Travel Photography Tips

I never went to school for photography. I’ve slowly learned the techniques of travel photography over years of watching online tutorials and regular practice to improve my craft. You can learn this way too if you put in the effort!

Travel photography works like a time machine, freezing memories from a journey that you can look back on and enjoy for years. It also helps convey the spirit of a place to others, giving them a glimpse of what it might be like to venture there.

Here are some tips that will help you getting quality pictures during your travels.

Pre-study the best locations:

Before you travel somewhere, plan a "shot list" with the best locations to photograph, studying also different subjects like the moments of the day with the best light and the lowest tourist traffic, the right angles, the weather, etc.

Being well prepared with research beforehand saves time so you can fully commit to producing amazing travel photography once you’re there and maximize your time.

Wandering around with no plans has its place, but being well prepared with research beforehand saves time so you can fully commit to producing amazing travel photography once you’re there, and maximize your time. Some of my favorite tools for travel photography research are Google Image and Instagram. Talk also to friends who have been there and can give you some ideas.

Get to know your equipment:

Mobile phones are basically automatic, point-and-shoot machines. But as they get more evolved they also come up with new features and settings that you can control, such as ISO levels or shutter speed. Sometimes hitting on these "details" can work wonders for a photograph. Take some experience beforehand to learn how to act when you're serious.

Most mobile phones also have a number of modes - night, time lapse, gourmet, slow motion, panorama, etc. They are aimed at specific situations and in these they exponentiate a photograph. That is, despite being an automatic machine, do not just point and shoot.

Many people assume that more megapixels is better. This isn’t always true if the pixels themselves are small. However more megapixels on a large sensor will give you higher detail, and allow you to “crop” your image without reducing quality.

Lens aperture is measured in f/numbers, like f/1.4, f/2.8, f/4, etc. The lower the number, the better it will perform in low-light situations.

When choosing the perfect camera for traveling, you need to understand different camera sensors, and how they affect image quality and camera size.

In general, a camera with a large sensor is going to perform better in low light because that large sensor can capture more of it. With a large sensor, you’ll also get more detail, allowing you to print your images large, or crop them smaller, and not lose any quality. However, a large camera sensor means the camera itself will be larger as well.

Use the rule of thirds:

The rule of thirds is considered a basic, yet essential and powerful guideline to help photographers compose their image and decide where to place their subject(s) or key elements to create a well balanced and interesting photo.

Here's how the basic principle behind the rule of thirds works: Imagine that your photo is divided into nine squares – three across, and three down, as you can see in the image below. Most digital cameras have a grid like this that you can activate within the viewfinder to help you visualize these squares in your composition.

Now, the intersections of the squares are considered visual hot-spots. These are the strongest focal points of your photo and studies have shown these hot-spots are where a viewer’s eyes will naturally want to focus.

When taking your photo, you will want to ask yourself:

• What are the most important elements of my photo?

• Where should I should I place them within my photo?

According to the rule of thirds, you should try to place your subject, or important elements that you wish to highlight, around these intersections to draw the viewer into your composition in a natural way and make it a much more visually dynamic andengaging photo.  

Realize that your subject doesn't have to be exactly on the hot-spot, just near to it. You may have to move around when shooting to make this happen and get best composition.

In addition to the intersecting hot-spots, the four lines (two horizontal and two vertical) are also very useful positions in your composition.  Especially if your subject is tall or long, it’s generally a good idea to place them along or near one of these lines.

Paying attention to these details will improve the look of your images.

Don't forget the tripod:

A lightweight tripod is an easy way to improve your travel photography. It allows you to set your camera position and keep it there. With the camera fixed, you can then take your time arranging the perfect composition.

A tripod will let you set your camera up at the right angle and height, frame the shot properly, and take the shot at your leisure. You’ll have greater creative control over your camera’s manual settings when using a tripod.

Think «outside the box»:

In tourist destinations it can be difficult being original when there are so many cliché or timeless views of recognisable landmarks and sight-seeing subjects.

Perhaps limit yourself to ten ‘safe’ shots – focusing on composition and technique and then unleash your creativity and focus on originality.

Shoot from the floor with a wide angle or fish eye lens, climb a tower and shoot from above, wait for dawn/dusk – mount your camera on a tripod and slow the shutter speed to capture the landmark in beautiful light whilst incorporate the ghostly movement of tourists strolling by.

Edit the images:

The mobile phone is a powerful machine, with all the ability to retouch the photos the moment you took them out. Do not delete what could be a beautiful photo for any problem. There's no shortage of free editing programs like Google's Snapseed or Adobe's Lightroom, among many others like VSCO Cam, but it's best to start by using your own phone functions, which already allow for very serious control - going see how a bit of editing can do wonders for a photo.

Learn how to improve contrast, sharpen image elements, soften color tones, reduce highlights, boost shadows, minimize sensor noise, and adjust exposure levels (without going overboard) using the software.

If you are going to invest money somewhere, I’d recommend spending it on professional post-processing tutorials before you invest in the latest camera gear. Post-processing knowledge can really improve your travel photography.

Backup your photos:

Don’t risk losing your travel memories or that perfect shot. Everyone’s heard the horror stories about people who have lost their photos, and everyone knows that losing your pictures can be devastating.

I use an external hard drive backup of RAW camera files, as well as online backup of select images and another online backup of final edited images.

The key that many people overlook is having at least one off-site backup. Having a backup hard drive is great but if you're robbed, it won't do no good to have all the copies of your data in one place. I personally recommend Google Drive, pCloud or Sync.com for online cloud storage. Whatever you decide, though, just make sure you always have backups in multiple locations.