Venice, Italy – general tips for outdoor shooting

Overview & Quick Tips

Situated on 118 islands, linked by bridges and separated by canals, with rich history, architecture and art, Venice was listed as a World Heritage Site and it is visited by around 20 million of tourists every year. This colorful, unusual city has a lot to offer to a photographer.

Detailed information

Since Venice is one of the most attractive cities for tourists from every corner of the globe, there are huge crowds of people there at almost any time of year. As a photographer, you already know that nothing can ruin the shot like tourists posing in front of every possible landmark, but there are still ways to make the best out of photographing the magical city of Venice.

–Canals – there are canals wherever you look, and they provide with many interesting objects to photograph, without too many people around. They function as streets do in other cities, with gondolas, personal boats and even taxi boats. When you add the bridges and colorful pillars to all that, there can always be something to capture.
A 50 mm lens can work well if you want to go for details. If you take pictures of some narrow canals surrounded by houses, there can be significantly less light, no matter the time of day. You can choose a 50 mm lens here as well, with small f-number, or increase ISO – which will not go over 400 if you shoot during the day.
If you wish to take pictures from bridges and go for wide angles, you could take a wide-angle lens, but since even the broadest canals are not exactly that broad, even kit lens (18-50 mm) could do the trick, in case you are not equipped with other lenses.
If you shoot in lower light or in the evening – believe it or not, tripod is not a very good solution when you shoot from a bridge. There are too many people almost everywhere, especially on bridges, so you will have no enough space for a tripod. However, a monopod can be a good solution because it takes less space but it still provides the stability you need.

–Search for details – with rich architecture and already mentioned canals, there is something interesting to photograph wherever you look. Unfortunately, there can often be too many interesting stuff in one frame, so you might end up with photos that look a bit chaotic and confusing, especially if they also include rivers of people, a constant occurrence in Venice. So, instead of taking wide angle shots while walking around, it may be cleverer to focus on details instead. This can be a fun challenge for you if you are not used to taking photos this way. Look around you, isolate a part of the street you would capture, and then try scanning it for specific details that might make an interesting shot. Leave the wide-angle lens on the side and use a 50 mm, kit lens (mine is 18-55 mm) or even 70-200 mm for details you notice on the rooftops or otherwise far from you.
Venice is a city incredibly rich in details: pay attention to doors, windows, rooftops and pillars when it comes to architecture, and if you want to focus more on items specific for this city – the famous masks can be seen practically everywhere, both in stores and on the stalls in the streets. From my experience, store sellers usually do not allow photographing, but those who work at the outdoor stalls do not notice or do not care if you take pictures, so if you want to photograph the masks – it is advisable to search for them outside. Ask for permission from the seller, just to be on the safe side and avoid any inconveniences.

–Do not be afraid of getting lost – the road signs in Venice tend not to be very precise, so it might happen that you get lost. Everyone I know, who has been in Venice, told me they got lost – and the same thing happened to me. If it happens that you as well – do not panic, but turn it into your advantage and an adventure. Venice is not that big, and you will be easily able to find your way back. Wandering around less popular streets can show you the side of Venice you will not see on postcard-like photos. There are significantly less people in these streets, so there is less chance for tourists to interfere with your shots. If you shoot during the day, it is a great experience, where you will find loads of details and some peace and quiet that you may need to plan your shots and take them without being interrupted. The photos in the narrow streets of Venice work better on a cloudy day, because in a midday sun there can be too much variety in light, so you might end up with photos that are partly over or underexposed. If you plan on taking pictures in the evening, that is a different story. In the evening, dark and empty streets of a foreign city always seem pretty hostile, and Venice is no exception. Other than that, there is not much to be taken in these streets during the evening, since they are usually very dark and they look significantly less interesting than during the day.

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