For most people, travelling can be the best opportunity to take great photos. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your travel photography.
If you’re planning a trip and want to take some great photos while there, some planning can often make the difference between frustration and a great photo album. There are also some different techniques that you can use to help get the most out of your limited time.
Plan on bringing an accessory bag or pack – it’s fine if you don’t have a custom camera accessory bag. Depending on the size of your camera and accessories, a small backpack or purse will do just fine. One essential to bring is an extra charged battery or two – you never want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, with the perfect shot composed in front of you, and have your battery die – most trips only provide limited opportunities at a particular photo op, so take full advantage of the time you have.
Essential Travel Photography Accessories
A must-have accessory is extra storage space – either an additional memory card/stick or two or some way to download photos while on the road to free up space. A common frustration is being ready to take a photo, realizing that you’re out of space, and being forced to delete previous photos to make room – you never want to have to delete one great memory to capture another. Another travel photography accessory that often gets forgotten about is a tripod. Many companies sell small portable tripods that can be thrown in a purse or camera bag and are invaluable when taking highly composed shots, low light pictures, or capturing a great photo of friends and family at a get-together.
If you have friends at home, it can be fun to use a travel website like World Travel Tips to publish photos and travelogues while you’re on the road – it can be a great way of keeping in touch with home and helps keep them informed of your adventures.
Take more than one photograph
Different techniques can also be used while travelling to make the most of your photos. One technique that’s easier to do with digital photography is to take multiple photographs of the same scene. As long as you have enough storage to spare, take more than one photograph of the same scene, as it’s too late when you get home to say, “I wish I had moved a bit to the right”, or notice after the fact that someone’s eyes were closed. When taking photos of landscapes, objects, or landmarks, a good technique is to start by taking a photo with the widest angle your camera will allow and then zoom in closer until you tightly frame the landmark, people, or objects of interest for your photo.
Also, try different vantage points for the same scene and different angles for the composition. This ensures that you have a broader range of compositions to choose from once you’re gone, as many trips only come once, so you might not have the opportunity to go back and retake the picture.
One final thing to remember is that you can’t go back in time. Taking photos is a great way of capturing the memory, but remember to enjoy the trip – this sounds like simple advice. Still, many enthusiast photographers get so caught up in taking all the ‘perfect shots’ that they miss the vacation. They lose out on enjoying the trip (as well as missing the time spent with their families or travel companions). So don’t forget to put the camera down, smell the roses, and enjoy the trip – if you miss that perfect shot, you can always buy a postcard!
