Picture this: Meet professional photographer, Chloe Hall, who will be joining High Places’ new trip to Rajasthan next year

Everyone knows the English Idiom: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. Indeed, the online mobile photo-sharing networking service, Instagram, has grown by more than 15% this year (2016), and now has approximately 500 million monthly active users.

However, many budding photographers often make the same mistakes: from unrealistic colours and poor composition, to lack of focus and inconsistency. So why not sign up to a brand-new photography tour in Rajasthan, north-west India, with High Places and improve those camera skills?

With its magnificent palaces and historic forts, bustling markets, sacred temples and tranquil lakes (not to mention golden sunrises) Rajasthan is a photographer’s paradise.

Tutored by Chloe Hall – who fell in love with photography as a child, before training at the London College of Printing and becoming a freelance professional photographer in 2002 – guests will be able to travel around India’s largest state and learn how to capture the incredible sights to create ever-lasting memories.

Since becoming a freelance professional photographer, Chloe Hall has been in high demand for her talents, and has travelled the world snapping a selection of iconic attractions. However, even she doesn’t always get it right. Here, she talks about her experiences, plans for the future and top tips…

Have you made any silly mistakes along the way to becoming a professional photographer?
CH: Of course! Forgetting to put film into my camera on a shoot with Cherie Blair is one of many…

What is the most rewarding part of being a photographer?
CH: I love the total focus of being behind the camera, being wholly in that moment and then creating something incredible out of it.  I also love delivering a set of images to the client and for them to be blown away and delighted with the results.

What do you enjoy most about teaching others to take photos and use the most of their camera?
CH: Seeing people have  eureka moments as they take control of the technical side of photography, and start to understand how to create the photograph they want, rather than letting the camera second guess the scene. It’s always rewarding helping people compose their shots properly so they can make pretty much anything look interesting and creative.

In your opinion, what is the most common mistake people make when taking photos?
CH: Thinking that just because they’ve got a state-of-the-art camera that it will do it all for them; it won’t.

Are you looking forward to working with High Places and leading a tour in Rajasthan next year?
CH: I can’t wait. Rajasthan is chaotic, vibrant and colourful. I visited as a 19-year-old backpacker and since then, I have always wanted to go back, especially to the lavish ‘floating’ Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, which was made famous in James Bond’s 1983 film Octopussy, starring Sir Roger Moore. I’m also excited about going to the Pushkar Camel Fair: there should be some fabulous photographic opportunities.

What other plans do you have?
CH: This year I took a big trip and explored the Indian Himalayas by bike (from Manila to Leh, at an average altitude of 4,000 metres) and managed to take photographs. It was amazing, but I’m not completely sure what 2017 will hold. I’m running a photographic holiday in Kerala in February 2017 – a place I’ve been to twice before and love, especially in February when the UK is so miserable. Aside from that, I plan to enjoy whatever commercial work comes up: it’s hard to really know how the year will develop in terms of actual shoots, as so much of it is the phone ringing and someone asking my availability to photograph their wedding or party, for example.

What has been your favourite camera to work with?
CH: I’m not overly concerned about kit; for me the looking and composing is more important. That said, some cameras and lenses in particular give you much more creative freedom. Cameras (although updated constantly) are like white delivery vans: a tool for a job; whereas lenses are where so much of the creativity resides. Different lenses suit different photographic occasions, but I love shooting on my 50mm f1.2 Canon.

What do you do to relax?
CH: Cycling, Yoga, walking.  I’m also a group fitness instructor so if I’m not on a bike riding around town, I’m probably on a bike in a gym shouting at people. I also teach yoga, which I absolutely love.

For all those budding photographers out there, what’s your top tip?
CH: Develop your creative eye and your style. Look hard, shoot lots, edit ruthlessly and educate your eye by looking at the work of the great photographers.

Chloe Hall will be joining High Places’ new Indian Photography Odyssey from 28 October to 11 November 2017.

The 15-day tour, from 28 October to 11 November 2017, is priced from £2,690 pp (two sharing) and includes 13 nights’ accommodation (two sharing), all meals, photographic tuition with Chloe Hall, local English-speaking guide, entrance fees, domestic flights and transfers. International flights extra.

For more information, or to speak to an expert, visit High Places on www.highplaces.co.uk or call 01143520060.

For more information on Chloe Hall, visit: www.chloehall.co.uk/.