For those who aren’t familiar with Holi, it is the Hindu festival of colour and love. Celebrations reach a peak when pigment paints are thrown in the air, covering those celebrating.

Your next chance to catch Holi in India is on Wednesday 23 March 2016. However, in recent years Holi festivals have spread to Europe, and there are various festivals in the UK over the summer, including the Colour Run at Wembley Park in London in June (https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/the-color-run) and many more smaller events held throughout March elsewhere.

Look out for paint festival or paint fight events held locally and at music festivals.

Here are our top tips on how to capture the events.

  1. While the pigment paint may be non-toxic, you don’t want it getting into your camera or lens. Use a waterproof camera that you can wash afterwards, or invest in a waterproof case such as the Aquapac (www.aquapac.net).
  2. Increase the contrast and saturation of your in-camera JPEGs. Switch to a vivid style and then increase the contrast setting to really make the most of the colours. Also be sure to choose a daylight white balance setting.
  3. It goes against most photographic advice, but try shooting directly into the sun to create silhouette images of people celebrating against a brightly coloured backdrop. Time your shots for when the paint is thrown.
  4. Take lots of portraits. With an energetic and light-hearted atmosphere, people will be more than happy to pose for photographs while covered in paint, which can create some really striking people shots.