TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS |
Travel photography is part souvenir, part opportunity of a lifetime, and with just a few important tips, you can improve your results and treasure those memories for a lifetime.
I have photographed destinations all over the world, here's a gallery on my travel blog, and here's my somewhat more comprehensive gallery at 365images.com I have some wonderful results, and many, many shots I wish I'd managed to get better results.
I'm not a perfectionist, more of an idealist. I see a place, and I know the sort of photograph I want from it, and if I don't get that, well, there's always the next time I travel there! There's also details such as improvements in camera technology and in my experience as a photographer that have affected the quality of my photographs. For many years I dragged around an old Hasselblad 500 c/m and shot only black and whites. Lovely shots, but now it's just too heavy and finding and developing the film, let alone printing the results, is just too expensive and time-consuming. So, since 2003, I have shot exclusively digital.
Here are some summarized pointers on approaching travel photography that have resulted in better quality images for me, whether snapshots or patiently created 'key' shots of destinations. The full text and images of this page is available as an addition to the iPad version of my book, Around the World in 18 Days. Available Now! |
1: Turn off the Flash!
I know, there's always use for it, but so many times I see people looking at a perfect panorama or cityscape at dusk or dawn, the city lights glowing, the horizon perfectly accented in blue magic light and they hold up their camera and 'poof' a flash goes off, illuminating only their friends or family, or a foreground tree, and turning the beautiful scene into a murky dark background. Flash is for family pictures, and simply does no justice to any subject, be it a famous monument, view or a family member posing in front of it.
Most compact digital cameras come 'out of the box' with the camera set to AUTO and the flash set to ON or AUTO. Set the flash to off (you can always turn on again if you really need it). Point is, many tourists simply haven't considered finding out how to turn off the flash on their cameras. Do that first, and avoid popping flashes everywhere you go, it's also less intrusive, many places don't allow flash photography of interiors, so it pays to be prepared. Read more on this in the book...
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2: Fine, get a picture of yourself in front of it, but ALWAYS take a picture of it, too!
You look great, but if you or your significant other or your friends are in front of every monument you visit, well, it gets a bit repetitive. 'This is me in front of...' is never a line I want to use to introduce a shot, I am visiting these places to see stuff, not see myself in front of stuff. So, after you've snapped everyone in front of the view, tower, monument, fountain or whatever, settle down, steady the camera and take a beauty shot of the place. See a bunch of people shooting it?
Try shooting from their angles, particularly those shooting from places that may seem odd to you, or out of the way. Often, there's many great ways to frame a great shot, no matter what the subject, and looking at it from many different angles makes for a lot more interesting shots.
Try a 'stitched' panoramic. From tripod or hand-held, shoot one picture covering the left of the scene, one in the center, one to the right. Many cameras come with photo stitching software or panorama assist modes, read up on it, and have fun with it!
At right, juxtaposing the Boudicea statue with the Big Ben clock tower made for a nice London vignette.
The Zurich Bahnhofplatz shot below that is made up of two originals, my lens just wasn't wide enough to capture the whole scene I wanted. Adding that little extra either side made for a much more dramatic and interesting shot. Read more on this in the book...
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3: Know your way around your camera settings.
Nice thing about digital is instant feedback. Bear in mind, though, that even if you have a great LCD on the back of the camera, there's a lot at that small size you won't really be able to see until you get to look at it at full size on your computer or in print. Many times I've been fooled into thinking I got perfect focus when it was ever so slightly off, very frustrating, and another reason to do point FOUR below - take lots of shots just to be sure.
However, sometimes as you look on the LCD, you can see clearly there's something wrong with the shot such as overexposure, underexposure, picture looks too yellow or too blue. Color casts are often the result of using the wrong white balance setting for the shot. I'm not going to go into details on what that means, that's what your camera's manual is for, but generally, out of the box, the camera will be set on AUTO white balance. That works fine most of the time, but sometimes the lighting or subject makes the camera think it's inside when you're outside and vice versa, leading to incorrect white balance. You should know how to quickly access the menus or buttons on the camera to change the white balance to the correct setting for your shot. Generally these settings are displayed as icons representing Sunlight, Auto, Cloudy, In the shade, electric light, flash and often a number of tungsten lighting variations.
