Held every November during the full moon, the Pushkar Camel Fair is where you get to see Rajasthani culture at its best. Held at an epic scale, the event attracts over 400,000 people from across India, who are accompanied by thousands of decorated camels and cattle. Needless to say, this fourteen-day event is a paradise for photographers as there’s something capture-worthy at every corner of the fair. Here are 5 critical photography lessons on offer at the Pushkar Camel Fair–
Early Birds Get the Worm
Since festivities stretch till late at night, it is completely normal for photographers to get awfully tired from rambling around throughout the evening, so essentially not everyone at the fair has the disposition to wake up early the next day.
However, the truth is that waking up and hitting the grounds early in the morning is something that really pays a lot of dividends. There is so much opportunity for great pictures. Capture images early morning of devotees lighting oil lamps (diyas) at the Ghats. The pre-sunrise light is guaranteed to bring out a warm glow on the faces of the people you capture, an effect that is truly unrepeatable.
Keep Focus on subject
Akin to portrait photography, while taking photographs on the streets and in the fair, it is very important to maintain a focus on the eyes of the people you capture and use them to express emotions and to communicate the narrative behind the picture. Pushkar at the time of the fair is full of people from all sorts of backgrounds, each with a story of their own to tell.
Although it is difficult to catch such breathtaking images, once you start paying consideration to this facet of photography, your confidence levels will be elevated and your images will come out stronger than ever.
Post Sunset Scenes Are Too Good to Avoid
Post sunset, most people tend to go back to their hotel rooms or get busy with Ferris wheels and other joyrides at the fair. However, photographers who stay back have the option of mixing long exposure shots with off-camera flashes. This gives them images that have appropriately exposed foregrounds and dramatic colors in the backdrop.
Focusing on Directional Light
Photography at the Pushkar Camel Fair becomes enormously gratifying when you are toying around with directional light – a factor that immensely adds more complexity and appeal to your pictures. Generally, for a few hours just after sunrise and right before the sunsets, there’s an abundance of beautiful directional light to be played and experimented with.
Carry Good Gear
- Since this fourteen-day festival has simply so much to offer, it is advisable that you go all out on your gear. In case you are an amateur and don’t have access to high-end photography gear, an expedition under Photography Tours of India can be an amazing experience. We lead photography-based tours in major tourist attractions in India and in Pushkar we get very good support from the locals, helping tourists set up their photography work space in the best and most cooperative way possible. The ideal gear wish list on a trip to Pushkar would include –
- Gadgets- Nikon D810, 2 bodies of Nikon D750, 1 Sony @6300
- Action Camera, Drone Mavick Air
- Lenses- Tokina- 16-28/2.8 mm, Nikon- 24-120, Nikon 50 mm 1.8, Nikon 85 mm 1.8, Nikon 70-200 mm 2.8 mm, Nikon 200-500 mm
All of these are used in Photography Tours India tours. We are essentially an experienced group of travelers and photographers so there’s a lot to explore when working with our assistance at the Pushkar Camel Fair.
