How to Create Magic Memories on your travels with your camera or phone.

Have you ever arrived at your dream travel photography location ready to take beautiful photos only to discover your phone or camera battery is dead….?

Picture the scene: you’ve been on the road all day, and you arrive at the place you’ve dreamed of visiting for years. The conditions are perfect – it’s late in the afternoon, close to golden hour, the warm air is clear, and incredibly there’s hardly anyone else around to muddy the view. Pulling out your camera to capture the scene for eternity, you get off a few shots before noticing a flashing red light in the viewfinder or LCD screen – the low battery indicator. Before you can process what this means for your long-awaited photo session, your camera dies. No power. Nothing…. Any more chances of capturing this beautiful scene are gone…..

This fictitious anecdote (which I imagine could be triggering for some!) is the basis for my NUMBER ONE TIP for travel photography, which in fact comes in two parts

• Make sure your battery is charged before you start each day, and
• Invest in a second battery that is always charged.

Not sure about you, but if this happened to me, I’d be devastated! A spare battery is definitely one of the non-negotiable items of my camera kit.

As to my other general tips for travel photography, here’s what I can offer from my discoveries over the last few years, listed in no particular order:

• Get to know your camera before your trip, especially if it’s new
  • For any camera model there are many YouTube videos that can help you
  • Learn basic functions, what the buttons and dials are for, if there are any shortcuts, etc
  • Try and use your camera a little around your home before you depart to take experimental shots.
  • Practice, practice, practice

WANT TO KNOW MORE? KEEP SCROLLING DOWN.

IMAGES ABOVE: L-R: Angles – try something different; Leading lines – let a pier, road or path be the focus; Angles – work really well on architectural features; Horizons – always straighten them when editing.

COMPOSITION BASICS:

• Take some time to learn the basics of photographic composition, and practice these before your holiday begins. Some aspects to consider are:
  • The rule of thirds: picture an equally divided 3 x 3 grid on your image frame and place the subject of your photo within that grid. For example – placing the subject where grid lines cross, keep the horizon in the lower third, or place the subject who is looking towards one side of the frame a little off centre of the vertical third lines.
  • Foreground/background interest: if there is a tree or leaves or a piece of street furniture in front of your subject, use them to frame the subject – this technique adds interest to the image. For background interest, try a low f-stop (wide aperture), choose a monotone background behind a single subject (person or animal) and make the subject pop with that blurry single tone backdrop.
  • Angles: get down low if you can for a different perspective of a standard view or try high up depending on where you are. At the same time, try not to get too much sky in your image, unless the sky is an incredible sunset.
  • Reflections: from puddles, lakes, bodies of water, shiny/mirrored surfaces – these types of images can be breathtaking and unusual if done well. Of course, this may require you to get down low to the ground!
  • Leading lines: for example, roads, fences, lines of trees, archways – use these elements to draw the viewer to the focal point on the image. You may want to photograph an unusual house at the end of a driveway, or a person standing on the end of a jetty.
  • Keep your horizon straight: this is one of my pet peeves. Honestly, it’s not hard to keep your horizon straight, and if it’s slightly off level, try and straighten it in an editing program.

KEEP READING FOR MORE TIPS AND IMAGE EXAMPLES.

IMAGES ABOVE: L-R: Background interest – a female Fairy-wren; Rule of Thirds – a beach sunrise; Foreground interest – Mt Buffalo Chalet; Rule of Thirds -a rural scene in Bright

Utilising the first-person perspective can be powerful to demonstrate the size or scale of your subject. For example, having part of your body in the frame in a wider landscape image (think those shots of legs hanging over Horseshoe Bend canyon in the US).

Personally I‘m not a fan of the ‘pose in front of the tourist site’ shot to prove you were there. I’d much rather have a well-framed and composed shot of the site/object, than a candid one on your phone with a travelling companion. But if that’s your thing then go for it – photography is what the photographer makes it to be.

ALMOST THERE – KEEP READING!

IMAGES ABOVE: L-R: Perspectives – silhouettes; Reflections – from lakes can be beautiful; Angles – getting low for seasonal views; getting a grip on the scale of the landscape

• Taking photos of locals can be a wonderful and powerful way to capture a culture at the time you visited – the interesting faces, intricate costumes and insights into a community can be life-changing:
  • At all times be culturally aware of your subject – it never hurts to ask permission to take a person’s photo, and in many cultures, it is rude not to. Make sure you or your guide know the rules before you arrive
  • Beware the scammers though – the ones who approach you for their photo and then try to extract money from you for the privilege.

• It might sound obvious but try to make your images interesting:
  • If you have time, wait for the person on the bicycle to ride past the colourful wall, capture the cat sitting inside the doorway of the French café, frame that cute cottage from a different perspective to what everyone else is doing, keep an eye on the light to see where it will land or wait until the animal is looking directly at you (and focus on their eyes!)
  • Awaken your inner creative energy to see a scene in a different way. It’s an energizing process to embrace your creative side.

IMAGES ABOVE: L-R: candid portraits of locals provide unique memories; light on a perched bird for an bright image; look up for different perspectives of common landmarks

• Other practical tips I can offer the amateur photographer for travelling
  • Make sure you have plenty of high-capacity memory/storage cards for your camera. Buy as many as you can afford
  • Bring a powerboard (4 plug) to charge your camera batteries, phone and any other items you have with you, so you just bring one country-specific adaptor and charge everything at once.
  • Harking back to my first tip – invest in a spare battery for your camera – and make sure you have it with you and that it’s always charged!
  • Optional extras: Consider investing in a lightweight/travel-friendly tripod. A wireless or long-cabled remote for your camera.

ALL DONE! THANKS FOR READING – PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW

There you have it! My best tips for travel photography – I’d love to know your thoughts on my tips and know your own tips/tricks for travelling with a camera or phone.

I’d be super appreciative if you felt like sharing my blog post, or please comment below with your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!
Kate x