Likewise, under and overexposure on most cameras can be compensated for using the camera's control dials or menu. Try taking tests shots and trying all the settings before you go on your trip, see what works best, and more importantly, see what changing those settings can do to your shots, good and bad. Practice makes perfect!
Read more on this in the book...
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4: Take a dozen shots instead of just one.
Ever wonder why professional photographers have those cool-sounding motor-drives? Well, it sounds cool, but also, it allows a rapid succession of shots, from which they pick the best and dump the rest. Most landscapes and views aren't moving, so you don't need a motor drive, but, sometimes that big bald guy ends up in one of the shots, or a bus blasts by or something just makes that perfect shot less than, well, perfect. Sometimes auto-focus and exposure is an issue with automatic cameras, my camera often focuses on the wrong thing so I have to angle it around a bit or use manual focus to get it focused on what I want, as you can't tell for sure from a small screen about the focus, and particularly about camera shake, I highly recommend repeating an important shot a few times, just to make sure one of them does what you want!
I also recommend trying another professional technique called bracketing: basically taking two or three shots at settings above and below what the camera thinks is the correct exposure. Many mid-level consumer cameras offer auto-bracketing and a shooting mode that allows you to take three or more shots to allow for the 3 or more bracketed exposures. Because you are shooting digital, and ideally, have tons of room on your memory card, just shoot away and don't worry about it. dump the poor exposures later and just keep the good ones.
At right, three different exposures (bracketed) of the view from my room in London. My final selected image was a combination of the second and third shots, using the sky from the third, to bring in the blue sky above the clouds and the rest of the final frame from shot 2. This sort of combination of images used to be a manual, professionals only sort of thing, now HDR imaging as it's called, is often built in to cameras and their image processing software.
Read more on this in the book...
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5: Wait for it...
Timing is everything. When you get to somewhere you've been planning to photograph, consider that first visit a scouting shot, time to consider the light, the time of day, and whether or not it is the best time of day to shoot that subject.
A good example for me was Rome's Trevi Fountain. I first stopped by there in the evening, it was crowded and just a lot of work to try to get my shot which I wasn't very happy with. But, at 7 am the next day the entire square was literally deserted, no vendors had even set up their souvenir stands yet. It was a completely different experience, and with the golden morning sunlight striking the fountain from the side, made a much nicer shot. Likewise on the same visit, the Spanish Steps was packed at night, deserted every morning.
At right, Trevi Fountain, Rome, early morning; Hagia Sofia, Istanbul 5:30 am with beautiful sunrise. Read more on this in the book...
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6: Beauty is in the details
I always try to find details that may not necessarily illustrate or typify the location, but are interesting in their own right. I love finding old neon signs, they're always interesting. Wildlife, while often a fleeting chance to shoot, is perfect for highlighting an interesting local detail.
In Hong Kong, I particularly wanted to get the incredible panorama view form Victoria Peak. Alas, that didn't work out, it was torrential rain by the time I got up there and I could see nothing of the incredible city below me. That'll have to wait for next time. Instead, I walked back streets of the city, and came across wonderful local marketplaces in Wan Chai, Kowloon, and Lan Kwai Fong that I wouldn't have done if I hadn't been wandering around in the rain looking for something else to photograph. My shots (my opinion) are a much richer slice of life in that city, and full of fun vignettes.
Ask friends who have been there before, ask at the hotel what the best vantage point on the city is, ask what's the best place for a sunset, sunrise, nightlife, etc. Don't rely on the guidebooks, or your tour group's get local advice, even from your tour guide - they'd be happy to tell you their favorite view of the city even if it's not on the group's itinerary, put it on yours! I always ask for fun places, markets, antique stalls, that sort of thing, touristy or not, they are often more fun to shoot.
