In the second and final part of our series on shooting great travel portraits, Dale Morris shares seven more great tips, covering everything from camera techniques to creative considerations and safety concerns.
01 CANDID SHOTS
For natural shots of people going about their everyday business you may want to make yourself inconspicuous so that nobody even knows you’re taking photos. On occasions I have been known to set my camera up on a table top in a street café and shoot candid photographs as people walked past. You can do the same with a camera around your neck, or even hide yourself where people won’t see you (such as in a restaurant or from the inside of a vehicle). It’s very ‘hit and miss’, but sometimes you can get good results, especially if you’re prepared to do a bit of cropping later.
02 LOCAL GUIDES
Where a cultural or language barrier may sometimes prevent you from communicating smoothly with people, local guides can act as ambassadors and translators. Your guide will be able to convey your intentions in the local language and will likely be known to the people you want to photograph. Some of my most relaxed people shots have come as result of having a local guide with me who translated my words and helped me bridge the cultural gap. If you get good service from a guide make sure you tip well.
I took a tour across Northern Kenya on a camel safari. The staff (all Massai herdsmen) were dressed in traditional attire for the whole trip. This gave me plenty of great opportunities to take images of them in their everyday environment. Nikon D700, 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 lens @ 12mm, f/7.1 @ 1/1250s, ISO 200, hand held.
03 APERTURE AND FOCUS
In most portraits the eyes should be sharp and preferably, looking right into the lens. Focus on the eyes and choose a depth of field to suit the scene. If the background is distracting choose a wide aperture (say f/2.8 or f/4) to blur it out. Conversely, if the background adds to the story choose a narrow aperture (f/16, f/22) When I’m shooting portraits I set the exposure mode to aperture priority (A, Av) so I can adjust the aperture quickly without having to worry too much about shutter speed. 
In Northern Mozambique, young women and girls apply a paste made from tree bark onto their faces as a sign of beauty. While camped on a beach, a group of teenagers passed by and were curious about us being there. We began chatting with the help of a local interpreter. I asked if they would mind if I took some photos. They were more than happy. Nikon D700, 200-400mm f/4 zoom lens @ 220mm, f/4 @ 0.3s, ISO 250, tripod.
04 FLASH
Using fill flash can be helpful, especially when you’re shooting into the sun. That said, direct flash rarely looks pleasant on a face. Instead, position your flash to bounce off a ceiling, use a diffuser or set it to rear curtain or the slow shutter speed setting. Off-camera flash can add modelling to the face.
05 CULTURAL SENSITIVITIES
Be aware of local cultural sensitivities! If you have a guide, they can help you work out what’s acceptable and what’s not. The last thing you want to do is get in trouble for photographing somebody’s feet or people washing their clothes in a river if there are cultural taboos against such things.
I took this photo on a tour in Botswana’s Kalahari Desert. This bushman was teaching us about the bushman culture and way of living, explaining how to forage the desert for tubers, insects and seeds. Nikon D300, 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (16mm equivalent), f/4.5 @ 1/3200s, ISO 125, hand held. Off camera flash gun set to rear curtain mode.
06 ALL SMILES
Smiles are charming, aren’t they? I often try to make my subjects smile. The “say cheese” approach rarely works but if you’re happy it will often set the mood. So make sure you smile. Even better, really try to enjoy the interaction with your subjects. 
These young Angolan boys were busy catching fish and leaping off a jetty into the ocean below. When they saw me watching their antics they upped the game by jumping higher and further. Being young boys, they loved to show off. When I asked if they wouldn’t mind me taking a photo they jumped at the chance - literally! Nikon D300, 10-20mm f/3.5 lens @ 11.5mm (17mm equivalent), f/5.6 @ 1/1600s, ISO 250, hand held.
07 SAFETY
People are people and cameras can be tempting targets for thieves. Never leave your gear unattended, and when you’re shooting keep your camera strap around your neck. Finally, it’s never a good idea to take photographs of policemen, military personnel or security guards unless you have permission. You may end up having your memory card erased or your camera confiscated. In some countries you could even be arrested.
Article first published in Australian Photography + digital (June 2013).