*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
Delhi
Overview:
Delhi is India in all its historic, messy, chaotic glory. The good, the bad, and everything in-between. You want big city India, this is it. You want street markets, livestock, spices and smells, this it. You want history and interest around every corner, this is it. You want messy streets, dust and pollution, this is it too. Delhi is far from the most beautiful and colorful city in India, but it is full of life and an overwhelming atmosphere all its own. If you really want to experience India, you can’t miss Delhi.
So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Delhi has to offer before you even arrive!
Map:
- Chandni Chowk/Red Fort (Lal Qila)/Jama Masjid
- Connaught Place
- New Delhi Station/Main Bazar Road
- Sadar Bazar
- Hazrat Nizamuddin
- India Gate
- Hauz Khas Village (Near Greenpark Market)
Top 7 Street Spots:
1. Chandni Chowk/Red Fort (Lal Qila) / Jama Masjid
India is known for chaos and Chandni Chowk is a perfect representation of how chaotic the streets can get here. Chandni Chowk is an endless market area in the heart of Old Delhi. You’ll find packed streets and alleys taking you through markets selling everything you can imagine, from spices, dried fruits and exotic oils to jewelry, clothing and plenty of street food. Mixed in, you’ll find an assortment of temples and the famous Red Fort nearby.
Chandni Chowk has been around for centuries and you can feel it while exploring through the chaos. The crowds make avoiding messy photos difficult, but you can find ways and spots around it if you try. And for layers and that authentic, lively big city Indian atmosphere, this makes for a top spot to come get lost in. While it’s definitely packed with locals, it is also a top spot for tourists in Delhi. You can find some even more local feeling markets in the city, but probably not any more chaotic or with more variety to walk with your camera.
2. Connaught Place
Connaught Place is one of the largest commercial, business and financial centers in New Delhi. Running in a large circle around Rajiv Chowk, you’ll walk by shops, restaurants, chain stores, hotels and a few bars. It’s a busy area for pedestrians and traffic, but my favorite part is inside the circle around Central Park. This large circular green space fills with locals and might be the most popular spot in the city for young couples and friends to hang out. Nearby, you can also find a street market and more interest to explore. All in all, it’s not as chaotic or interesting as Old Delhi, but it gives you a more modern, urban side of the city to explore for street photography that always stays active.
3. New Delhi Station/Main Bazar Road
The New Delhi Railway Station is the main railway station in Delhi and the fourth busiest in the country. This provides activity and interest on its own, but it’s also right by Paharganj, also known as the Main Bazaar. In India, many people love to photograph the signature train station atmosphere and this New Delhi Station is as good as any for it. After capturing some of the life on the platforms, you can head west into the Main Bazaar. It’s very backpacker friendly here so it doesn’t feel as local as the other bazaars, but it still has its own busy feeling and a mixture of India meets tourism. This means you can find almost anything you want exploring its streets of shops and restaurants. It’s always busy here and provides more than enough area for hours of interest. While the hippy backpacker vibe might not be everyone’s favorite to capture while in India, it does provide a different scene with its own interest, characters and activity. And if you explore enough, you’ll get away from the tourism. It’s also full of budget lodging so it can make for a good base during your time shooting in Delhi. Two kilometers north of here you’ll also find Sadar Bazaar, one of my favorite bazaars in Delhi…
4. Sadar Bazar
On the west side of the train tracks from Chandni Chowk, you’ll find a bazar that rivals it for chaos. Sadar Bazaar is the largest wholesale market of household items in Delhi. The streets pack with crowds of locals just like you’d picture in India. For me, I might even prefer it to Chandni Chowk, although that’s all to personal taste. I find the backgrounds and light to be a little better here and easier to work with. And while both feel local and authentic, I don’t see as many tourists around here. Chandni Chowk has more chaos to explore, but Sadar Bazar has its own interest that I find unique. It’s open every day, except Sunday, so unless you want to capture its quiet side, make sure you come one of the other 6 days of the week. The train station is worth checking out too and heading south you can hit up New Delhi Station and the Main Bazar.
5. Hazrat Nizamuddin
Nizamuddin West is the neighborhood surrounding the Dargah (mausoleum) of one of the Sufi saints. The Dargah complex itself has plenty to explore, while the surrounding market streets are always full of life. You’ll find other monuments and plenty of interest around every corner. This is mixed with the local Muslim life filling the streets and a number of visitors coming for prayer, shopping, and popular restaurants. More than just the chaos in the streets, you can find more interest if you really explore for more hidden spots. Children playing cricket, climbing the elaborate architecture or even swimming and jumping into the Nizamuddin Baoli, a sacred step well (pond). Friend and local street photographer Vineet Vohra thankfully showed me this neighborhood and it ended up being one of my favorite spots in Delhi.
