Havana Cuba travel photography: capturing that sense of nostalgia

Havana, Cuba, is one of the most captivating cities in the world for photographers. Many photographers come to Havana every year because of its unique blend of history, culture, and vibrant street life.

Palacio del Centro Asturiano, Havana Cuba

Compared to other cities in the world, Havana is quite unique. It stands apart as a destination that is almost frozen in time, while still full of vibrant, modern energy. For photographers, it offers an experience unmatched by other places. The streets of Havana are filled with vibrant, vintage American cars from the 1940s and 1950s. They are an icon in Cuban culture, with governments even offering school programs that teach people to maintain the cars. In fact, they are so important, it is actually forbidden to export any of these classical cars. The buildings are no exception. From colonial-era mansions to Art Deco buildings… Havana's architecture is a visual treat. Many buildings retain a weathered, nostalgic charm with peeling paint, crumbling facades, and intricate ironwork. Visiting Havana feels like stepping into a living museum. The lack of modern clutter allows the city’s authentic character to shine through in every photograph.

With over 500 years of history, Havana offers a lot for us to see. There are 3 major areas in Havana cities: Old Havana, Central Havana and Vedado. All have unique characters. For many photographers who travel to Havana for the first time, this could be overwhelming. Instead of trying to cover everything in one trip. I actually recommend, slow down and take some time to feel the energy. This for me is essential for good photography. Ultimately what really matter for photography are story and mood. None of these can be rushed. If you feel lost, don’t worry, I have some advices here that will help you to capture the beauty of this amazing city.

Cars and buildings.

Classic cars are the icon of Havana and Cuba. There are many ways to photograph the cars, but I recommend to find streets with colonial-style architecture and vibrant colours… which is something very easy to do in Havana. The key is looking for backgrounds with minimal clutter or distracting elements. A clean background will instantly enhance the quality of your photo.

There are many places in Havana that fall in this category. Gran Teatro De La Habana is right beside Capitolio (the city Landmark). This place is great for sunrise because the sun will light up the facade of the building, and cars will usually be backlit by the sun. However, I found this place to not be the best for sunset, because the sun will be behind the building which leaves everything in shadow. The soft light in the shadow reduce the contrast too much and normally will make the lighting boring. Also, Havana has over 300 days of sunshine every year. You don’t go to Havana to just take dark and moody photos. It’s not the right mood for the city.

Gran Teatro de La Habana “Alicia Alonso”. Near centrol park

Classic cars like this are common around central park or in front of Hotel Manzana.

Alternatively, Calle Luz and Calle Sol are great as well. They are two old streets over the south side of old Havana, with narrow streets and lots of colonial buildings. Kids walk to school, ladies hanging cloth on their balcony, cars navigating on the narrow streets, people selling coffee and fruit, you will find yourself right in the middle of the action. These two streets are great all day around other than the golden hour. Because of the narrow street, the buildings very close the each other. When the sun is low, most of the area will be under the shade.

Cars and people

Photographing classic cars with local people in Havana, offers an incredible opportunity to capture vibrant, timeless images. The mix of vintage vehicles, and the unique energy of Havana people offers endless photography opportunities. It makes your photoshoot less predictable and a lot more fun.

Throughout the day, there are many taxis parked near Central Park and Capitolio. Many of them are classic cars. Capitolio is one of several well-lit areas in Havana during the night. Classic cars with the iconic Capitolio building is a great combination for any type of photography.

A taxi driver waiting for clients in front of Capitolio building. Central Havana.

If you want to capture a lot of action, go to Parque El Curita near China Town. Every morning, hundreds of people come here to take public transit. One thing about Cuba is that the public transit comes in many different forms. Buses are cheap, but there are not many of them and sometimes people have to wait hours for the bus. So, there are many private cars that goes to different part of the city. Parque El Curita is like a hub, people coming from downtown will get off from here, and people going to rural areas take ride from here. This is one of my favourite places in Havana for street photography.

A lady waiting for the car the fill up. Parque El Curita, Central Havana

Photograph details.

Photographing car details can be a creative way to highlight a vehicle's craftsmanship, design, and personality. Focusing on small elements like emblems, headlights, interior stitching, or wheels requires careful attention to lighting, angles, and composition.

I’m one of those photographers who doesn’t get bothered by lens distortion that much. I like doing detail shots with wide angle lens. During the daytime, my 20-60 zoom lens does the job just fine, and I don’t mind zooming all the way out and shooting with a 20mm focal length.

To photograph car details, we will need find some of the nicest and shiniest cars in Havana. Actually, there are many of them and they all come to one place, Central Park. It’s an area where thousands of tourists get dumped by tour buses everyday. It’s the best place for the drivers to do their city tour business. Many tourists consider city tour in a convertible vintage car is a must do in Havana. So this is the best place to shoot car details.

Vintage car in front of Hotel Inglaterra

Convertible vintage car on Avenida Agramonte

Capture the Daily Lives of Locals

Cubans are known for their hospitality and warmth. Their willingness to share stories and welcome others makes it easier for photographers to capture authentic, expressive portraits.

