How do I get permission to photograph a person or take a portrait in Morocco?

This is the most important etiquette point in Moroccan photography, and getting it right transforms both your images and your welcome. The rule is simple: never photograph an identifiable person without their consent. A warm smile, a bit of eye contact, holding up the camera with a questioning look, or a single word — "photo?" or the Arabic "mumkin?" (may I?) — is all it takes to ask. Many people, especially in Marrakech and Fes where they see cameras all day, will happily agree; some, particularly older men, traditionally dressed women, and anyone praying, will decline, and that no is absolute.

Money is part of the honest reality, and it is fine when handled well. Street performers, the water-sellers in their bright costumes, snake charmers and monkey handlers in Marrakech's Jemaa el-Fnaa, and shopkeepers who strike a pose are effectively offering a service, and they expect a small tip — a few dirhams — for the picture. Agree it before, or have coins ready after. What you should not do is sneak a long-lens shot to dodge the tip; that is what sparks the angry confrontations you see online. Pay the small amount cheerfully and everyone is happy.

The genuinely beautiful portraits, though, come from rapport rather than transaction. When I want a real character portrait — an artisan in his Fes workshop, a Berber elder in a mountain village, a tea-seller — I buy something, sit, share a few minutes and some broken conversation, and ask only once we have a human connection. People who feel respected give you presence and dignity in the frame that a grabbed shot never will. A guide or fixer who knows the person makes this even easier and more comfortable for everyone.

A few specifics: be extra careful and conservative photographing women and children — when in doubt, do not, or ask a parent. Avoid shooting people during prayer or at religious moments. In rural and conservative areas, sensitivities are higher than in the tourist medinas. And keep your word: if you promise to send someone a photo, try to honour it. Ask, respect the answer, tip fairly, and connect — that is the whole craft of portraits here.