6. India Gate
The 42 meter high India Gate stands at the center of New Delhi providing its famous “Arc-de-Triomphe” like archway synonymous with city. It was built as a war memorial to the 82,000 soldiers of the Indian Army who died in the period 1914–21 in the First World War. Today, it also serves as Delhi’s most popular selfie spot and tourist attraction. Still, it’s worth a stop with your camera to not only check out all the activity by the arch, but also explore the surrounding grassy lawns full of locals and picnics. It’s guaranteed activity here with open space and plenty of sunlight for street photography. Walking to the green space across the street you can usually find a cricket game too. While cliché photos are plentiful here, there’s still the opportunity to find something more interesting too.
7. Hauz Khas Village (Near Greenpark Market)
Hauz Khas Village has become the funky, hipster hotspot in Delhi. Once a historic residential village secluded from the center of the city in its greenery and deer park, today you’ll find fashion boutiques, bars, restaurants, music and artistic spaces. There’s a more open vibe here which attracts a very different scene from the rest of Delhi. This has also made it the prime spot for nightlife in the city. There’s a young, creative pulse here mixed in with crumbling monuments and nature. Before weekend nights, it doesn’t get too crowded here, but it’s still worth a visit for a change of scene while in Delhi. You’ll also find Greenpark Market, one of the more popular shopping districts in Delhi, with a more affluent accent compared to other bazars you’ll be more familiar with here.
Sample Street Walk:
For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Delhi:
- Start your morning early exploring the chaotic Chandni Chowk (1)
- After getting enough Chandni Chowk, head west across the train tracks to another chaotic market area in Sadar Bazar (4)
- Then walk south to New Delhi Station and explore the Main Bazaar/Paharganj (3)
- These three chaos and bazar filled neighborhoods will definitely pack a full a day of shooting so after finishing here, you can take New Delhi Station back home, if needed
3 Things I’ll Remember About Photographing Delhi:
1. Big, spread out city
There’s so much to love about big Indian cities for street photography, but walkability is usually the big exception. India’s major cities are usually very large and spread out. This is magnified by poor metro systems and heavy traffic. Some cities are condensed enough that you can walk most everywhere, while other cities provide metro systems and transportation that can easily get you to where you want to go. In India, especially Delhi, neither of these are true so you do have to work around this. Something that doesn’t look that far on a map can easily end up taking an hour in transportation, while walking on foot everywhere can leave you on empty streets for even longer. Delhi is as big and spread out as they come in India.
Fortunately, there are plenty of areas you can pick to explore away for hours on foot. So the best advice is to not try to cram too many places in one day or you’ll be in traffic half of it. I’d pick a couple of places with a variety of interest in the area and stick to them for the day. The areas around Chandni Chowk and New Delhi Station are two great choices with more than enough interest to last a day on foot exploring it all, while Hazrat Nizamuddin is another solid choice to take transportation to for a half day of shooting.
2. Chaotic and Dusty
Delhi can get very hazy with a combination of thick smog and dust. Much of the time, there’s a brownish tint layered over the city, which can really be seen in photos. The amount of dust in the air affects the degree it’s seen more than anything, as some days there’s more than others, especially during dust storms when you can barely see through the brown tint. Constructions sites add even more to the dust and what you get is something that really becomes part of Delhi’s atmosphere. This means it doesn’t just have to be a negative, as it can become an effect and look to the photos that gives a feel of the city. From distant background views of the city and sky with a layer of brown, or up closer where you still get a bit of that brownish mask. Combine that with how Delhi is already a similar color, it gives it even more of that feeling.
One thing to be aware of, though, is that with that layer of dust and smog, it’s like a constant ND filter of a stop, or more. Even without clouds on a typically hot day, the light won’t be as strong as your typical sunny day elsewhere. So make sure your photos aren’t underexposed if shooting manually in Delhi.
3. Parks of Love
In India, city parks are always a very popular place for young love. Parks are a prime place for young couples to grab a spot by a tree or bush. Sometimes, almost all you see are young couples sitting or lying around the park. As a local told me, parks are also a popular location for these young couples and friends to skip school and university :) It definitely provides an interesting atmosphere when exploring parks in India, love is all around you.
