1. Go to this street Hanoi street photography
1 Where to do street photography in Hanoi? Hanoi’s best street photography street is the Old Quarter area, it’s near the Hoan Kiem lake. It is BURSTING with activity and on weekends some of the areas are blocked so it’s a huge walking street. You can go hours on end simply walking and shooting in the Old Quarter area and it’s THE area to go for street shooting.
2. Watch out for scams Hanoi street photography 2 Imagine this: You are walking down an road in Old Quarter when all of a sudden a man jumps at your shoes, telling you LOOK! It’s broken…and you take a look to realize that indeed your shoes are falling apart. He proposes to fix it for a fee. You agree and he fixes it for you. What luck, right? WRONG. He’s the one that threw a special de-glue substance to undo your shoes. This is a very common scam in Hanoi, so watch out as you are going down the streets shooting pictures. Look at the streets and if anyone seems to have a shoe-repair kit, be prepared to move your feet right or left as they plunge and say NO as if you mean business. Since I speak Korean I remember warning a Korean man that this was a scam, but he said “But my shoes are bad indeed”….it was too late. This is the only scam that is prevalent and I have experienced personally (but I avoided the substance).
3. Focus on this specific color Hanoi street photography 3 Hanoi is a pretty colorful place, but weirdly enough there is a color that is not only particularly photogenic, it gives your images a certain “Vietnam flair” to it. What color am I talking about? Yellow. There is a predominance of yellow walls in Hanoi, and coupled with the fact that a lot of these walls are well worn it gives the images a lot of character. There’s also lots of sprinkles of red too due to the fact that the Vietnam flag is red, red+yellow are somewhat analogous (more on street photography color theory here) so it makes for a dynamic combination. Even if you don’t go directly for the yellows, keep an eye out for colors that would contrast with yellow and shoot those as they appear in the streets. Look at all of the color shots on this page…they all bend to the yellow side.
4. Ask for portraits Hanoi street photography 4 If you want to make a portrait of someone don’t hesitate to ask…and also to reward financially. I’m not a fan of this but vendors are selling their wares for a buck or two, so life is hard for a lot of honest working Vietnamese. I’m fine going home with a great image and them a few bucks extra for a simple portrait. 5. Shoot the aesthetic alleyways Hanoi street photography
5 Just like there’s something special about Hong Kong alleyways, there is something special about Hanoi alleyways. They are full of character and unlike HK’s they almost always have a crowd around, at least a subject around OR someone will eventually appear if you are a little patient. If you are in the street while the sun is going down, the combination of yellows and the rays of the sun make for a powerful combo.
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