Traveling is fun and rewarding, but sharing memories of your journeys with friends, family, and the world through your own beautiful images can be even better.
Georgia (the country)
Here are 20 more tips for great travel photography:
(You can read Part One 20 Photography Tips Every Travel Photographer Must Know here)
Before you go:
1. Make the visual decisions
For most of us, deciding where and when to go is based on many decisions, not necessarily related to photography. But there are some small decisions you can make to turn an ordinary trip into a photo-worthy one. For example, let’s say you are going on a business trip. You can squeeze a few hours of photographing between meetings. But a much better option would be to take a day or two off and spend this extra time photographing on location.
Or when planning your next family vacation, add a little visual research before the trip. Is there a nice festival or a market worth visiting at your destination? Is there something unique like an interesting ethnic group or unusual landscape that’s worth documenting? These small visual decisions can make a huge difference in your photographic experience during your trip.
2. Build a shot list
A “shot list” is a term from the movie industry. It’s a list of shots that are planned for a specific day. Want to come back home with better travel photography results? Then the shot list is your tool for the job.
Thailand
First, make a list of visual ideas as your “I won’t come home without” image list. Combine the iconic images with more creative ideas. For example, if you’re going to Paris, don’t skip the Eiffel tower. As a true symbol of Paris, it should be on your list. But make sure to add creative visual ideas, such as boutique wine shops, farmers markets, or anything to your liking. The shot list is there to help you, not restrict you. When you’re on the road, with so many new sights and smells competing for your attention, the shot list will keep you organized and be a continual inspiration for creating the next shot.
3. Smart gear choice
Don’t take all of your equipment with you! Match the gear to the destination. Do you really need that flash on the beaches of Thailand? Or that 50 mm prime lens for the safari trip to Tanzania? Choose wisely and you’ll worry (and carry) a lot less.
4. Photo boot camp
If you’re not making images on a daily basis, it will probably take you a few days on location just to “get in shape”. Get a jump-start by warming up at home by creating a daily photography routine at least one week before departure. This will make sure you’re at your best as soon as you step off the plane.
Thailand
5. Coordinate expectations
Apart from our photographer’s “hat”, we all wear other hats, such as “father,” “spouse,” or “friend”. When traveling with others, we must wear many other “hats”. You must coordinate expectations with your travel partners to make sure the importance you’re placing on your photography during the trip won’t cause problems. Think and plan together about places you all can visit that would be great for even those who don’t take pictures: vantage points with scenic views, colorful markets, religious centers, etc.
When you get there
6. Location scouting
This is another movie industry term. It means that before even taking out your camera, it is wise to get familiar with your surroundings. Take at least a few hours to learn the area. Understand if there are any interesting places around your hotel, visit one or two places that are on your shot list and adjust it accordingly.
Uzbekistan
7. Get up early
Yes I know, this one is a crazy ratings downgrade. But hey, travel photography is not for the lazy! The most precious thing on a trip is your time. Do not waste the hours of golden light of morning (or afternoon) on sleeping. Especially if you are traveling with non-photographers, it’s your time to do your best shots. You can save sleeping in for weekends at home.
8. Markets first!
Colors, food, local people, culture; markets are a photographer’s paradise. It’s always better to visit open markets (for the daylight) rather than covered ones. Some of the best markets I visited happen only once a week, be sure to be there.
China
9. Diversify your shoots
You took a landscape photo with a wide lens? Excellent, now do it again with a telephoto lens.
You’ve got the main square in daylight? Wonderful! Come back at night with a tripod and shoot long exposures. Make the most out of your once-in-a-lifetime trip as your diversify your shoots and portfolio.
10. Get out of your comfort zone
We all have places that are less comfortable for us, but visiting a new place is an excellent opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. Do you not have the courage to approach strangers in the street in order to take their portrait? This is an excellent opportunity. You might be surprise how easy and fun it is to do this with strangers.
Thaliand
11. Go iconic – but from a different point of view
We all know how Times Square, The Taj Mahal, and the Eiffel tower look. Don’t come back with the same, “we’ve seen it all before” images. You don’t have to skip those iconic places, they usually are truly worth the visit. But think of new and fresh ways to feature them. Try using a fish-eye lens, creative editing process, or reflections – the sky is the limit.
Uzbekistan
12. Get inspired!
When I’m on a photography assignment, I always try to pay a short visit to a local gallery. Yeah, it sounds bit snobbish, but seeing the photography, paintings, or any other local art forms acts as a huge inspiration for my travel photography. We all want to create different and unique images. This is great way to do just that.
13. Setting a trap
I love this technique. Instead of jumping from place to place, looking for interesting subjects to photograph, I suggest to stay put and start building your frame with the background. Find an interesting vantage point on the street. You can even do this sitting at a sidewalk café. Establish your frame by determining the composition and exposure setting. Then wait for something interesting to enter your frame.
Dominican Republic
14. Join forces with a local
From experience, in travel photography, there is nothing like working with a local photographer. Use a social platform (Facebook, Flickr, couchsurfing) and find a local photo enthusiast like yourself, who can show you all the best places to photograph. Of course, there are always risks when meeting strangers from the internet. Use your common sense and don’t meet them somewhere secluded at first.
Coming back home
15. Backup
I cannot stress how important this tip is. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Laptop, hard drive, cloud storage, you name it. Backup your images on more than one source.
16. Clean your gear
Before you store your stuff, you should clean it. Sea salt, sand, or even just fingerprints on the lens, can damage your gear. Keep your equipment in good shape and you will enjoy it for many years.
Kyrgyzstan
17. Have a successes and misses notebook
In the past, I was recording a notebook of all my “almost got it” frames. Those fuzzy, overly bright, and “what the heck is this thing in the background” images.
I kept this notebook in order to learn how to not repeat my mistakes (and because we photographers like to be angry at ourselves from time to time). Then, I realized that it is just as important to understand why I failed as it is to understand why I succeeded. So, even today, after every assignment, I write ten things to keep and ten things to work on until the next trip.
18. Rest from it
I know it’s tempting, but resist the urge to filter, edit, and post-process your images the minute you get home. Give yourself at least a week before you do so. We tend to emotionally connect to our images, usually by the degree of investment and hard work we put into creating them. Give yourself time to disengage yourself from the experiences of your journey. This will help you see your images with less bias.
Laos
19. Get feedback
After learning from your successes and mistakes by yourself, use the help of someone else. Choose a friend, (preferably one with tact) and get his/her opinion on the images. It doesn’t matter if they’re a photographer or not. They should be honest, sincere and non-competitive with you.
20. Get it out to the world
Now, after resting from it, seeing it again with a new perspective, and hearing someone else’s advice, it’s time to get your art out to the world.
Choose up to 15 photos (not more). It is important to pay careful attention to the opening and closing images. Each image must stand on its own and together as a set. Add some text and post it to the world.
Note: the author would like to thank Nicholas Orloff for his help in writing this article.
India
