Happy Friday! I feel like this has been the longest week ever, so I am looking forward to having a margarita at 5:00. Anyone else with me?
Today, I wanted to share with you some helpful tips and tricks for taking photos while traveling or on vacation. I always get a ton of compliments on our photos, so I wanted to share some of our lessons learned. Alex and I are not professional photographers by any means, but we have improved our skills over the last couple of years just from taking so many photos! When you take enough pictures, you will quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.
- Do your research and save ideas.
- Before we go on a trip, I do a lot of research on locations, and I try to get a feel for where we could get a good photo. I don’t change our trip plans just for a photo, but if I know we are going to a specific area, I will see what others have done in that same location.
- One of the easiest ways to find and save ideas is on Instagram. You can search Instagram by location or hashtags. I love searching by location! To give you an example, I knew we were going to Hotel Gran Miramar in Malaga, Spain. I searched that specific location on Instagram and found several great photo examples. When we arrived, we knew exactly where we wanted to take a photo and it only took a few minutes! It is very easy to use, and I love that you can save these ideas within the app.
- Use natural light.
- Natural light outside is always going to look better than trying to take a photo inside. If you do want to take a photo inside, try to find a location near a window so that it is letting in some natural light.
- In general, I try to avoid taking photos inside because they usually don’t turn out that well. I am sure if I had better photography skills, I could figure it out, but I can’t seem to get the lighting quite right when I take a photo inside! If y’all have any tips, let me know.
- Set-up the shot before you ask someone to take a picture.
- Don’t just hand your camera or phone to someone and ask them to take a picture. Give them some direction and set-up the shot before handing over the device. Take a few test shots of what you want and then show the test shot to the person taking the photo. This is going to help you immensely!
- At the end of the day, the person taking the photo might not do a great job, but giving a bit of guidance can go a long way. Make it easy for them and take the guesswork out of it. If you give them enough direction, all they should have to do is press a button!
- If you are really serious, use a DSLR camera.
- I typically use my phone to take pictures on vacation, but if you want really high quality images, I would invest in a DSLR camera. These cameras aren’t cheap, but if you are serious about getting good pictures, this would be a smart purchase.
- I sometimes travel with my fancy camera, but it kind of depends on the trip. I should use it more often because it does take really nice pictures! For reference, I have a Canon Rebel T6i. Below is a sample image from this camera.
- Use editing applications.
- Make sure to spend a few minutes editing your photo. You can enhance it in so many different ways including brightness, saturation, structure, etc. You can even smooth out your skin if you need to (it’s cheaper than Botox!).
- Almost every single photo I post gets edited with Snapseed and Facetune. I sometimes have to use Retouch as well. A couple other popular applications are VSCO and A Color Story. There are so many great tutorials on YouTube that will teach you how to use these apps if you need a lesson. Editing doesn’t have to be hard! Take a few minutes to sit down and learn a few new tricks. Your photos will be looking better in no time!
- Take a candid shot.
- Don’t just stand there and smile directly at the camera. If you want the photo to feel and look more natural, move around a little bit! Do a couple of natural poses, walk around, and most importantly, laugh. Laughing is a great trick to help capture your most natural smile. Sometimes it’s hard to do if there is nothing funny, but I am sure you can find something to laugh about while traveling!
- If you don’t want random people in your photo, get up early.
- Depending on where you are traveling to, it could be really crowded. If you are like me, you probably don’t want a million people in the background of your photo. It’s hard to avoid people completely, but you can get around it by doing a couple of things. If there’s a shot you really want, I would wake up early to capture the moment before other tourists arrive. This may sound crazy, but it works! I have seen several travel bloggers use this approach, and I think it is a great idea.
- Another thing you can do to avoid people in your photo is to try to get another perspective. When I see everyone trying to take the same photo, I challenge myself to find another location nearby. We used this approach when we were visiting El Real Alcazar in Spain! I’ll put a few examples below. The first couple of photos were taken near the most popular attraction and near all of the people. After walking around for a bit more, we stumbled upon a really cool tile wall. No one was around, so we decided to snap a quick picture and it turned out so much better!
- Use the self-timer.
- Have y’all ever used the self-timer on your camera? If not, you need to! We have used the self-timer for several photos while traveling, and it works great! As long as you can find something to prop your phone against, it can work really well. Also, I know you can invest in a remote or clicker to take the photo, so that might be a good option if you want more control. Below are a couple of examples of self-timer photos we have taken on our phones.
- Be patient and don’t be afraid to take hundreds of photos.
- I’m not going to lie and say that I get the perfect photo in one attempt. Sometimes it takes 5 attempts. Sometimes 100. Be patient, and don’t fret if you aren’t getting a good picture right away. Also, don’t be afraid to spend 5-10 minutes trying to get a good photo. Do you know how many photos you can take in 10 minutes? A lot! If you keep snapping a photo every second or two, you are bound to get a good picture within a few minutes. Below is evidence that we take a LOT of photos…..
- Remember: Practice makes perfect!
- If you haven’t spent a lot of time taking pictures, you probably won’t be a pro at it right away. My biggest word of advice is to just do it. Keep taking pictures, keep editing your photos and keep learning new tricks. If you do something enough times, you are going to get better at it. You will learn over time what works and what doesn’t work. Eventually, it will be second nature and you won’t have to spend as much time thinking about it!
Even if you aren’t traveling, you can still use these tips and tricks for your day-to-day photography at home or around town. They can really be applied to any situation!
Do y’all have any other good photography tips? What are some of your favorite editing applications? Let me know in the comments below!
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