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The Masterclasses by National Geographic Traveller (UK) were held in January 2025, featuring four online sessions and a live event at the Buffini Chao Deck, National Theatre, London. Sponsored by MPB, these sessions aimed to enhance the skills of aspiring travel writers and photographers.  

Expert panels included photographers like Sophia Hsin, Annapurna Mellor and Celeste Noche, and editors such as Sarah Barrell, Shafik Meghji and Greg Dickinson, who shared practical advice on publishing photos, building portfolios, pitching stories and crafting narratives. 

Here are eight top tips for budding 鈥痺riters and鈥痯hotographers, courtesy of some of the brand鈥檚 most experienced contributors. 

Writing tips

1.鈥�Start well听
鈥淲ith intros it鈥檚 a good idea to plunge the reader into the middle of a story.鈥疓ood intros do that while also making it clear to the reader where they are and what the tenor of the story is all about.鈥疘鈥檇 also advise thinking of鈥痶he intro and ending as a pair 鈥� they鈥檙e often the most difficult parts of travel writing, so it鈥檚鈥痳eally worth鈥痵pending time on them.鈥�鈥�鈥� Shafik鈥疢eghji听

2.鈥�Evoke the senses听
鈥淚t鈥檚 important in travel writing to create a sense of place, and evoking the senses is鈥痵uch an enormous part of that, if readers are going to feel as though they鈥檙e there with you. Things such鈥痑s the feel of the ground under your feet, the smell and texture of the air, the sounds of dusk and dawn鈥� these things are often more immediate than鈥痑 straight description. However,鈥痳emember that less is more 鈥斺�痙on鈥檛鈥痮verdo it鈥痮r鈥痽ou risk overwhelming the reader with adjectives.鈥�鈥�鈥斺�疭arah Barrell听

3.鈥�Mess with chronology听
鈥淛ust because your journey is A-to-B, it doesn鈥檛 mean you have to write your piece that way.鈥痀ou don鈥檛 have to start at the beginning,鈥痑nd鈥痽ou don鈥檛 have to finish with the end point of your journey 鈥� in fact, you don鈥檛 even have to talk about making it to the end.鈥�鈥�鈥� Daniel Stables听

4.鈥�Pitch first, then travel听
鈥淚f you can, pitch before you travel,鈥痑s it allows the editor and writer to shape what the story might be, tailor the鈥痠tinerary鈥痠f need be, and make sure that鈥痭arrative鈥痳eally works for the鈥痯ublication. If you pitch once you鈥檝e travelled there鈥檚 no real way to alter鈥痶he story 鈥� and if a few elements aren鈥檛 quite鈥痳ight, it鈥檚 too late to do anything about it.鈥�鈥�鈥�Amanda Canning听

Photography tips

1. Find your light听
鈥淭ry to find the light that’s available to you in that place. Sometimes you don’t have your ideal light, but I think you should still take photos even if your perfect light isn’t there. And you can think about how the absence of light can also help tell your story and help inform your photos 鈥斺�� sometimes harsh bright sun is all that’s available to you, but also what鈥痬akes鈥痑 photo.鈥濃��鈥�鈥�Celeste Noche听

鈥�2.鈥疓et to know your target鈥痯ublication听
鈥淚t’s useful to study magazine layouts and design if you want to shoot for them. It鈥檚 a way to visualise how your pictures are going to be displayed and think about how you compose them and light them.鈥濃��鈥� Jonathan Stokes听

3. Get your work online听
鈥淭he main way that your work is out in the world is through your website. Be鈥痳eally selective鈥痑bout your images 鈥� only feature your best images. Think about separating your portfolios鈥� maybe you really love travel photography, but you鈥檝e also shot some restaurants or even weddings. Your second online portfolio is your social media. Keep your social media up to date. In my opinion, it should be a professional space like your portfolio, but it should also show more of your personality.鈥濃��鈥� Annapurna Mellor听

鈥�4.鈥疨repare for the worst 
鈥淎lways carry a backup camera and bring a hard disk鈥痮r鈥疭SD drives鈥痵o you can鈥痬ake copies of 
your photographs.鈥濃��鈥斺�� Adib鈥疌howdhury 

鈥疌heck back for live recordings – on sale soon.听

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About APL 91快播鈥�   

An award-winning publisher and content marketing agency founded in 1997, 91快播 has been changing the narrative, and the way clients communicate with their audiences, for over 27 years. In addition to publishing the award-winning magazines National Geographic Traveller (UK) and Food by National Geographic Traveller (UK) and organising related events under the National Geographic brand umbrella, APL 91快播 produces print, digital and live media across the travel and lifestyle sector. aplmedia.co.uk鈥�&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;