Read more on this in the book...
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7: Research
Planning to any degree of detail pays dividends in saving time, sometimes money, and helping you work out the best way to do what you want to do in the time you have to do it.
I start online, usually using TripAdvisor.com, and Expedia.com among others, those to get general as well as specific destination information. I keep an eye on travel sites such as Gadling.com, nytimes.com/travel and cnn.com/travel quite regularly to see ideas related to places I am going.
First priority for me is the hotel's location, potential view and it's proximity to local attractions. In Istanbul, I chose a hotel with an incredible panoramic view from it's rooftop terrace. In Cairo, I chose a fantastic hotel with a view of the Pyramids. In Singapore, my hotel had a wonderful view of the city and the Marina.
Read more on this in the book...
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8: Be inconspicuous
I like to be invisible when I travel, and that also applies to when I take photographs. For the same reasons as the following point, 9. Safety, as well as out of courtesy and respect for others.
When I'm taking a photograph, I first step out of the way of sidewalk traffic, or at least out of the way if there's people around me. There's nothing more annoying than tourists stopping and gawking or blocking a sidewalk while they take pictures, it's inconsiderate at the least.
So I step aside, look around, make sure I'm not too close to, say, an occupied restaurant table, or busy kerb, ideally I'll find a 'buffer' such as a waste basket or lamppost to block me from oncoming pedestrians so I can take the time to frame and get my shot out of the way. Read more on this in the book... |
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9: Be safe
I see tourists all over the world, from all countries, with camera-branded neck-straps and large-lensed DSLRs hanging from their necks or obvious camera-containing fanny packs or bags. As handy as those things may be, I really don't want to be an easy target wherever I travel (even locally), and my camera gear stays in a vest pocket or inconspicuous shoulder bag when I am not shooting. I'm all for being 'ready' to take that one-in-a-million shot, but how often do you really need super fast access to your camera? I found that having it within reach in a concealed bag or pocket was good enough, also, I tended to be more selective about my shots that way, too. Is it worth pulling out the camera? Yes? Fine, I'll stop, step aside, look around and be aware of my immediate surroundings, then pull out the camera and get ready to shoot. It's second nature to me now and a very comfortable way to shoot.
I shoot with an Olympus E-P1 or E-P2 with 14mm-42mm and 17mm compact lens for all my travel photography since 2009. It's technically very capable, produces excellent RAW images and is quite pocketable (vest or jacket pocket, anyway) with the pancake 17mm lens or new Panasonic 14mm lens. It's the way I like to photograph. Sure, I might get larger or technically superior shots with a big DSLR, but I get exactly the level of quality I want most of the time with this camera, and I also get the portability, light weight and unintrusive nature of this camera as a bonus.
Read more on this in the book... |
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10: The view-from-the-hotel-shot
I mentioned picking hotels with a view, always useful. First priority, try to get a room with a balcony. That pretty much gives you everything you'll need to frame and get a great shot. If using the balcony rail as a support, please make sure the camera strap is round your wrist or neck, you don't want to drop it!
However, in Seattle, Zurich and Hong Kong on recent trips, there was no balcony so I had to shoot through the window. First point here is that hotel windows don't get cleaned more than once a month, and often they are double or triple glazed, so there may be some degradation in sharpness overall with this sort of shot, but, there's a couple of things you can do to improve results.
With the camera on a tripod, place it as close to the window as possible without the lens touching the glass. The closer the better to avoid auto-focus focusing on the window dust.
Turn off all lights in the hotel room, laptop and TV included. If possible, black out/shade the area behind the camera with a black t-shirt or coat to make sure no errant reflections appear in the glass. During daytime, watch for reflections of the back of the curtains, ideally draw them all the way open to minimise their appearance. Night or day, that should help get the best of your out of the window shot - needless to say, the flash should be off!
