Travel Photography Tips
Today, everyone has a camera of some sort and everyone is a photographer of some kind. But you don’t have to drop tons of cash on the latest gear and photo gadgets, to get some good shots. Here are some easy ways to improve your travel photos:
1. Get close
Crop in the camera. Walk closer. Zoom in. You can often get a better shot by losing some of the busy background and simplifying your shot. Look in the viewfinder, look around. Is it too cluttered? Get tighter.
2. Choose Life!
Don’t avoid people. So many times I hear travelers “waiting for other people to leave their shots.” I am the opposite, I am always waiting for people to walk into my shots. I’d rather have a couple hand in hand strolling down a charming street that I’m photographing, than an empty street. People add life, emotion and a “story” to your photos. And, naturally, we connect with people.
3. Change your perspective
Don’t shoot everything how we see it in everyday life—at about five to six feet high. We see that all the time. So change it up! Get extremely low. Get really high. Get new angles and show us something from a different perspective.
4. Think about your depth of field
When highlighting a person, object, or even food, you may want to use a short depth of field. This means that only your subject is in focus and the foreground and background is out of focus. Not all cameras allow for this adjustment, but if you are using a DSLR camera like this Canon, you can manually adjust this. This can improve your photos dramatically. For big landscape shots, you might want to use a long depth of field so everything is in focus and sharp.
5. Think about light
Shoot early in the day or late in the afternoon. The warm glow and color of morning and evening light is very special and can make for some memorable shots. And I’m not just talking about a sunrise itself, but the color of the light at that time of day. It’s typically warmer and more delicate than the harsh light of midday when the sun is directly overhead, is bright, and also often forms harsh shadows on your subject. And if you can’t get up in time for sunrise, don’t worry, you can easily catch the light at sunset.
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My Midwest: Detroit — In the Motor City without a Motor Vehicle
Thanks for the great and useful tips! Photography is a way of life and a wonderful hobby and profession.
Glad you got some new tips!
Great tips about photography, will take them with me! And I do see the Malmö photo, coming back to Sweden soon? 🙂
Thanks Mia! 🙂 That is Malmo, of course! No plans right now, but hope to return!
Those were some great tips and nice example shots in your article. Now I just need to get my camera out. Hope to see you soon in Chicago sometime!
Thanks Sharon! Take any pics yet? Back in Chicago in August!
Great article – love the tip about changing the perspective in your shot. So simple but makes such a difference!
Amazing tips about photography. I love high-quality photo about travel picture. I like those things when we take shot any object, or even food, we may want to use a short depth of field. For big landscape shots, we might want to use a long depth of field so everything is in focus and sharp.
Thank you for these great tips. I am just starting my adventures and would certainly keep these in mind when taking photos of my travels.
Thanks Bree! Hope these tips helped you during your travels. 🙂
It’s always good to learn new photography tips.
I will shortly become a photographic tutor for small groups that are travelling. I will certainly bookmark this article and share with the guests, it will certainly help them get up to speed!