Street Photography in Mumbai

Marine Drive is a 3.5 km curved seafront boulevard in South Mumbai. Walkers, joggers, couples and families use it from dawn until late at night. Come early morning, when the sun is behind you and lights people facing the sea, or at sunset for crowds and silhouettes. Girgaon Chowpatty beach at the north end fills with families and snack sellers in the evening. Composition idea: a row of people on the sea wall, spaced like notes on a line. Caution: it has been photographed endlessly, so work for a fresh angle.

Dadar's flower market runs along the road just west of Dadar station. Trucks unload heaps of marigolds and roses around sunrise, and resellers crowd the stalls to buy. Saurabh Chatterjee, who runs photo walks in Mumbai, suggests 6:30 to 7:30 am, when there is enough light. As the sun climbs, it hits some stalls and leaves others in shade, which gives you strong light and shadow. Composition idea: a porter under a basket of marigolds, lit by a single shaft of sun. Caution: porters move fast with heavy loads, so stay out of their path.

Worli Koliwada is a fishing village of the Koli community, Mumbai's original inhabitants, on the tip of land facing the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Come about an hour after sunrise, when fishermen return and sort the catch. The walk through the lanes to the old Worli Fort is about 2 km. The lanes are narrow, with brightly painted houses and doors, and kids play cricket in open spaces near the water. Composition idea: a fisherman mending nets with the Sea Link behind. Caution: this is a home, not an attraction, so ask before shooting inside doorways.

Crawford Market, officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai, is a colonial-era market near CST selling fruit and spices. Chatterjee recommends 9 to 11 am or 4 to 6 pm, when light filters through the high windows. Shoot the workers carrying baskets from trucks, or the mango sellers in season, roughly April to June. Stand in the aisles and use the window light as a spotlight. Composition idea: a porter crossing a beam of window light with dust in the air. Caution: the aisles are narrow and busy, so keep moving and watch your bag.

Chor Bazaar is one of the biggest flea markets in India, in crumbling streets near Mutton Street, full of antiques and old Bollywood posters. It is busiest from 11 am to 3 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, though that is also harsh light, so work the shade under awnings. Stand at a corner and let the chaos layer itself. Composition idea: a shopkeeper framed by stacks of old lamps and signs. Caution: backgrounds are very busy, so simplify by shooting close, and ask before photographing inside shops.

Banganga is an ancient water tank tucked behind the Walkeshwar Temple on Malabar Hill, surrounded by temples and stone steps. Chatterjee calls it the Varanasi of Mumbai. Go on a weekend between 7 and 9 am for rituals and holy dips, and people with shaved heads performing rites for their ancestors. Stand on the upper steps and look across the water. Composition idea: a bather in the tank with the steps as a frame. Caution: this is a place of worship and grief, so shoot from a distance and ask before any close portrait.

Sassoon Docks in Colaba is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai and a busy fish market. Boats land and the catch is auctioned from around 5 to 8 am, with Koli women carrying baskets of fish. Photography is a gray area here. Some visitors report it is prohibited because of security, and enforcement varies, so ask permission at the gate and stop if told to. Chatterjee suggests a fill flash for faces against the rising sun. Composition idea: a basket carrier backlit by the dawn. Caution: the floor is slippery, so wear closed shoes.

Bandra is an upscale suburb with painted walls and old Catholic villages like Ranwar, whose houses glow at Christmas. Chapel Road has big murals of film scenes. Come from late afternoon, then head to Bandstand Promenade for sunset, when joggers and couples fill the seafront and people walk out on the rocks at low tide. Walk to Bandra Fort at the end. Composition idea: a passerby who mirrors a pose in a mural behind them. Caution: the rocks are slippery near the waterline.