At right, top to bottom, Zurich Hong Kong, Seattle, Cairo (Giza), Los Cabos. Zurich, Hong Kong and Seattle were all taken through thick and not particularly clean hotel-room windows. Blacking out the room really helped bring out the best in the shots.
The Cairo and Los Cabos shots with the curtains, well, I also shot without curtains, but they are more meaningful to me having the curtains as a frame for the view, it speaks volumes for the experience of being there and of course, that is exactly how I saw the views.
Read more on this in the book... |
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11: Nightlife and night scenes
Magic light, or twilight is the perfect time for night shots, of cities, landscapes, whatever. It's usually about 1/2 hour after sunset, when the sky is a deep blue before it goes completely black, that's the perfect time to get your night shots. Shooting later is fine, but for me, that touch of blue always brings the best out in a night scene.
Use camera support and try as noted above stopping down the aperture and using slow shutter speeds to blur people and traffic. Use wide angle lens settings and creative angles to increase the drama of your shots. Try to avoid really bright street lights, particularly vapor lights - they not only throw off the overall exposure, but also tend to burn out or create undesirable lens flares in the shot. You can't always avoid them, but try your best to minimize them.
The fireworks shot at right was a 30-second exposure, tripod mounted, of course. Oddly enough I had forgotten the quick release plate, the tripod part that actually attaches to the camera, so this shot was achieved with actually balancing the camera on the tripod. I was lucky the camera actually balanced with the correct view!
Read more on this in the book... |
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12: Save everything. Back it up!
On a recentround the world 9-city tour, I shot over 85 gigabytes of RAW images. Shooting RAW, if your camera allows that, does take up more room on memory cards and disks, but it also allows much more restoration or fixing to an image that may not have been perfectly or correctly exposed or color balanced. If your camera does shoot RAW, it probably comes with some sort of RAW image editing software. Read up on that, it's worth it.
Meanwhile, with an average of 10 gigs or so of images per destination, I had to back up my files. I had a laptop with me, but also backed up the same files on a small portable external drive. In addition to that, I also uploaded selected images to my Shutterfly account whenever I could. It's about covering one's butt -- making sure that whatever happens to the camera, laptop or external drive, you have some sort of back up of these important pictures. You can't cover every possibility, but it pays to be safe, so empty your camera's memory cards as often as you need, and duplicate the files on at least one additional backup.
Shutterfly is just one of dozens of excellent and free service designed to allow you to preserve your images, check out Shutterfly, Flicker, Picasa to name just a few -- though these will not be practical for RAW images, you can upload the JPG versions, as many as you have time to upload.
Read more on this in the book...
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The bottom line with travel photography is have fun! There's a lot to digest here, and at many other photography advice sites, but the key for me is enjoying the experience and the place as well as photographing it. The additional pre-trip planning, and mid-trip back up and file management, well, it just makes things a lot easier, allows me to see as I travel what I have got, and what I may need to reshoot or revisit.
There were plenty of times on my trip that the camera stayed in my pocket, I simply enjoyed where I was, taking in the sights and sounds of wonderful places. But, I was always ready if an opportunity presented itself to get that extra shot!
The full text and images of this summarized page is available as a bonus addition to the iPad version of my book, Around the World in 18 Days. Available Now!
Around The World In 18 Days for iPad - fully interactive magazine with added maps, video clips, HDR image gallery and photo tips. Over 100 pages with 300+ images, travel journal, useful travel tips and more! Only $1.99 - Download today for your iPad!
Contact: Andy Davies, 503-267-2790 or Andy@AroundTheWorldBook.com
- © 2010 JOHN ANDREW DAVIES
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AROUND THE WORLD IN 18 DAYS • Andy Davies • Available now on the App Store - just $1.99. Click here to get yours today!
Contact: Andy Davies, 503-267-2790 or Andy@AroundTheWorldBook.com |
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