Photography as a Bridge for Travel: Tips for Crafting Deeper Connections on a San Miguel de Allende Adventure

Is a camera a bridge or a barrier to meaningful travel experiences? As with any tool, it depends on how you use it! While leading photo adventures, our partner and talented photographer, Lisa Merrill of Merrill Images, helps travelers use their cameras (including phones) to foster deeper connections with people, places and their inner artist. In this blog, Lisa shares her perspective on the “bridge vs barrier” discussion, along with 10 tips for creating intriguing travel photos to treasure and share. 

Lisa and her husband, John Merrill, will lead Global Family Travels’ Photography Adventure in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), Mexico, and she illustrates these tips with vibrant examples from our collaborative 2023 adventure to SMA, Mexico. Tucked high in Mexico’s central highlands, San Miguel is a picturesque small city with elegant architecture, a sophisticated culinary scene and vibrant arts community. 

1. Practice mindful travel and photography 

With photography, as with any creative pursuit, mindset matters. Being open, intentional, and curious about what you’re seeing and experiencing will help you get the most out of any travel experience, and it’s crucial to creating compelling images. 

While traveling, the excitement of exploring a new place and culture can lead to mindlessly rushed snapshots. Patiently tune into your thoughts and emotions. When something captures your attention, ask yourself what you like and feel about it before clicking the shutter. After viewing the image, ask how you might make it even stronger. Nurturing your creativity in this way is a gift to yourself and will help you connect more deeply to the places you explore. 

2. Go slow  

Depth over distance is my mantra, and I intentionally co-design trips with a relaxed pace. Slow travel is more enjoyable than rushing from site to site and enables us to enjoy serendipitous encounters. It’s conducive to creativity because it takes time to get to know someone, wait for a moment of peak action, or refine an image.

Our Mexico photo adventure includes 9 nights in San Miguel (with fun day trips) and 2 nights in Guanajuato. We’ll enjoy a mix of curated group activities and “pick your pleasure” time to pursue personal interests, revisit favorite locations, or relax and recharge creative batteries. Slowing down to notice hidden reflections and the way walls can glow is highly encouraged, and can lead to evocative photos you’ll treasure forever.

3. Make versus take photos  

The photographer Elliott Erwitt wrote “Photography has very little to do with the things you see, and everything to do with the way you see them.”  I agree and prefer to say we make (versus take) photos since that captures the intentionality required to create a compelling 2D image out of our complex 3D world, with careful attention to what’s in the frame and where.

Our San Miguel photo adventure includes a pre-trip workshop via Zoom. This is a fun opportunity for our group to get to know each other and our local hosts and ask questions about any aspect of the experience. John and I share visual design tips which can help you add impact to any photo including:

• incorporating lines and curves to lead viewers through your frame 

• exploring asymmetry rather than centering a subject 

• scanning the edges of your frame and eliminating distractions 

• creating a layered image with juxtapositions  

• including a frame within your frame to add context and intimacy (as I did here under a bridge) 

4. Notice and use the transformative power of light 

Paying attention to the direction and quality of light will elevate your travel photography. Bright mid-day light can be especially challenging; I often seek shade or utilize shadows for drama and interest. 

In San Miguel our group activities are timed to take advantage of the exquisite light early and late in the day. Twilight can be especially magical; we scout locations for this fleeting time when the sky is deep blue, and the city lights come on and wait until after the sky turns black before enjoying our dinner.  This photo of Guanajuato below was created during the “blue hour.”  

Sidelight can be lovely for portraits, especially if your subject is at a window or a porch, since ceilings block overhead light which can result in harsh facial shadows.

Backlight (when you’re facing the sun) can lead to powerful images with glowing edges or dramatic silhouettes. While photographing agaves in Mineral de Pozos, I got low to emphasize the shapes of the leaves against the bright sky and included just a bit of the black base. 

5. Seek opportunities to immerse yourself in local culture 

Meeting people and learning about their lives makes travel especially meaningful. While sometimes that happens easily, a guide with deep local connections can provide access to off-the-beaten-path experiences, along with valuable insights. A respectful, friendly and curious approach can lead to engaging photos of people, which adds soul to any visual story of your travels. 

Our San Miguel de Allende host and trip co-designer, Rebecca Eichler of Language Adventure Pros,  helps us dive into local culture through visits to homes, farms, workshops and galleries. In El Salto Otomi near San Miguel, she introduces us to Ana and other indigenous villagers and translates their stories of revolution and resilience along Mexico’s historic silver route. After a delicious lunch with the señoras of this small community, we learn about their micro-enterprises of embroidery, tote bags and botanical products, and photograph them at work. 

Local photographer, Sean Reagan, is our talented San Miguel workshop assistant. He brings us to the farm and restaurant of Doña Beatriz who is known for her pulque, an intoxicating fermented drink which she collects three times each day in the form of aguamiel from giant agave plants. 