I was walking in old Havana the area south of Calle Muralla. In this area you don’t see may tourists because most of the plazas, churches and fancy restaurants are over the north part of Muralla street. But this area is actually better for photographing people. The shops, market are all tailored for local people. You see people talking on their balcony and kids playing on the street. Here you see the real Havana.

Night shoot

Also, you will find Havana completely changed after dark. Most of the tourists back to their hotels or beach resort before the sun is down. Many tourists hotspots are packed with people during the day but almost completed empty during the night. Go to Plaza de Catedral after dark you will find the place is so quiet. Only some kids playing at the plaza. Calle Mercaderes are the oldest street in Havana. The streets usually packed with tourists during the day but at night you barely see any people.

Play with Light and Shadows

The narrow streets in old Havana are a photographer’s playground. There are lots of lights and shadows for us to play with. The harsh light from the sun help to show the texture of the building and build contrast.

The sun creates a variety of lighting on the buildings. Oftentimes, when the sun shines on colourful buildings, it bounces back to the opposite side of the street. This bounced light has a completely different character to the harsh direct sunlight, it’s very soft and has a slightly warmer tone. Great for portraits.

Also, don’t miss the interesting casting shadows from those old buildings. They help create a sense of depth and contrast. The light and shadow not only help to show texture, but they also play a big role in incorporating people in the frame. Lighting is a great tool for directing viewers’ attention. All we need is sharp eyes and a little patience.

Gran Teatro de La Habana “Alicia Alonso”

Use Black and White

Sometimes black and white works wonders. One of the biggest challenge for travel / street photography is shooting during the night. I’m not talking about dealing with low light. I’m talking about the crazy color. Nowadays more and more places using LED lights and there are colours are all over the place. This can easily ruins our photos. The chaotic colours are very distracting and can easily pull people’s attention away from the main subject. When this happens you can easily fix it by simply shooting black and white. Many mirrorless camera allows us to preview the photos in different styles. Turn on black and white, and you will find out you are in a different world. All those distractions are gone and everything is in harmony.

Play with reflections

When it rains many photographer choose to stay indoors, but you miss a lot if you doing so. The reflections make everything shinier and more interesting. The rain completely changes the city’s mood. It’s something you will never be able to capture on a clear day.

Indoor space

Just like there are so many outdoor places to photograph in Havana, there are many beautiful indoor places for photographers to explore as well. There are many museums with amazing interiors. Even some of the hotels and restaurants allows photographers to take photos inside. Don’t miss out on these. They are truly the hidden jewels in Havana.

Museo de la Farmacia Habanera, Old Havana

Hotel Ambos Mundos Calle Obispo Old Havana

Something about post editing.

Editing is an important part of my workflow. I don’t spend a lot of time editing photos, but using the right tool to get the right mood is an important part of my editing. I’m a huge fan of that old film look. Film has unique imperfections like grain, halation, and color shifts that make images feel raw and organic. These imperfections often add character and evoke a sense of nostalgia. Film typically captures highlights and shadows with a softer roll-off, creating a pleasing dynamic range. The texture of film grain adds depth and dimension that digital looks often struggle to replicate. The film look feels "classic". Even decades-old film photographs can feel current, this adds that timeless quality in our work.

There are many film emulation softwares in the market and I have tried quite a few of them. For me, the software that gives the most organic film look is Dehancer plugin. I use it with Lightroom and Photoshop but this plugin can also work with video editing softwares like Davinci Resolve, Adobe Premier Pro or Final Cut Pro. Dehancer has a bit of a deeper learning curve when compared with the other film emulation plugins. The way it handles the exposure, contrast and colour is very similar to the how people use to handle film and prints. It’s very different from editing softwares like Lightroom and Photoshop. But this is also what makes the result so much better. I’m quite amazed by how well the highlight details are retained and how organic the flare and film grains are. I love playing with the film grain, halation and Bloom which sometimes adds a very unique touch to the final image. The film grains not only gives that organic film look. It also helps protect the details of the highlight. Just like how film works. All the sample photos in this blog were processed through Dehancer plugin.

Below are some sample photos to show you the before and after. The photos on the left are camera default, the photos on the right are after Dehancer Film emulation. The color difference is the most obvious but if you pay closer attention you will see how the film emulation preserve more details on the highlight and also how the halation and bloom effects change the mood to the photos.

Here are some of my favourite film presets:

AGFA Chrome RSX II 200

Fujifilm Instax

Kodak Ektachrome E100

Kodad Pro Image 100

Kodak Vision 3 250D

Final tip:

Us photographers tend to over plan everything. Before each trip, we usually do a lot of research and have a detailed plan about when to show up at where, what to shoot from what angle, and using what gear. This can make the trip stressful. We tend to photograph the same thing from the same angle as thousands of other photographers. This is actually one of the worst ways to do photography because it will kill your passion about photography very quickly. I mentioned this before, photography is about showing people how you feel, not what you see. So for a photo, the mood is very important. In stead of chasing that perfection on logistic and technical details, use every trip as an opportunity to train your eyes and use your camera to transfer feelings and create the right mood you want to create. Once your master these, you can easily double or triple the fun of every single trip that you will have in your life.

Kyle CongJanuary 28, 2025