Chickens in a traditional market.
Markets hold a fascination for a lot of photographers. Particularly for the travel photographer, a market can give you a look at the everyday activities of life in a certain place. A wide variety of markets exist, from strictly tourist markets to traditional wet markets; craft markets through to clothing markets. All offer unique challenges and opportunities for the photographer. You may find yourself in a sprawling outdoor market with tents or canopies set up for shade, or you may be in a crowded, dusty indoor market with narrow aisles and dim lighting.
You don’t need any special equipment for a market. In fact, the simpler you can make your kit, the better, particularly in a busy market. Most of the time when shooting in a market I’ll just take a 50mm lens with me. If I know ahead of time that the market is small and narrow, I’ll use a wider zoom at times but rarely anything else. A good market is a busy market and you don’t want to be encumbered with too much gear.
If you’ve never photographed in a market, a tourist market is a good place to start. Vendors are usually open to and used to hordes of camera wielding tourists. These places unfortunately can also attract pickpockets so a little extra care may be needed in regard to your personal possessions. When shooting in a tourist market, don’t forget to pay attention to other tourists. You can often get some great shots of travelers interacting with locals.
Raohe night market, Songshan district, Taipei, Taiwan
When you feel a bit more comfortable, consider heading into a local market that doesn’t cater to tourists. Pay attention to ensure you don’t get in the way of people as they go about their daily business and be open about your intentions. Don’t try to hide away and take furtive photos, instead make your intentions known. Carry the camera openly. A surprisingly high number of people will pay no attention to you at all, and of the ones that do, most will give you nothing more than a glance. Occasionally you will come across a vendor who doesn’t want his photo taken, so politely nod or smile an apology (or say excuse me or sorry if you know the language) and move away. I’ve generally found however that it’s rare for someone to wave you away – most don’t seem to mind as long as your not acting suspiciously.
Lighting can often be a challenge in markets. It may be very dim, or it may come from mixed sources. Trying to shoot in conditions where you get a mixture of daylight, tungsten light and fluorescent light can play havoc with your white balance, so don’t worry too much about it. Try and get it as close to what you can see as possible but you’ll probably never get perfection in these situations.
In terms of composition, try a range of different techniques. When you come across a vendor that’s not too busy, they may agree to pose for a portrait for you. If you buy something from them – say a piece of fruit – you’ll have entered into a transaction and it will often be easier to get a photo after. Look also to environmental portraits to show the vendor and the surrounding products, as well as close up detail shots of what’s being sold and wider, more general shots of the location. Treat your trip to the market as you would a photo essay and follow the usual steps you’d take if you were creating that kind of piece.
Finally, make sure you go at the correct time of day. Traditional wet markets that sell vegetables, fruit, meat and fish often start early in the morning and close up before lunch. They are best to shoot around dawn or soon after when there’s plenty going on. Night markets are obviously at night. If you can find out what time a night market is supposed to start, aim to get there just before as you can often get some good photographs of the set up procedures, and then capture the mood as trading begins and shoppers arrive.
Vegetables in Beitou Traditional Market, Taipei, Taiwan
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