Travel photography tips Archives - Infrared Conversions, IR Modifications & Photography Tutorials

5 Ways To Improve A Travel Photo At Any Location

Any outdoor photographer will tell you that a successful photo will often require more than just turning up to a location that you have researched, setting up a camera and taking some photos. If you really want to capture great travel photos – whether that is to sell or to hang on a wall, then you need to actively think of ways to give your photo that little bit extra. So here are a few tips to help you improve your travel photos whatever location you are at.

Don’t take any photos

You are probably thinking that I have lost my mind so let me elaborate… Often one of the biggest mistakes that I see people make in my photography workshops is rushing to take photos when we get to a location. If you ever watch tourists when they arrive at say a landmark, they do exactly the same thing. They take a few quick photos and move on. So, my first advice to anyone wanting to improve their photos at any location is to just pause for a few minutes and look around.

Granted that there might be occasions that there is a fleeting moment or a beautiful light that won’t be around for long. In these situations snap away. But when you have finished don’t move on. Go back to the beginning and look. If you get into the habit of getting to a location and just waiting for the right moments, you will find that you are far more likely to capture great photos. Spend the time to visualise the shot in your mind and work out your settings. You may just find that you are surprised by the results you end up with.

Look for people

When I look at my travel photos, by far and away my most popular and best-selling shots have people in them. This is something that is often backed up by photo editors that I work with. They regularly tell me that the types of shots they are looking for are the “untouristy” photos. It is really difficult in this age of digital photography to capture anything unique enough that doesn’t look like a tourist photo.

Including people in your shots can really help do this as it’ll be very rare to have the same type of travel shot with the same person in. So naturally by including a person you are making that photo unique. But including a person in your composition doesn’t just mean head and shoulder portraits. It could be a slow exposure by someone walking across your shot. Or it could be someone in the distance. Next time you are at a location try to think of ways of including someone in your photo.

Look beyond “eye-level”

Every photographer is guilty of taking photos primarily at eye level. It’s the natural thing to do and I myself am probably as guilty of doing this more than I should. But if you can learn to take photos beyond this view you will be astonished by some of the results that you’ll get. All digital cameras these days have LCD screens with “live-view” mode. Some also have tilt screens that make it so much easier to take shots at different heights.

So, instead of just taking photos at eye level, set yourself a target of taking a high shot where you hold your camera above your head as high as you can and take a photo. Then do the same as low as you can close to the ground where it will automatically create a foreground in your shot. These types of angles are rarely seen and if you execute them well can look fantastic and very unique.

Go slower

Another really great way to take your photos to another level is to experiment with your shutter speed. Slower shutter speeds are only possible by using a tripod, but often what they offer is the ability to add movement to your photos. This can add things like light trails from cars, blurred movement of people, clouds, water or even structure like Ferris wheels. This movement can add colour but also it will make a photo feel much more dynamic and alive.

Another benefit of using slow exposure is that you can often make an image cleaner by blurring some of the people or cars in the shot. This is one of the main reasons that often landscape photographers use this method of photography to smooth out water in coastal scenes. The same can be done in places like cities where the long exposure can mean some people and cars don’t appear in the image.

Wait for the “bad” weather

Is there such a thing as bad weather for photography? Whilst conditions might not be ideal, I believe you can take photos anytime. You may just have to work harder to find interesting subjects and compositions to make up for the lack of good light. But often weather conditions such as storms, fog and mist can really help enhance a photo to something extraordinary. So, a great habit to get into as to be ready to go and shoot somewhere when these conditions arise. For obvious reasons, this is much easier to do in places that are near you. But if you do happen to be away and these kinds of weather condition occur, don’t despair, grab your camera and head outside.

For example, if there has been recent rainfall, look for reflections on the ground and water droplets on windows that can add a really great story to an image.

Capturing great travel photos requires some luck but also hard work. The research and planning prior to visiting anywhere are essential. But nothing beats getting somewhere in good time and spending a bit of time exploring and composing shots in your head. But even then be willing to try new things, whether it be interesting angles, techniques or exposures. You might just be surprised by the results.

