9

I'm a non-professional photographer looking to visit Rio and possibly Sao Paulo, I'm interested in shooting the life in the favellas but understand that it is a rather risky proposition in terms of chances of getting robbed or worse.

How should I go about arranging a "fixer" who will accompany me, communicate with the locals, help me navigate situations etc. while avoiding the more shady hustlers and "poverty porn" tour operators. ?

Is hiring an off-duty plain clothes police officer a viable option ?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8

Hiring a police officer to show you around a Rio favela sounds like a terrible idea to me. The police is currently not viewed benignly by most residents of Rio's favelas. Context.

If you are not a journalist yourself, and/or have no contacts you could reach out to, you could try starting here, here or here.

That said, starting with a favela tour would probably not be a bad idea. I hear good things about the Santa Marta tour (which might be this one) and this one seems to be well-respected, too.

Perhaps it doesn't need to be said, but "shooting the life in the favellas" can quickly become "poverty porn".

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .