Don’t you like going through your vacations photos? Photographers, amateur and professional alike, can turn a summer road trip into an exciting and challenging photo opportunity. We all take pictures when we go on a vacation. It is a great way to preserve the experience and remember it for years to come. However sometimes taking pictures is not smooth. Unexpected problems pop up such as forgotten memory cards, dead batteries, or simply just forgetting the camera in your hotel room. In this article, we’ll share a few easy to follow tips that will help you make the most of your travel photography.
RESEARCH
There is an art to good travel photography, and it usually involves a lot of hard work. Research is the key. Find out all you can about where you are going. Read travel guides, books, newspaper, and magazine articles. Scour the Internet. Watch television programs. Knowing a little about what life is like in that part of the world can go a long way to getting the most out of your time there. For instance, how would the locals react to someone trying to take their picture? Some cultures can be quite offended by having their photo taken. This is especially true of women in Islamic countries. At other times, people will practically beg you to take their picture. But ask first, because sometimes you will be expected to pay for the privilege.
If you are intending to photograph well known landmarks, take a look at images others have taken. This is so that you can get an idea of what it looks like during different times of the day or different seasons. This might help you in your planning. There is nothing quite as valuable in photography as knowing how to be in the right place at the right time.
FLEXIBILITY
Sometimes the shot you want is just not possible. You may be in a busy city square attempting to photograph a serene monument basking in the afternoon sun, but a stream of passers by wandering through the frame keeps interrupting your shot. Unless you are able to stop traffic, you are not going to get the shot you came for. This is where you might need to adjust your approach. Try to capture the feel of the place as it is. If the square is bustling with people going about their day, show it as such. Make your focus the intensity and speed of which life moves within the space. Be creative. Maybe use a bit of motion blur to capture the essence of a city in a hurry. You might also be able to return at a quieter time to capture that monument at peace.
PERSPECTIVE
Great travel photography does require technical skills. Let’s not kid ourselves about that. But more often than not, it’s about being in the right place at the right time and having the awareness to take complete advantage of it. Doubtless you will arrive at your destination with an intended subject. Maybe the local people, or architecture, or you’ve planned your trip around a particular festival that is taking place. However, do not limit yourself to this one subject. Instead of fixing your viewfinder on a subject and keeping it trained, try looking around you. Look up, down, and even behind you. You will be amazed at how much more there is to photograph. And how much more of a sense of time and place you will be able to show in your images. Isn’t that your purpose anyway?