If you want to get some good Ho Chi Minh photos, head to District 1, anywhere around the Saigon Centre Shopping Mall and park yourself there.  There’s so much going on it you could spend a few hours in one spot and come away with a bunch of great shots.  I didn’t, but I’m a shit street photographer.  Just walk around the city, doesn’t really matter where, there’s things happening all the time. We went during Chinese New Year and there was some big street festival going on and a lot of people. Be careful of the motorcycles when you’re trying to take shots because one step backwards and you could get bowled by one of them.

For other types of Ho Chi Minh photos, there’s not much to photograph on the mangrove tour and the river is dirty and unless you get lucky, it’s most likely going to be haze and overcast grey skies, so landscapes/cityscapes will need an ND and long exposure to create something interesting.  I went out out on the streets at night, not something I get to do much, and came back with some ok shots, the bright lights make for some interesting Ho Chi Minh photos.

There’s a number of people offering Ho Chi Minh photography tours, as usual, a few expats charging more than the locals but just depends on what type of thing you want to do. Do you just want to get some good Ho Chi Minh photos to take back with you and don’t care too much about learning new photography techniques, or do you need help with your camera and want to find out more about taking good photographs? If it’s the former, just hire a local guide or just walk around the city and there’s plenty to see and photograph.  There’s not one thing that you have to go and photograph in Ho Chi Minh so best thing to do is just explore the city yourself with your camera.

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You can check out a few more Ho Chi Minh photos in our Ho Chi Minh Destination Guide for kids and families