How to take an original Shanghai travel photo

We’re not saying you should dodge all those touristy Shanghai spots -- leaving here without one photo on the Bund might just look odd -- but roaming downtown and getting lost with your camera in the real Shanghai may be the best thing to happen to you and your Flickr album. That is, if you’re well prepared.

Shanghai-based French photographer Franc Péret provides some top tips on shooting everyday Shanghai. 

1. The Bike Photo

Central Xujiahui (meeting point of Hongqiao lu, Caoxi Lu and Huashan lu), adjacent main pedestrian tunnel.

Xujiahui, Puxi’s bustling southern hub, caters to a constant wave of fashionistas, foodies and tekkies, leaving no lack of stories in their wake.

Although ultra-modern in every sense of the word, a juxtaposition of old and new can still be found among a rare pocket of calm, quietly housing hints of an endless commercial buzz, as here via the reflection of a 1920 vintage bicycle.

Péret's pointer: Sometimes less is more when it comes to getting that perfect shot.

Keep it simple, use a hand-held (never use a tripod as it greatly reduces the freedom of your composition and slows down the creative answer to your visual feelings), keep your ISO low and most importantly, learn how to lock your body to shoot.

2. 1,001 Shanghai Nights

Pedestrian crossing at Huashan Lu and Yan'an Zhong Lu in Jing'an district.

An everyday pedestrian bridge is rendered sci-fi funky thanks to the dazzling blue rays of the towering Yan'an Lu freeway.

One of the city’s, if not Asia’s brightest thoroughfares, this flashy freeway has been made even brighter.

Surely no fun to its next-door neighbors, but inspiration and lighting galore for the city’s nocturnal shutterbugs.

A nighttime photo-enthusiast, Péret encourages photographers to hit the evening streets where -- thanks to Shanghai’s many illuminated landmarks -- that perfect night lighting is never too far away.

Péret's pointer: The city’s nighttime lighting can transform some of the most ordinary 'original' designs into ‘old fashioned futuristic’ visions of Shanghai.

Whether day or night, taking a picture is like making orange juice. If you only squeeze a bit, you’re wasting precious juice, but if you are truly inspired, you squeeze and squeeze until not a drop is left and your fingers are raw.

3. The Shanghai Metro

Shaanxi Nan Lu Metro station on the crossroads of Shaanxi Nan Lu and Huaihai Zhong Lu.

There’s never a dull moment to be found with the non-stop hum of cars and credit card machines in one of Shanghai’s main shopping locales -- Huaihai Zhong Lu.

Just steps away, many note the temporary walls while hardly breaking stride. Only a few will brave the dust, concrete and debris for a better look. A pity.

Péret's pointer: Photographers should never avoid construction areas, especially the ones around the growing Shanghai metro system.

Like cities inside the city, they’re a great way to witness Shanghai’s many microcosms and are constantly changing and evolving -- a lot like Shanghai itself.

Nighttime is always more discreet allowing you to enter the intimacy of the 24/7 construction microcosm.