Traveling the world is one of life’s greatest pleasures. While you’re traveling, you’ll find yourself amassing treasures along the way. One of the greatest treasures of your travels, however, can be the photos you take along the way. You will want to capture those memories as they happen. However, you don’t have to be a professional photographer to do so. You just need to make sure you make an effort to take the best photos you can. These tips will show you how to take the perfect photo while traveling.
Carry Your Camera At All Times
Probably the most simple of the tips as well as the one seems the most obvious. It can be easy to get caught up in your travels and outings and forget your camera back at your hotel – don’t make that mistake. You can’t take photos without a camera. Whether you’re toting a nice 35mm camera, a point-and-shoot camera, or even just your smartphone, as long as it is with you, you’ll be as prepared as you need to be to take those great travel photos.
Backup Your Data
The good news is that you don’t have to carry extra rolls of film when you’re traveling (unless, of course, you have an old-school approach). The bad news is that in the days of digital, you need space on your camera to take all the photos you want. No problem! Simply pack a lightweight portable drive and offload the photos you take every day when you return to your hotel each night. If you’re concerned about data loss, take an extra measure and make sure your hotel has great wifi and offload your photos to a cloud-based storage system like Dropbox or Box or iCloud. You can’t share your perfect photos if you lose them so back them up!
Always Be Shooting
While we don’t recommend you miss out on your travels because your face is obscured by a camera the entire time, we do recommend that you shoot everything. Take pictures of landscapes and seascapes to foods and drinks to the candids and the silly. These photos will become your cherished treasures from your travels as you’ll be able to relive so many of the moments that made your trip a success.
Follow the Rule of Thirds
The rule of thirds is one of the first things you learn with regard to composing a great photo. In a nutshell, it breaks down the image into thirds vertically as well as horizontally with the end goal being to frame your photo in a manner that is most pleasing to the eye. To do so, think of what you’re seeing in those thirds and rather than placing your focal point in the center of the photo, place it on the grid to either the left or right of the center vertically. Similarly, place the horizon in the shot in the lower portion of the grid rather than across the center of the photo. It sounds technical and maybe a bit complicated, but look at your favorite photos and imagine them with the grid over them. You’ll find that those that are most pleasing to your eye are those that have followed the rule of thirds.
Don’t Be Shy
Letting go of your inhibitions can easily lead to some of the best photos you’ll take. Don’t be afraid to speak with locals or other travelers. You’ll never know what you’ll learn by having a conversation with another person. Beyond that, don’t be afraid to look silly while taking the photo. Yes that can include putting yourself into an awkward position to get the shot, get the best angle, and also find the best light. Perspective is everything. Imagine the photo above shot from a standing eye level angle, it would just be another alleyway. But the photographer took the shot from the low angle and was able to capture the reflection in the puddle, give us a sense of the scale of the alley, and evoke the feeling we feel when the rain clears.
If you embrace these tips and begin to practice them regularly on your travels, you’ll find that you’ll be taking perfect travel photos in no time. If there’s one last bit of advice you could follow when taking photos, it’s always be open to learning. Are you ready to take some great travel photos? Try our tips for how to take the perfect photo while traveling. If you’re not ready to capture the perfect photos of your travels yourself, consider Eva LaRue’s advice on Capturing Vacation Memories by Hiring a Professional Photographer.