In Delhi, they have some popular parks of their own too. Central Park in Connaught Place and Lodi Gardens are two very popular parks for couples, but with different atmospheres. Connaught Place is a very busy business hub in Delhi with the circular Central Park in the middle. Due to it’s prime location, this spot is always busy with a variety of activity, but couples are everywhere. It’s always a popular spot for rose sellers because of it. Lodi Gardens, on the other hand, is much bigger and more beautiful. It’s more out of the way, but provides a much more scenic atmosphere. Couples and friends come here to hang out and take photos. While Connaught Place is usually better for street photography due to the guaranteed amount of activity and variety in the area, Lodi Gardens is worth one trip for the change of scenery within chaotic Delhi.
3 Non-Street Photography Things To Do in Delhi:
- Eat: Chole Bhature, Paranthas, Chaat, Biryani, Butter Chicken and Nihari
- Drink: Chai and Whiskey
- Visit: The National Museum and National Rail Museum
Street Safety Score: 8
*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!
As far as India goes, Delhi doesn’t have the best reputation for safety, but it’s still much safer compared to most other big cities in the world. As a man, you can feel fairly safe walking pretty much anywhere at most hours. Women should be more cautious, though. Still, food poisoning is honestly your greatest worry in Delhi. With normal street smarts, pick pocketing should be the only danger exploring Delhi for street photography during the day.
People’s Reaction Score: 8
India is well-known for its friendliness towards photography, probably more than any country in the world. While locals tell me they’ve noticed slight changes over the years towards public photography, it’s still easier to shoot here without worry than just about anywhere else. Your biggest worry is people being too friendly towards street photography and trying to make their way into your photos, while posing. Delhi, and India in general, is a fun place to shoot and a great place for any beginners afraid of candid shooting.
Street Tips:
Use transportation: Tuk tuks, Uber, and sometimes metro
As previously mentioned, Delhi is a big, spread out city, even by India standards. For street photography, this can be a common problem in India’s big cities so you’ll need to use transportation a lot if you want to truly explore the city. I prefer walking everywhere, but it’s just not possible here. Luckily, you have multiple options in Delhi. Most of the time, especially for shorter distances, tuk tuks/rickshaws are your best option. They come bicycle powered, for the shortest distances, and motorized. As a foreigner, be prepared for a lot of haggling if you don’t want to be ripped off, though. For a no haggling option, Uber is helpful in Delhi, especially at night or for going specific places. And then there is the metro system that can get you a few major places, or at least in the area.
A little less vibrant character, you have to look for it more here
Delhi is massive and full of places to explore with your camera, but in a country so full of interest and color, sometimes you have to work a little harder for a photo in Delhi. For India, it’s not quite as colorful here and the backgrounds aren’t always as pleasing. India is known for chaos, but organizing messy scenes is an especially valuable photography skill in Delhi. We’re talking about India, though, so it’s hard for any city to visually compare to cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Varanasi, or all of Rajasthan. Delhi still possesses what makes India amazing for street photography, you just have to look for it a little more. Luckily, it has endless neighborhoods to go looking with your camera.
Get up early
In a city full of bazars like Delhi, getting up really early is a great idea. You get a different atmosphere early. While it’s still active, it won’t be so overcrowded. Also, you get people setting up shop and interacting with each other, which provides a different scene than later. You can move and work scenes a little better too. And most importantly for many, that Delhi heat won’t be so scorching yet.
Be careful of Delhi Belly
I’ve never had food poisoning anywhere in the world my whole life. Outside of India, that is. After many trips through India, I’m still batting 100% for food poisoning here, and Delhi seems to be the worst offender in my experience. It also seems just about every foreigner who has visited India for any length of time has the same experience. The term “Delhi Belly” was made for a reason so just be careful and bring some medicine just in case.
Inspiration:
For some more inspiration, you can follow and look through the work of local Delhi street photographers, and brothers, Vineet Vohra (@vineet_vohra) and Rohit Vohra (@rohit_apf). And as always, you can check out 33 of my photos taken in Delhi.
I hope this guide can help you go experience Delhi… So grab your camera and capture all that Delhi has to offer for Street Photography!
If you still have any questions about shooting in Delhi, feel free to comment below or email me!
(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)
Click Here For More City Street Guides!
(A New Guide Posted Every Other Week)
Thanks for the info! Will try it out soon …