Whether you’re a travel content creator and always looking for new photos to spice up your article, blog, or feed…OR you’re a travel photographer who wants to improve your skills. OR BOTH!

Finding a place to take pictures when NOT traveling can be challenging.

Oh I get it. I teach my students and community NOT to wait until you’re packing for that big trip to figure out how your camera works…or what all those settings mean. Because by then? It’s TOO LATE! And then you’ll just end up being stressed on your trip, trying to figure it all out. And you’ll end up with a) disappointing photos, or b) using your phone instead of that “nice camera” that you invested in (or probably both).

So let’s not do that, OK?

But how and where do you find inspiration and photo possibilities in between trips?

Well do I ever have the PERFECT solution for you!

Are you ready?? (I feel like in our minds right now we’re imagining a drum roll…are you??)

And the solution is…YOUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKET!

OK, why does the local farmers market excite me oh so much?

There are a few reasons…

First of all, the energy.

The vibe of a market feels to me a lot like travel. There are all kinds of different people, food, and sometimes even music. And a lot of times when you travel, if you’re like me, you check out the local markets. Why? Because it’s a great way to get a little peek into the culture. Because food = culture in so many ways.

So I think the energy alone can inspire some creative photography.

You have passionate vendors excited about their micro greens or organic eggs (who also want to tell you ALL about the lives of the chickens that produce those eggs). And of course you have the shoppers with kids, dogs, hats, face paint…there’s some good stuff happening here.

Food, glorious food.

Do you remember what I said about food in the last section? Food = culture. And therefore it’s a prime subject when we travel.

And what better place to practice our food photography than at a market? The lighting isn’t dependable and can be challenging. There are no paid models so people are moving and food isn’t perfectly styled.

Exactly like when you travel!

So to get some good practice with light, composition, angles…of produce, prepared food, people eating…grab your camera and head out to create a whole lot of food photos.

Street Portraits

A lot of my students WANT to create photos of people, but are kind of shy. They feel funny about aiming their camera at someone, or approaching them to ask.

Well at the farmers market there are SO many people, that they don’t really even notice a few cameras. And it’s also the perfect place to practice interacting with and asking people if you can make their photo.

You’re not alone in the ‘I’m not super comfortable asking people to make their photo’ thing. So am I. Yep you read that right. I can be a bit shy when it comes to chatting it up with strangers. But at the farmers market there is so much potential for good photos that I kind of get caught up in the moment.

Like watching this adorable little kid drink out of a coconut. I mean come on! I had to ask…”is it ok if I make your photo?” And they were MORE than happy to let me.

Get comfortable with different light

When you travel, you’re at the mercy of the light. Well unless you plan your entire itinerary around it and never run into cloudy days.

Since that probably isn’t happening, it’s a good skill to have to be able to create amazing photos in absolutely any light.

By heading down to your local farmers market a little later in the morning you can catch that harsh, overhead, contrasty light.

Why not meander down there on an overcast day? I mean heck you might end up with those when you travel too, right?

Oh I get it. Creating photos in challenging light situations is hard. But you’ll never get better if you don’t push yourself and give it a try, right?! And if you’re not even sure where to start when it comes to tough lighting check out the the PhotoFluent Circle…we’re talking about ALL of that in there!

They happen regularly

Since farmers markets happen regularly, often every week, this gives you the chance to try some new techniques or practice old things that you’re struggling with. And then? You head home, upload the files into your computer, and play around with some editing.

And then? Head back the NEXT WEEK and try again! Try to figure out a challenge you had the last time. That image you had in your mind that didn’t quite work out? Try it again!

Want to try out a new lens, or setting, or technique? Give that a go this week.

Ready to dive into manual mode but kind of scared because it seems hard? Well next week is calling your name.

It’s the perfect recurring photo inspiration environment to practice, build your portfolio, and just have a darn fun time.

So what are you waiting for??

What do you think? Are you ready to check out your local farmers markets?? Intrigued?? Excited?? If you need some guidance on those techniques, specific challenges to give you some direction…then make sure to check out the learning options at PhotoFluent. There are some fabulous ways to learn more about camera settings, creativity, telling your travel story…Click here to get the scoop!