations add to the mystery of the places she visited here.
Irynka Hromotska
Pursuing candid moments is what Irynka enjoys doing when on her travels. This approach made her one of Adobe’s Rising Stars of Photography in 2018.
Shai Levy
Marrakesh is one of the most popular cities in Morocco, and Shai Levy created some fascinating travel portraits during his visit to this bustling city.
Stijn Hoekstra
No travel portrait list could be complete without images from the unique country of Cuba. Stijn Hoekstra showcases some of his best work during a visit to Havana.
Shevaun Williams
Williams is an experienced travel photographer who has explored much of the world. She recommends approaching strangers with a smile and engaging in a memorable interaction to get a yes from them to your portrait requests.
Your hands should move around that camera like second nature. That leaves your brain and soul to concentrate on the fun stuff of creation
Shevaun Williams
Skander Khlif
He enjoys photographing passengers in trains, and Skander Khlif has done this in many countries that he’s traveled to. A World on Rails is a collection of Khlif’s train snaps from his travels, most likely inspired by an earlier series of portraits.
Subodh Shetty
India is one of those multicultural countries where opportunities for portraits present themselves at every corner. Read more about what inspires Subodh to take travel portraits and why he keeps post-processing to an absolute minimum.
Manish Lakhani
Manish was born with a love for the mountains, and this has shaped many aspects of his life. On one such travel to the Ladakh mountains of India, Manish photographed a Ladakhi man and woman in their traditional garb.
All images are used with permission and are copyrighted by the respective photographers. The lead image is by Manish Lakhani.