Venice is without question always worth a visit. But the carnival offers even more photo opportunities than usual. Of course we are talking about the costumed people that are spread all over the city during the carnival time. If you are planning to go to Venice during carnival time, we have a few tips for you.
The best ime to travel
The highlight of the carnival begins on the weekend before Rose Monday. That’s when by far the most masked people are on site. But also the most visitors. According to our experience one should avoid this weekend and Rose Monday. The crowds of people make it almost impossible to take good photos. Not only the costumed people are then surrounded by the tourists, but also the many touristic hot spots. Under these circumstances taking pictures is not really fun anymore.
But in the week before Rose Monday many participants of the carnival already arrive. Thursday and Friday before Shrove Monday are therefore the best days from our point of view, as the number of visitors is still quite limited. We therefore usually leave on Saturday after breakfast.
The best time of day
Already at about 6.00 o’clock in the morning the first masked people arrive at Saint Mark’s Square. Then you should definitely be there, too. In spite of the early time you will not be the only photographer. But at this time of the day the rush is still very manageable and the chance for impressive photos is very good. Depending on the time of the year it might be necessary to use a flash, even if only as a fill-in flash when taking pictures against the rising sun.
At the latest around 9:00 a.m. it gets so crowded that you can return to your hotel and have a late breakfast.
For the rest of the day we usually avoid St. Mark’s Square and look for motifs away from the tourist streams.
The best places
The masked people often meet at certain points spread over the city. Especially nice photo opportunities are available at the following points:
- Piazza San Marco with Pallazo Ducale
- Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore
- Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
- Ospedale SS Giovanni e Paolo
- Burano
- Arsenale di Venezia
If you don’t feel like taking photographs of costumed persons, the not so crowded districts of Cannaregio and Dorsoduro offer a lot of interesting details.
The Costumed Persons
The important news first: Anyone who presents himself in an elaborate costume at the carnival in Venice wants to be photographed. So you should not be shy. In the morning you can even ask the persons to take up certain positions or poses. Often the costumed people hand the photographers a business card. It is then good practice to send them some a couple of photos by e-mail.
The costumed characters come from all kinds of countries, but hardly any of them are Italian and Venetians are particularly rare. But there are many French, Swiss and German people and even some from the US.
Most of the costumes are own designs of the participants and it is one of the unwritten laws that you wear a costume only in one year. In other words: Next year, as a photographer, you will find completely different subjects, even if the same people are perhaps wearing the costumes.
For the photo above we hired a gondolieri and took a gondola ride together with one of the costumed persons. This costs a little bit of money, but then one can take pictures that not everybody has in the archive.
The other photographers
Unfortunately, the more crowded it gets during the morning at the usual photo spots, the more violent some photographers become. For some contemporaries, unfortunately, upbringing falls by the wayside. Don’t get infected by this.
Conclusion
Endless photo opportunities. And it’s fun too …
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