Travel photography: 5 ways to capture the essence of New Orleans

If I could use two words to describe New Orleans, they would easily be “tragically beautiful”.

There is a certain unbreakable joy that resides in the city.

There’s something going on everywhere you look and capturing the heart of the city is not a difficult task and can actually be quite fun! Here are 5 tips to capture the essence of New Orleans.

1. Capture the food.

New Orleans has SO many restaurants with their delectable scents spilling out onto the streets tempting every passerby. It’s easy to get overwhelmed even with simple choices like what to eat for lunch.

There are certain foods New Orleans is known for, such as po’boy sandwiches, jambalaya and beignets. When capturing the essence of the city, make sure to capture photos of the wonderful foods you eat when there. They help to bring your memories of visiting the city to life.

2. Capture the architecture.

When walking through the French Quarters in New Orleans, you’ll notice two things that stick out: there’s a lot of symmetry/repetition, and there’s a lot of color. Those are a photographer’s DREAM! So have fun using the various buildings as backdrops; or if you don’t have a subject to step into the frame, make the buildings’ characteristics the focus.

Save

Save

Walking through the French Quarters in New Orleans will remind you of walking through France, which is expected given its history, so be sure to capture this aspect of the city as well.

3. Capture the music.

From live brass bands playing all night for packed bars full of people on the dance floor to musicians sitting on a corner strumming a beautiful tune with their hats out to accept tips, New Orleans is full of music. Capture this.

Save

Save

A popular place to hear live jazz bands at night and possibly hit the dance floor is Frenchmen Street. Be sure to wear your most comfortable dance shoes!

Save

4. Capture the people.

Oftentimes, the people are what make up the essence of a city – and New Orleans is no different. Capture the personalities of the people you encounter while visiting.

The police officers riding down Bourbon Street on their horses? Capture them.

The two guys who painted their entire bodies gold and are holding poses for 30 minute intervals at a time in the middle of Bourbon Street? Capture them.

The lone drummer using an empty bucket as a drum to keep a beat while tourists walk past him? Capture him.

Friendly tip: Always tip performers if you’re going to take a picture of them, no matter the city you’re visiting.

5. Capture the quirks of the city.

New Orleans is especially known for voodoo. You’ll see references of it all over the city and it’s impossible to walk into a gift store without seeing little voodoo tokens for sale. Finding a way to capture this helps you freeze a piece of the city’s essence to take with you when you return home and look back on when you reminisce on your time in the city.

New Orleans is a beautiful, historic city with much to be captured.

Remembering to photograph all of the little pieces of the city that make up the whole will make for unforgettable pictures to remind you of the city whenever you look back on them.

And remember, any camera you have is the best camera for the job. Whether it’s your DSLR, a point and shoot, or just your camera phone, explore your surroundings, eat delicious food, and capture every piece of the city’s essence. I took all of the photos featured here with my iPhone.

Save