So, you’re traveling to Vietnam for photography? It must be true since you’ve found your way here. Are you gazing at an image of mesmerizing rice terraces cascading down the hills, their vibrant greens and golds glowing under the soft sunlight? Or perhaps a bustling early morning fishing market, where the air buzzes with energy, colors burst to life, and if you hold up your camera, every frame will tell a story?
If you’re doing so, congratulations, you’ve got to one of the most photogenic countries in Asia. And to help you best, we’ve prepared some notes as beneath. If you need any further info about photo tours in Vietnam, do feel free to contact sales@momentlives.com, or whatsapp +84983309484, or follow our Instagram at momentlives_photography.
1. The travel info (don’t you skip this)
Vietnam Visa
Firstly, is your passport a diplomatic or official one? Since it might be under the visa exemption program.
Once you receive your e-visa, it is crucial to carefully verify that all the information matches your passport. Any discrepancies between the details on your visa and your passport could result in being denied entry. Key details to double-check include (refer to the green line/box in the photo on the right):
Your name: Is it spelled correctly? Have any characters been missed or altered?
Your date of birth: Does it match exactly? (If you’ve been given a new birthday, it’s no cause for celebration!)
Your passport expiry date: Ensure the expiry date on your visa matches the one on your passport.
The validity of your visa: It must be the same as or earlier than your intended date of entry.
Traffic
Vietnam’s traffic is a part of the photography adventure, especially when it comes to crossing the roads, where, from the look of it, no one gives way to anyone.
Traffic is busy and appears to be chaotic in big cities like Hanoi or Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh city). When crossing a street, walk slowly and steadily. Expect the traffic will then move around you. DO NOT run or walk back and forth.
Taxis
Most popular these days are Xanh SM (100% electric and new vehicles) and then Grab (gasoline/diesel and new/old vehicle mixed), then traditional taxi that runs by meter. The first 02 will involve booking by App (like Uber, but Uber is no longer in Vietnam). You can click on the name of these businesses to download the App from Google Play.
Money
The Vietnamese currency is the Dong. Depending on your currency, you can click on this Vietcombank Exchange Rate to see which rate is being applied.
Most of the payments in Vietnam in post-Covid are actually done by QR code. You can use Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, or credit card. You can also carry some cash (VND, which you can withdraw from ATMs to make it handy. This is narrowed to small purchases only).
When should I go to Vietnam for photography?
Very often the question is “When is the best time for photography in Vietnam?” or “Is there anything nice during this time to photograph in Vietnam?“.
Here is the answer: The best time for photography in Vietnam is the time you come. So ask yourself when you can come, then inform Momentlives via sales@momentlives.com and our job to make sure that month is the best month of the year for photography for you. A straight vertical line passing Vietnam’s northernmost point and the southernmost one is 1620km and by road, it’s 3000km. At anytime of the year there are multiple things to photograph, depending on your photography subject of hobby.
Security
Vietnam is among the safest countries in the world to travel in. That doesn’t mean there is no pick-pock and that you can go carelessly. So, conventional wisdoms are:
Put your important papers (passports, driving license, credit cards) in hotel’s safe.
On a day you’re out doing photography, walk with your camera and a bottle of water, maybe 1 credit card and some cash
Eat and drink
On all our Vietnam Photo Tours, we recommend our photographers to eat only cooked food (you can also eat salad in restaurants where we use on our photo tours). Drink only from can/bottle, not from any tap.
2. The photography gears & photography behaviors
2.1 The gears
What is the gear to go on a photo tour in Vietnam?
Which lens do you recommend for travel photography in Vietnam?
Will I need a tripod, a monopod for my photography tour in Vietnam?
Can I use a drone?
These are the very commonly asked questions that Momentlives receive from our guests who are coming to Vietnam for photography.
To start, every lens was built for a reason, given that some are a lot more commonly used than others. You should be clear at what you are going to shoot first. Does your photo tour focus mainly on streets? Or it has a combination between streets and landscape? Or if you’re coming to Vietnam for bird photography?
Train on Long Bien bridge (@24mm) on a full frame.
Our Vietnam photography tours focus on (one, two, or all) the following:
Streets
Daily life in the countryside
Fishing communities along the coast
Mountains and ethnic minority life
As the founder of Momentlives, Son is using the following set for our Vietnam photography packages:
A 16-35mm: About 40% of the shots Son does comes from this lens
A prime 24mm: About 30%
A prime 50mm: About 20%
A 70-200mm: About 10%. This lens is mostly used in the mountains.
Of course, everyone has own shooting style and a set of favourite lenses and above is purely an information, rather than a suggestion, nor advice.
There are some photo trips we recommend using a tripod, for example, when you photograph the Ban Gioc waterfalls in Cao Bang. However, all our Daily Photo Tours (or day tours) do not require a tripod. You’re in charge of making sure you have enough batteries, memory cards, maybe a back-up camera body and all chargers. Some photographers choose to carry as many cards (or some big-size memory cards) while others prefer to carry 01 external drive (and a computer) to transfer the images.
2.2 The photography behaviors & advice: DOS AND DON’TS
Luckily enough, Vietnam is one of the friendliest countries in the world and that’s even more true when it comes to photography. For the majority of time that you photograph, everyone is either smiley, supportive or just don’t bother about a having her/his photos taken by a photographer. With that said, there are advices to make your photography time more smooth when it comes to photography in Vietnam:
Upon being invited into someone’s home (presumably when you’re walking in a village) don’t shoot yet. Greet gently, establish a connection (our Momentlives photographer is always there to assist), ask questions, learn. These will help avoid any possible tension. And this will also help make you a part of the environment and shoot more relaxingly.
Out on the street: You can’t smile and greet everyone you’re about to shoot. And passers-by don’t care, so you can just shoot. But avoid pointing the camera at someone’s face.
Children photography: This is generally welcome in Vietnam. As the Vietnamese tend to think you must be thinking their child is cute.
I hope the above mostly covered what you need for your upcoming time doing photography in Vietnam. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, please do not hesitate to contact us as per info stated in the beginning of this writing.
When should I go to Vietnam for photography?
