Dream vacation coming up? Part of the fun of exploring a new country is capturing it all with your smartphone or digital camera. Great vacation photography lets you relive all of those happy memories long after you get back home. It also lets you share your adventures with your friends and family. However, it’s important your travel photography is up to scratch, so your photos do your vacation justice.
Perfect lighting
Lighting can make or break your photo. The best thing you can do is to shoot in good light — sunrise or sunset are the best times of day to go out with your camera. You’ll get the best light, colors, and shadows at these times. Overcast or cloudy days also provide soft light which is ideal for photography. When taking photos of other people, make sure there’s no light directly over their heads as it’ll cast shadows. Also avoid standing in front of any harsh light that may make your subjects squint.
Pre-crop your photos
It’s often tempting to snap a photo and leave any necessary cropping for later. However, cropping a photo after you take it won’t always give you the best results. So, it’s actually sensible to crop the photo before taking it — which essentially means being extra careful about how you frame your subject. Before taking the photo, make sure both the main features and the background are just how you want them. You’ll therefore avoid the need for cropping and create a better, more natural-looking photo.
Display your photos
You may want to share your vacation photos on social media, but some pictures will be so good they just need to be printed out into physical form. Whether it’s a great family snap or a beautiful landscape capture, you can get your photos printed out on canvas to display around your home. In particular, photo collages display the highlights of your vacation photos. It’s easy to design a collage comprised of your favorite images. Rather than keeping your photos stored on your phone, prints are a great way of preserving and sharing vacation memories.
Lastly, try and keep selfies to a minimum. They’re easy to take when you’re on your own, but not a great way to fully capture the beauty of your surroundings. Whenever possible, ask a nearby friendly-looking stranger to take your picture while you pose against the backdrop. With these tips, your vacation snaps will be your best photos ever.