The Best Travel Photography Advice I Have Been Given Over The Years

Nothing beats experience and practice when it comes to photography. Every photographer has to start somewhere and we all have to go through the same learning experiences. Over time you will face your own challenges and work out your own solutions to photography problems you may face. But you may also be lucky enough to come across experienced photographers who will share their wisdom and experiences with you. Here some of the best bits of travel photography advice that I have been given over the years.

Surround yourself with great photographers

Travel photography is a lonely profession for the most part. Even when you are photographing a busy city, you are often working alone with little time to engage with other people. Any encounters will be fleeting. Travel photographers are also naturally very guarded and protective of their clients. This makes them see other travel photographers as competitors. But one of the best bits of advice I was given early in my career was to look at other travel photographers like a support community. I have some good friends and contacts who have helped me immensely over the years. So don’t be shy and find good photographers whose work you admire. It will inspire you to improve your own work.

Collect photos, not camera gear

I remember right at the start of my photography journey thinking “if only I had a better camera I would take better photos”. It wasn’t until my university instructor at the time showed me some photos he had taken with a point and shoot camera that I realised how wrong I was in my thinking. From the moment he told me to stop worrying about my camera equipment and concentrate on improving my photography, it almost felt like someone had taken off the shackles. I wasn’t able to use that excuse anymore so I was forced to work hard at improving my photography knowledge and skills. A great photographer will be able to take photos with any camera in the same way as a great writer will be able to write a great article with pen and paper rather than the latest laptop.

Awards for vanity, sales for sanity

This is something that most full time working photographers will relate to. While winning a photography competition is great and can give you a sense of pride, there are lots of amateur photographers who get despondent when they don’t win or get criticism. The reality of being a full-time photographer is that often clients want photos that are not going to pick up awards. So don’t concern yourself with accolades (that extends to social media too) but instead take photos for yourself (or for your clients). That isn’t to say you shouldn’t enter competitions, but just develop a thick skin and worry less about what other people say about your work.

Turn around and face the other way

Okay, granted this doesn’t always mean literally facing the other way to where the view is, but the point is to try and look beyond the obvious. So when everyone is facing one way and photographing the “sunset viewpoint”, you should look in the other direction. This was another great exercise that we were often set at university. Our tutor would set us a challenge of representing one of London’s famous landmarks but we were not allowed to directly photograph it. So, for example, we had to look for reflections, shadows, paintings of the landmark or even being more abstract like photographing a child’s reaction to hearing the bells of Big Ben. This was a great exercise that has been invaluable in today’s digital age where capturing unique photos is more difficult than ever.

Photograph what you are least comfortable with

Every photographer has strengths and weaknesses. Some are great at photographing people, other photographers, landscapes or wildlife. But everyone has areas of photography that they could improve. Instead of being afraid of these and trying to avoid them, dive in headfirst and immerse yourself in that type of photography. For example, a common issue for amateur travel photographers is shyness in photographing strangers. So instead of photographing people up close or even asking people if they can photograph them, they avoid it altogether. But if you went out and approached 100 people, I guarantee you that you will be more confident by the end of the day in photographing people.

Get it right in camera

Editing software like Lightroom and Photoshop has revolutionized digital photography. They allow you to do amazing things and transform a photo that might otherwise be ordinary into an extraordinary one. Even with all of this, it is best to capture photos as best as possible when you are taking the photo. Not only will this ensure you understand how different aspects of photography come together to allow you to take a photo, but it will also make you learn more. Try to view post-processing as a way to enhance what is in your photos, not to create them. Which means avoiding that famous phrase “I’ll fix that in post-production”.

Don’t be afraid to fail

If you want to capture really great photos you have to be willing to take risks. Not life-threatening risks but photography risks. Go out and photograph landscapes when it isn’t blue skies and sunshine. Break the rule of thirds. Play around with your aperture to achieve different depths of fields. Capture portraits in different lighting conditions. Because without trying different things you will just end up with the same photos over and over again.

Even changing your camera position (like being close to the ground) can give you a different view.

These are just some of the best bits of advice that I have been given over the years. You may already have some of your own or you may have experienced things that you can pass on to others. The most important thing is to keep learning and improving and build on your experience and knowledge. But for now, you may find these bits of advice as useful as I have done over the years.