6. Vary your perspective 

Shifting your position can improve the light on your subject, change the background, and/or eliminate mergers (as when a pole appears to be coming out of someone’s head). Sometimes just a few inches make a huge difference. 

If every photo is created from eye-level, there’s a sameness when you combine them into a photo story.  San Miguel is a hilly city, and we visit panoramic viewpoints and lovely rooftop bars and restaurants for “aerial” perspectives. Its cobblestone streets can add a strong sense of place, especially when photographed from a low angle. 

7. Pay attention to backgrounds  

Backgrounds are an essential part of any photo, and I encourage you to scrutinize what’s behind your subject and decide if it helps or hurts the image. Uncluttered backgrounds can make your subject “pop,” especially if you blur them with a low f-stop (or use portrait mode on a phone). More complex backgrounds can add context and visual interest. In San Miguel, signs in Spanish and elegant colonial architecture infuse images with a strong sense of place. 

8. Be playful 

Viewing your camera as a tool for joyful expression and giving yourself permission to experiment will help you create unusual images you love. I’m passionate about helping people expand their visual toolboxes; this might include diving into the playful world of multiple exposures and intentional camera movement (ICM).   

During our 2023 San Miguel trip we had the opportunity to watch a folklorico troupe perform in a historic mansion. We especially enjoyed photographing from a balcony since that enabled us to easily move around, and to fill our frames with dancers.  After “freezing” the action with fast shutter speeds, we experimented with long exposures and creative blur to convey the excitement of the dancers swirling below. 

9. Build rapport and get consent 

If you want to create compelling photos of people, I encourage you to say hello in the local language, introduce yourself, and take the time to build rapport. While this might be intimidating, it’s the first step to using your camera as a bridge which fosters connection. 

I recommend bringing postcards of your city and state to show and give. A small photo book of your family, hometown, and regional attractions will also help quickly break the ice. People in warm climates are fascinated by my images of snow-capped Mt. Rainier, chefs and farmers scrutinize the produce and giant salmon at Pike Place Market, and everyone enjoys our wedding photo. Kindness and respect, along with friendly curiosity, will help you forge bonds anywhere. 

It’s important to ask for consent before clicking your shutter. Share your “whys” -- what is it about someone or their activity that intrigues you and where will you share the photos? An offer to email images or tag a restaurant/business on social media will likely be appreciated. Most people are honored by your interest and appreciate your asking. Unfortunately, some travelers approach photography as an extractive exercise and rudely sneak photos, and it can become a barrier keeping them from meaningful connections. A humble vs entitled approach is crucial for meaningful travel and especially important when it comes to photography. 

You’re likely to get an occasional no. When that happens, offer thanks with a smile, and don’t let it discourage you from using your camera as a bridge to connect with others.  

If the answer is yes, strive to capture emotions, action and interaction. If your camera has “live view” on an LCD screen you might want to that vs the viewfinder, since maintaining eye contact can help ensure a fun positive experience. People are often more comfortable doing something vs staring into your camera. Here Meñio, a traditional healer in Mineral de Pozos, demonstrates making a drum used in his rituals.   

10. Use your photography for good  

I encourage you to ponder ways you might use your visual storytelling skills to benefit the people and places you visit.  These might include supporting local organizations with proceeds from print sales or encouraging donations (or visits) from friends and family who view your photo stories.

At the end of our San Miguel photo adventure, participants have the option to photograph a non-profit doing vital work in the community. In small groups, we learn about their work and create images they can use to raise funds and recruit volunteers.   It’s been an honor to help tell the story of  Casita Linda, which builds low-cost housing in partnership with families and provides social services to communities in the region.

2025 Photography Adventure in San Miquel de Allende, Mexico 

Explore your photography, connection, and creativity with Lisa and John Merrill on a photo adventure through San Miguel de Allende and nearby Guanajuato! From March 29 - April 9 of 2025, this curated adventure includes ample time to savor street life surrounded by Spanish colonial architecture, crafts and food markets, a cooking class, artists’ workshops, an indigenous village visit, and the pre-Easter Señor de la Columna procession. Learn more about the itinerary here and book one of the 2 spots left today! 

About Lisa Merrill of Merrill Images  

Lisa creates images to evoke wonder, inspire action and strengthen communities. She and her husband, John Merrill, are creative partners of Merrill Images, based in the Seattle area. Their work is featured by travel destinations, outdoor adventure companies, and non-profits around the world.  Merrill Images is a member of the North American Nature Photographer’s Association and a Transformative Travel Council Ally. 

John and Lisa nurture photographic creativity through online coaching, Pacific Northwest PhotoWalks and workshops, and photo adventures in Mexico, Vietnam, Alaska and Slovenia.