Travel photography is a broad genre—it can mean anything from landscape to cityscape to documentary photography, with equal weight placed on detail-oriented close-ups and expansive wide shots. Unless you’re getting paid to lug around a few lenses, packing the right travel gear is difficult, but taking the right shots to capture the full experience is even trickier. Here are 6 tips to capture the best shots on your next adventure.
Avoid the obvious
Raise your hand if you’ve seen someone “holding up” the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Now raise your hand if you’ve seen the tower in a wide shot along with its equally gorgeous neighbour, the Pisa Baptistery. Maybe you’re still raising your hand—but I’m willing to bet most of you aren’t. The point is, you’ve got to escape the crowds. If you’ve seen a shot of something beautiful, your goal shouldn’t be to replicate that beauty, but to riff off it. Make something your own. Show your audience something they haven’t seen before. Don’t be obvious.
Time it out right
If you know the London Eye lights up dazzlingly at night, why shoot it during the day when the weather is, very probably, gray and dreary? Don’t just plan your day’s itinerary by what’s convenient—plan for what looks best in what lighting. If you’re out for a hike in India, try to match up the time of your visit with the golden hour of sunset.
Look for subjects
Sometimes a beautiful landscape can carry a shot on its own… and sometimes, you just wish there was someone there to be in the photo. If you’ve got a tripod handy and there’s no one around, play with the self timer and pose in your own shot; conversely, if you’ve got a friend who doesn’t mind, get playful with posing them through the shot. Human faces can work wonders in landscape photography—they give us a sense of scale and place, and make us empathize and feel connected to it more than if it’s just an expanse we’ve never before seen.
Be inconspicuous
When you’re in an unfamiliar city, try not to attract too much attention. The people living in foreign places are often as fascinating as the places themselves, which makes capturing them in photographs all the more alluring—but be careful how often you whip out your camera on the streets of, say, Rio de Janeiro. If you’re white, you’re already walking around with a target for potential thieves. You may risk either being outright mugged for your camera, or otherwise pickpocketed for looking wealthy. Stay aware. And remember – carry travel insurance.
Know the law
Another good reason to be inconspicuous on the street: in the United Arab Emirates, for example, anyone photographed in public—even a harmless candid shot—can bring the photographer to court. In the Middle East, these rules are especially strict surrounding holy men, the military, women and children. Research the rules around the place you’re visiting before you find yourself in a potentially aggressive situation.
Don’t forget the basics
Composition is always king. Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you should forget the rules of good photography: look for leading lines in bridges, sidewalks and rivers; place your horizon lines smartly, not randomly; and always look for when you can use the rule of thirds. If you see a good shot, don’t rush it just because there’s so much more to see: take your time, take it easy and get the shot right.
There’s no reason your travel shots should look any different than the rest of your photography. If you stay artistically bold but practically cautious, you’ll open up a whole new world of possibilities—literally.
Have other tips? Leave a comment below!