Street Photography in India

Everything is close. Streets are narrow and crowded, so there is rarely room to step back. A 28mm or 35mm lens is the usual choice, and many photographers find a wider lens useful in the old cities.

Color is loud. Saris, painted walls, flower markets and festival powder fill the frame. Black and white works too, and some of the best India work is monochrome, but you lose a lot of what makes the place. Try both and see what your pictures need. Our guide to color photography helps with busy palettes.

Crowds form around you. Stop to shoot one person and three more may step in to be photographed. Take the posed shot, show people the screen, then wait. After a few minutes you are furniture again and candid moments come back. Working the scene this way beats chasing new ones every minute.

Start early. Cities wake before sunrise, when the light is soft and the heat is low. Many photographers are out before 5am.

Training your eye before you go helps more here than anywhere, because India throws more at you than you can process. That is the skill our online street photography course works on in short daily lessons.

Delhi: Old Delhi around Chandni Chowk and the spice market of Khari Baoli is one of the densest street scenes anywhere. Go for chaos and layers.

Varanasi: worship and daily life on the ghats of the Ganges, with morning light hitting the east-facing steps head on. Go for ritual and mist.

Kolkata: the flower market under Howrah Bridge and the clay idol makers of Kumartuli. People here are some of the friendliest to cameras in the country.

Mumbai: local trains, fishing villages, colonial streets and the sea along Marine Drive. It is faster and more modern than the others.

Jaipur: bazaars in the walled Pink City, with craftsmen working behind open doors and terracotta facades that glow in morning light.

Four more places are on our list for future pages: Pushkar for its camel fair, Udaipur for its lakes and old city, Kochi for its Kerala mix of fishing nets and churches, and Goa for a slower, beach-town pace.

A classic two to three week loop in the north:

1. Delhi, three days. Old Delhi at dawn, then the Nizamuddin dargah in the evening, when qawwali singers often perform.
2. Jaipur, three days. A few hours by train from Delhi. Bazaars in the morning, rooftops at sunset.
3. Varanasi, four days. An overnight train or a short flight. The ghats need time. Go back to the same steps each morning.
4. Kolkata, four days. Another overnight train. End with the flower market and the river.

Fly to Mumbai from any of these if you have more time. Night trains are an experience worth having once. Book air-conditioned sleeper classes well ahead, since they sell out. Inside cities, auto rickshaws are cheap for short rides. Plan a rest day in the middle. India drains you, and tired eyes make bad pictures.

October to March is the main season in the north: dry and cooler. From about mid November to January, Delhi and the plains can get heavy smog and fog. Fog on the Ganges is beautiful. Smog in Delhi is hard on your lungs. April to June is very hot, and the monsoon runs from about June to September. Monsoon streets in Mumbai are dramatic if you can keep your gear dry.

Festivals give you the biggest crowds and the most color. Dates follow the lunar calendar, so check each year:

• Holi, in March, with colored powder thrown everywhere. Protect your camera with a rain cover.
• Durga Puja in Kolkata, in September or October. Kumartuli's idol makers work flat out in the weeks before.
• Diwali, in October or November, with lamps and fireworks after dark.
• Dev Diwali in Varanasi, about two weeks after Diwali, when the ghats are lit with lamps.
• Pushkar Camel Fair, in October or November.

• Ask at religious sites. Many temples ban cameras inside, and some ban them in the whole compound. Take off your shoes where others do and dress modestly.
• Never photograph cremations. At Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi and other burning ghats, custom forbids it and the people who run the ghats enforce it.
• Ask women first, especially in rural areas and conservative neighborhoods, and be careful around people bathing.
• Security sites are off limits. Military areas are protected under the Official Secrets Act. Travel advisories also warn against shooting airports and bridges, and staff at some railway stations may stop you.
• Some people ask for money. Sadhus in Varanasi and Pushkar often expect a tip for a portrait. Decide your own rule before you arrive.
• Watch your gear in crowded markets and on trains, and ignore touts offering tours near stations.