Kite Festivals

A great way to practice street.

When I first met Julia Coddington, (a prominent Australian street photographer) she told me about Kite Festivals. A stage full of space, light and opportunities to see people at play, engaged in the moment. I started going to my local kite festivals and then to the larger ones like Festival of the Winds at Bondi.

If you want to use flash or just practice photographing people, then it is a great place to start! If you are a bit shy, then start shooting at kite festivals. You can photograph people quite closely as they are focusing on what they are doing and most of the time you will go unnoticed. Everyone is in a fine mood, which means you can talk to people and start up conversations if you need to.

If you are feeling awkward about photographing strangers than starting up a quick conversation is always a good start. You can mention that you love their kite and you are testing out your camera gear. You can also make some nice connections with people and exchange details if they want a copy of the shot.

When you are feeling more confident, then try to shoot without engaging with anyone. This always feels more like an adventure! It feels thrilling and you will get better shots if you are talking pictures of people who are lost in the moment.

In this shot, the day was cloudy, but it didn’t stop me. Whenever an obstacle arises, there is an opportunity to solve it. I always use my philosophical views to help in a challenging situation. I started using flash. The subject and Kite are hit by the off-camera flash creating depth in the subject. The sky is flat and cloudy but, in this case, the subject stands out even more because of this contrast.

I am a big fan of using flash in the day even if it is sunny. Try it and you will see it adds an extra dimension to your shots. I shoot everything with manual focus.

In the scene above I use flash and look for a subject with interesting clothes. The rest of the frame can be highlighted with the kite shapes and strings creating movement for the eye to move to the next part of the frame.

The use of negative space in kite shots is crucial. We have a wonderful opportunity to practice composition with the sky as our frame. I like to shoot from low angles and try to keep the sky clear so I can work on where I will place the design elements.

Where you place the camera is super important.

Shooting into the sun will create darker subjects and silhouettes. This method can produce incredible shots but be careful with your exposures. This was taken at a kite festival in Ahmedabad India in 2024. It is a good idea to work out when the big international festivals will be on before you plan your trip.

Look for interesting subjects that are odd, different that make you wonder. Images that take a while for you to figure out what is going on in the scene are really important for adding depth to story. Don’t be afraid to use the edges of a frame or to use unconventional compositions.

This image was taken at a kite festival, but it is not implying that. Images taken at a festival may be used for any project. This man was photographing the kites with his phone, so I used the opportunity to walk around him in circles shooting from below. I took this shot three times before I was happy. He didn’t notice me because I took the shot as I walked past him and people generally don’t notice flash during the day when the sun is out. This was with a 28mm lens, so I was very close to him. The sun is also directly behind his head.

Photographing other photographers shooting at kite festivals is also a great way of discovering interesting scenes. No one talked to me or questioned what I was doing at this festival. I felt very free and invisible.

The crowd are also a wonderful source of interesting compositions. I always look for graphic shapes that create interesting compositions. The flash makes the image look more surreal and also flattens it that creates a graphic look. When composing a shot, I will flatten everything in the image into shapes. Then you will see how the forms relate to each other in the frame. For me everything has to be in harmony in the space.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Kite festivals in street photography and the use of flash.

Please leave a comment or message me with any questions.

WANDERLAND

I wanted to let you know that I have released a limited edition ( 30 copies ) zine of my award winning series “WANDERLAND”

This just took out first prize at the Istanbul Photography Festival Series Category.

Order your signed and numbered copy here not many left !

Happy shooting! All the best - Gavin