How To Make Your Travel Photos Unique

One of the biggest challenges as a photographer these days is capturing unique photographs of places and landmarks that have already been photographed millions of times. Whilst there is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly difficult to capture unique photos, with a little bit of research, planning and creativity you will be able to capture photos that are different. So here are 6 tips on how to capture unique travel photos that will stand out against the crowd.

Go to undiscovered places

The most obvious answer on how to capture unique photos is to go to places that other people don’t go to as much. For example, trying to photograph the Eiffel Tower in a new way is going to be much more difficult than capturing unique photos of a destination which is off the beaten path. Despite all of the travelling and Instagram photos that exist these days, there are still pockets of places in the world where they are simply not as popular for tourists and photographers to go to. Sometimes this is because these places require a lot of effort to get to (a waterfall that requires a four-hour hike is going to more secluded than one that is next to a big car park). At other times you have to be specially trained to be able to get to some of these places. But there are also places that are simply local to you that you will know and have a far better knowledge of than the masses. So always be on the lookout for potential places that are not the regular well-known photo spots that you can capture photos of.

Find a different view

Another option for capturing unique photos of already well-photographed places is to try and find a new view or somewhere that will give you a different angle to what you already know and have seen. This may not be as difficult as you may think because even in big cities there are often places that are simply not as well known as the usual popular spots. The other benefit of photographing in cities is that there are always new places opening up offering rooftop views of the city. So there are always potential unique places. But granted they won’t stay unique for long.

Even in the wilderness photographing well-known natural landmarks do offer the opportunity for unique photos. Often the most popular and easy to photograph viewpoints are simply the ones that are most accessible for the masses. So if you’re willing to work hard and put the extra effort needed into a shoot you may be able to find other locations that you can hike to for a completely different view and perspective of what everyone else sees.

A different view of Alhambra in Granada.

Try to photograph people

The best way to capture completely unique photos is to try and include people in your shots. Whether that is to make the person central to the actual photo or to use them as a point of interest in a bigger scene. The thing about photographing people is that every single person is unique and so capturing photos of people straight away gives you the added advantage of a unique look, style and even feeling that a person could portray. If you want to take things further and give yourself even more unique photos you could aim to photograph festivals, events and carnivals that are often steeped in history and tradition. Whether it’s a religious festival or carnival these events offer fantastic opportunities for unique photos.

Develop your own style

Over time you will notice that most photographers will develop their own style. Often this is what makes their photos unique to the ones from other people. In fact, you could send two photographers to the same location and they would probably come back with different results. So one way to make your photos unique from other peoples is to develop your own style. Once people become familiar with your style, as soon as they look at your photos they will immediately be able to tell yours apart from other peoples. This is something that will happen naturally over time as you develop your own way of working and your own preferences in what and how to photograph things. A good exercise is to look at a selection of your photos And see if there is a common style that runs through them. If there is, then that is your own style that has started to develop.

Go at the “wrong” time

Okay so there isn’t necessarily a completely wrong time to go somewhere but there is a time which isn’t the usual time that most people will photograph a scene. For example, if you look at beach photos the vast majority of the time you will see them basking in beautiful blue skies and golden sunshine. But photograph a beach in stormy weather or in winter when it is snowing and it will give you a completely different photo. Even the most well-known of sites can be photographed completely differently when there are different conditions happening at the scene. So always be on a look-out for those “wrong” times where the conditions might transpire to give you completly unique photos.

Art direct your shots

Art directing is a term that is used quite frequently in the world of advertising. This is when the photographer is briefed on exactly how the creative team who has come up with the advert wants the photo to look. This may even involve the creative team sketching out what they want for the photographer to follow. Art directing your shots is another way that you can attempt to give your photos some uniqueness. For example, photograph a normal street scene and you will probably end up with photos that look just like everyone else’s. But now get a colleague to drive a red campervan in that street and suddenly you have a completely different and unique photo. Clearly this isn’t always feasible but sometimes there is the opportunity to use people you are travelling with or even friends and family to be able to do this for you. The key is to make it look natural But if you can do that it will give you a completely unique photo.

Capturing photographs which are unique isn’t easy these days. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying. With a little bit of research and hard work and some out of the box thinking, there are still opportunities out there to be able to capture unique photos. That includes already well photograph places. The 6 tips above should help you on your way to being able to capture unique photos.