Are you planning to make a journey of a lifetime? Or are you planning to explore your local area some more? Perhaps you are going to revisit a place you have wanted to come back to for the longest time. Whichever travel journey you are about to embark on, you always want to make sure that you will have an amazing experience, and the photos to remember you of it.
Whether you are taking your big camera, like a DSLR, or a pocket-friendly one, it does not matter all that much. It is important that the photos which you will take will be telling a story. After all, you are capturing a subject in a specific moment in time. Whichever change will happen in the future, you will always have something that can trigger your memory to bring you back to that moment.
In this article, we would like to share with you five of our most valuable tips when it comes to travel photography. Consider them lessons that we ourselves learned the hard way. Fifteen or twenty years from now, you will be grateful that you can still share your stories in the best light possible, and really recreate the feeling and the experience you had when you took those photos.
In summary, this article will cover the following tips:
- Different perspectives tell different parts of the story;
- Do your research;
- A place is only as special as the people that are in it;
- Don’t make it all about the photos;
- Travel light.
1. Different perspectives tell different parts of the story
Imagine yourself on a hiking trip with two of your closest friends. You are walking through the dense forest. The leaves have turned orange and golden as autumn just arrived. Your socks are wet as you find yourselves crossing creeks whilst listening to the most calming sounds of nature. Finally, three pairs of socks and a damp raincoat later, you have arrived at your destination. A beautiful lake that looks as dreamy as you could only have imagined, stretches miles in the distance. How amazing would it be if you could tell your story using photos all these elements that you came across on your journey?
One photo of you and your friends trying to fit in all your gear in your backpacks using a 35mm focal length. One photo of a golden leaf with a crystal-clear drop of dew at the tip using a lens with macro-capability. One photo of your friends about to fall in that creek you were about to cross. And, of course, one mesmerizing photo of that dreamy lake using the widest lens that you could bring with you. The point is, different lenses allow you to capture different perspectives, and different parts of the story.
If you tried to take a photo of that golden leaf with a 35mm focal length instead of a lens with macro capability, you might not be able to emphasize your story on the drop of dew that was hanging at the tip. An important detail in your storytelling.
To tell better stories, we would recommend you bring one lens or multiple lenses, that covers a wide range of focal lengths. Using different perspectives allow for more depth and complexity in your storytelling. Of course, you have already experienced all scenes first-hand. But your audience has not. If you are not planning to share it with others, we hope that you at least do your future-self a favour.
2. Do your research
If you are willing to spend your hard-earned money on a trip to an unknown destination, you want to have done your preliminary research on the country, cities, culture, and places of interest. Having your homework done not only brings a piece of mind for when you are in the middle of traveling, but you are also prepared to get the best photos.
A mistake that we believe everyone will make at some point, is being unprepared. You probably have come across the saying: “Your preparation is half the work.” And this holds true when it comes to travel as well. Unless your trip was intended to be as spontaneous as can be, we cannot stress it enough to do your research beforehand. You do not want to end up in a situation where you find yourself in an open field watching the clearest night sky, and you did not consider bringing your tripod.
Our favourite trips are the ones that we planned out, but where we allow ourselves to be spontaneous. We know what we want to visit, what we want to see, and what we want to take photos of. But if our journey somehow takes an unexpected turn because the café at the corner of the street looks too cute not to pay visit, we will not have to regret any moment of the journey.
3. A place is only as special as the people that are in it
Have you ever noticed how a photo becomes more valuable when people are in it? If it weren’t for your friend looking over the lake in the middle of the frame, your photo would just be a photo of a lake.
Chances are that you are not taking photos for National Geographic or any other travel magazine. You are taking photos that represent a memory of a moment. A visual representation in your storytelling. The lake does look good on its own in your photo. But since your friend takes a central position in your frame, your photo has gotten a whole lot more depth, complexity, and more value overall.
4. Don’t make it all about the photos
It may sound counterintuitive to do, or even read, since this article is about travel photography. However, there is a very important lesson that we want to teach you. When you are traveling, your priority should be on the experience. Too many times, we see photographers, enthusiasts, and even amateurs finding themselves more focused on getting the shot rather than experiencing what they see.
Are you soaking in the overwhelming feeling of seeing that majestic waterfall? Or are you too busy trying to fit in the entire waterfall in your frame, and protecting your gear from waterdrops? You should be experiencing the moment when you are physically there, not by looking at on the back of your screen or your phone. What memory would you actually have of it, if you were not even in the present back then?
Don’t worry, it is OK not to reach for your camera all the time. Leave it in your bag.. let it hang over your shoulder.. just experience the moment. Besides, you did your research, so you are well-prepared and can take a nice photo within less than a minute.
5. Travel light
Traveling should be fun, and so should photography be. Most likely your bags are already fully loaded with your hoodies and necessary.. well.. pairs of underwear. Bringing additional weight is probably the absolute last thing you have on your list. Walking around with heavy cameras and lenses probably makes you consider leaving your camera at home.
To keep the fun in both your travel and your photography, we highly recommend traveling light. Instead of three lenses, bring only one that covers a multitude of focal lengths. Use cameras with a small and lightweight formfactor. Perhaps use a premium compact camera that is small enough to throw in any crevice of your bag, yet takes considerably better photos than your smartphone.
Remember, less is more. The less you have to carry around, the more your back, shoulders, and legs will thank you for it.