Travel photography has become an integral part of exploring the world. Thanks to social media, sharing those explorations has become equally important. Regardless of if you’re using a DSLR or the camera on your smartphone, here are some tips to get the best out of your travel photography.
1) Be Ready
Sometimes the most picture-perfect moment can happen when you least expect it, especially if you’re looking to get candid shots of people or wildlife. That said, you should always have your camera easily accessible and ready before a moment is over. A travel bag specifically designed for your camera can aid with this.
If you’re using a smartphone, try to keep your phone in your front pocket so you can quickly capture the moment. If you’re using a full-body camera, invest in a good camera strap that wraps around your neck or wrist. That way you only have to lift the camera to snap the pick instead of having to dig through your bag to find it.
Ensuring your photos are backed up is good practice. Saving a copy online is ideal along with a local copy. Be sure to get the best cloud storage for photos to ensure you have copies readily available.
3) Be Charged
While travelling it is easy to spend all day snapping pics without having an opportunity to charge your devices or batteries. That’s why it’s always important to make sure your batteries are fully charged before you head out to explore. If you’re taking photos on your smartphone, make sure your phone is fully charged before leaving for the day and carry a high capacity power bank.
If you’re using a DSLR or hand-held camera, make sure that you completely charge your batteries each day. It’s also wise to buy one or two backup batteries so you have something else to fall back on. This is especially important if you’re shooting video as it can chew up the battery quickly.
3) Be Wide
Whenever you’re shooting landscapes, use a wide-angle lens (I just purchased an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm F/2.8 Pro Lens and love it!) to capture as much of the scene as possible as well as the scale. Having an object in the forefront of the frame and create a strong depth-of-field and provide the viewer with a sense of scale. We often see this effect when shooting food at a close range as well.
4) Be Friendly
If you’re photographing your family and friends, especially in areas of high tourist interest, try to get to the locations either early in the day or late at night. These are times when most locations will have fewer tourists and there will be fewer people polluting your photographs.
If you’re trying to capture a person in a place, make sure you have a good balance in the photo between the person and the scene. If you’re taking a portrait, make sure the photo isn’t just focused closely on their face as the background might not be seen. There’s no telling that portrait from a portrait taken in your backyard.
However, on the other extreme, you don’t want your travelling buddy to just be a speck in the distance. The balance between focusing on the subject and incorporating the scene around them should be equal.
If you want to photograph strangers, ask their permission, especially if you want to shoot them up close. This may be harder in high-tourist areas where locals may be annoyed by this. Try asking strangers in a less tourist-heavy area to take their photos. They may be more open to the idea.
5) Be Immersive
In order to create the most authentic travel photos, it’s important to spend the time getting to know the place you’re visiting. If you want to take your travel photography above and beyond just capturing you standing in front of touristy places, truly take the time to get to know the culture beyond the tourist attractions.
TLITs TIP:
Scout the location online before your visit! Use Instagram, Google street view, and local photography blogs to see where the most photogenic areas are.There you have it, 5 useful travel photography tips to up your photo game. Looking to put these skills to the test? Join GuruShots photo contest to see how your travel photography ranks!
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