Private India photography tours, designed and guided by local experts, for no-compromise photographers.

India’s 1.3 billion people and millennia of cultural evolution put this country firmly at the top of the list of Seriously Good Places to Shoot. You could visit this country ten times in ten years and come away with startlingly different images each time — together with a renewed resolve to go back the following season.

‘Been there, done that’ doesn’t hold here. This is no one-dimensional monoculture, nor is it merely the classic duality of traditional-rural/modern-urban…

Much of this is because the Indian experience is uniquely rich and varied. ‘Been there, done that’ doesn’t hold here. This is no one-dimensional monoculture, nor is it merely the classic duality of traditional-rural/modern-urban that one sees in some rapidly developing nations.

India is an explorer’s nirvana of over 2,000 distinct ethnic groups. Amongst these are 84 million tribal people — indigenous groups whose lifestyles are rich with visual opportunities. Some of these groups are changing not at all — such as the notoriously fierce and isolated pre-Neolithic Sentinelese islanders, to whom even Travelshooters cannot introduce you. Other tribal groups, fortunately friendly, reasonably accessible and happily out of step with 21st-century change, remain scattered across the deserts, jungles, plains and towering Himalayan landscapes of this vast nation.

Such tribes are amazing — an endless variety of faces, modes of dress and decoration, home-styles and villages — but tribal shooting is just one of the many delicacies on our Indian menu. The social, cultural and lifestyle diversity of India means we can have you shooting an elders’ opium session with retired head-hunters (no, not the recruiter type) one day, photographing naked Naga sadhus the next, witnessing ancient monastic make-up and dance rituals on the third day and capturing Himalayan Pashmina-herder family moments a day or two later.

Alternatively, you could nominate a couple of themes you’d like to explore in depth, as many of our private clients do. Vanishing lifestyles, disappearing crafts and trades, religious life and rituals, womenfolk and their costumes, village life. This more considered pace makes time for the repeat visits, the emerging rapport between shooter and subject, the just-so juxtaposition of light and opportunity, the luck that comes from preparation and patience.

Embedding yourself into these authentic, unspoilt shooting contexts is no tour-bus jaunt. Although a great deal of serious shooting is within easy reach of a comfortable hotel, some of the places we’ll take you are so free from happy-snapping tour groups that there are no hotels at all. Instead, you might stay in the spacious home of a local dignitary or landowner of our acquaintance, and roll out each morning with private jeep, fixer-guide and driver into tiny hamlets where a tour party of more than two or three would simply send the locals scuttling for cover.

What kind of India photography tour would you like us to shape around you?

Highlights of our private India photography tours


Itineraries designed around you

Your India photo tour is designed uniquely around your interests, preferences and calendar, and 100% of every shot opportunity is yours. No group dynamics, no waiting for others, no dealing with differing skill and commitment levels.

Privileged opportunities

We cultivate and maintain key relationships to ensure privileged access to novel, photogenic and authentic shooting material. This ensures you get the access, cooperation, time and permissions you need to craft considered photographs.

Professional photo-logistics

Pro Indian photographers and fixers work on giving you the best use of your time, plus any required creative, technical, equipment and logistical support. We aim for hassle-free, focused shooting and the highest level of certainty.

Continuous tour support

A professional English-speaking photographer will accompany you throughout your tour, coordinating tour arrangements on an hour-by-hour basis, interacting in the local language with subjects and locals, and providing any creative or technical support you may require.

Full India coverage

Our Indian photographers and tour planners work the length and breadth of India… from Ladakh to Kerala. This is their home ground and their knowledge of the culture, languages and local practices ensures insightful yet safe shooting.

Single point of responsibility

Your photography tour itinerary can start from the moment you touch down in India to the time you depart. You can leave everything in between to us, from taxis and transfers to hotels and air and rail ticketing. Just bring your camera.

  • Best time to visit for general photography: October to February, unless you have specific seasonal opportunities in mind
  • Tours typically start Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata but can be organised for any arrival or departure point
  • We always recommend leaving internal travel and accommodation to us
  • We can organise photographic equipment (e.g. lights, reflectors, tripods) to save you hassle
  • Foreigners are not currently allowed to fly drones in India; talk to us if you need this facility
  • Read what our clients think of our tours!

India photography tour diaries


Recent anecdotes and images from our India photo tours

More India photo tour stories and galleries →