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Every journey brings new stories to tell—and new challenges to face. After three decades on the road with a camera, I’ve learned what works, what fails, and what makes travel photography easier, lighter, and a whole lot more fun.
This free ebook is a field guide for photographers who live out of backpacks, chase light across time zones, and want to spend less time worrying about gear and more time making images that matter.
Inside, you’ll find:
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Smart packing ideas that save space and protect your gear
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Workflow tips for shooting, backing up, and editing on the move
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My go-to tools for keeping it simple without sacrificing quality
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Real-world lessons learned from years of airports, alleys, and assignment shoots
Whether you’re heading across the country or across the world, this guide will help you travel smarter and shoot better.
Sign up and download your free copy and get ready for the road.
Take pictures like these
Watching YouTube is a great way to start in photographic journey, but it’s limited. Visiting a website is a wonderful to supplement your knowledge as well. I hope you spend hours on my site soaking up the information on how to create amazing images. But, in the end the best way to learn anything is hands on. Join me on my next workshop and walk away with a portfolio of a lifetime.
The Blog
Rajasthan Scouting Trip
This Saturday I leave for the Indian state of Rajasthan, for two weeks accompanied my business manager and a second shooter (aka: my wife and daughter). The plan is to scout out photographic...
Depth of Field: Michael Yamashita
I have been looking forward to talking with Michael Yamashita for years. Yamashita is a National Geographic icon. He has shot more than 30 stories with the magazine, many of which became cover...
Expose for the Highlights
Dramatic light makes dramatic images, if you know how to use your camera. This is pretty simple stuff, but often it is the simple stuff that gets overlooked. Many people let their camera make...
The Human Form Divine
"For Mercy has a human heart, Pity, a human face, And Love, the human form divine, And Peace, the human dress" William Blake There is a principle of composition that is so strong it could be...
20 years and looking ahead to 20 more
In twenty years people change. In 1992 I had only been out of the United States three times, two times to India and once to Pakistan. Now for the past 18 years my wife and I have lived in...
Just whose images is this?
Every once in a while it's always a good idea to Google your name. It's a good way to find out what people are saying about you and to check out any links people might have made to your...
Posts you’ll find helpful
What camera should I use as a beginner?
Honestly, these days there are so many choices, which can make it confusing and overwhelming.
Kenya with the Fuji XF 16mm, f/1.4
I have been waiting for this lens since it showed up on the Fujifilm Lens Road Map. A 16mm f/ 1.4? That’s a lot of light!
Fujifilm Instax SP-1 Photo Printer
Opening so many doors with people to photograph this should be considered a must have for any photographer traveling.
The Human Form Divine
It’s a kind of law that may very well be unbreakable. It is what I call, “the law of the the human figure.”
Dear beginner, you make ripples!
Matt admonishes beginner photographers to slowdown and observe. Any beginners reading this, will find it helpful.
Composition: Prescriptive or Descriptive?
After importing the images into Lightroom, a lot of the other compositional elements come into play. It is now that the strong images rise to the surface.
Depth of Field Podcast
Depth of Field is a podcast hosted by me, Matt Brandon. In this podcast I interview working photographers from around the world and try to uncover what was it that help them get o where they are today. Listen as I converses with respected photographers from many different fields and uncovers what it took for them to be successful. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and listen to the photography leaders tell us secrets and stories of their journey.
Galleries
Check out a sampling of some of my favourite work.
Rickshaw Puller of Kolkata
The Valley of Kashmir
Sea Gypsies of Borneo
Puppet Masters of Penang
Ladakh, India
Varanasi, India
Testimonials
People are talking.
“I truly love Matt’s perspective on photo storytelling. I’ve been looking at other photographers that are very skilled, but seem to have a very different goal. That of taking a beautiful photo over telling the story of the moment. In my mind, you must have both good images that tell a story. That is what Matt is great at.”
“We are over the moon with the results of the (your) photography so considering the conditions your professionalism and talent shone through and delivered.
Again thank you so much for following through and completing the assignment for us.”
“Matt Brandon really knows his stuff, and has been in the photography game for several decades. He’s been traveling to India for many years now, where he leads photography workshops that look like amazing experiences. He’s strong in all aspects of travel photography but if I had to pick one area you could really learn from him it would be portraits, you can see a lot of feeling in his work here.”
“I’ve just returned from a tremendous week in West Sumatra, photographing Pacu Jawi and the Mentawai tribe on my second workshop with Matt. Thanks to Matt I’ve returned with great images and mastered off-camera light. He is a terrific teacher, knowledgeable, patient and generous with his time. He has an artists eye for composition and light and what makes a great picture. Matt consistently pointed out photo opportunities I would otherwise have missed. Matt’s attention to detail and the ability to put subjects from diverse backgrounds at ease shines through his pictures. He’s also the only person I know who can produce a perfect breakfast espresso in the depths of the jungle. What more can I say?”
Matt’s photos are
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