Travel Photography; Essential tips for travel photographer.

Quinn Maria

Mon, 16 Sep 2024

Photos have the incredible ability to transport you to a place, tell a story and provide inspiration, simply by capturing one moment in time. Photography has taught us to look at the world in a different way. Noticing people, nature, animals, details and events that we had previously simply passed by, without seeing them properly.

Over the years the photos we made along our travels, have become almost synonymous with the memories we have of certain places. Here we want to share some of those memories with you in our travel journal.

 Travel photography is a form of photography that for example involves photography of landscapes, historical buildings, cultures, and people in a specific place and destination to document a certain place and make others make to wish they were there. With a collection of travel photographs of amazing landscapes, wildlife, breathtaking nature, cultures, and people, you will have the possibility to showcase a place, country, or even the world through photos. Travel Photography goes further than just capturing an awesome image. 

Types of travel photography.

Travel photography can stretch across genres because you can take any type of photo when you travel. As you travel, consider which aspects of your journey you want to focus on. 

Landscape photography.

The world is dotted with picturesque, compelling, and breathtaking sights. When you’re on a walk and you want to capture the feeling of the scenery you find, you can focus on landscape photography. Make sure to do your research before you go, be intentional about the time of day you want to shoot, and be sure to bring gear to protect yourself from the elements. 

City photography.

Capture the cityscape. From vast skylines to everyday life on the street, cities present wonderful subjects for experiments with perspective, texture, light, and color. Play with framing and vantage points, from the tops of buildings down to street level and below.

Architecture photography.

With architecture photography, you can explore the universal features and specific quirks of human-made structures wherever you go. Study a still subject like a building or a bridge to highlight the effects of weather or time of day, or to play with different vantage points. 

Street photography.

Once you’re on the street, you can focus less on the architecture and more on the people moving through the city. Capturing life on the ground is the goal of street photography— a style of visual storytelling that shows off and communicates the experience of everyday life. It’s vibrant and spontaneous, and you have to work with whatever light is available. Catch people as they move about their day to immerse yourself in the experience of a new city.

Tips for travel photography.

Research and Planning:

Before you set out on your trip, think about the sort of travel photos that you want to take. There are very few places left in the world where others have not gone before you. Make use of the experiences of others by looking at the photos they’ve taken and the reviews and comments they’ve made. Make a list of the spots you want to visit and jot down notes about the types of shots you liked from those places.

Maybe you see things you would do differently – shots that would have looked better from another angle or at another time of day – images that would look better as panoramic shots or scenes that would benefit from the warm lighting of the golden hour. If you write all these things down and come prepared to take the shots you want, you will come away with a portfolio of incredible travel images. Of course, all the preparation in the world can never predict the future and you will always find additional things to photograph, but having a basic plan for your travel photography is a must.

Bring Extra Memory Cards & Batteries

Bring twice as many memory cards as you think you will need. These days they are cheap and they’re incredibly small and lightweight – you’ll never regret having more memory than you need, but you will regret not having enough and being forced to try to locate a memory card in the middle of a rainforest village or  having to consider deleting shots you took to fit more on the card.

Bring extra batteries and make sure you have a way to charge them in the country you’re visiting – it’s usually cheaper to buy a travel adapter at home before you leave. Remember that cold temperatures cause batteries to wear down quickly, meaning that you might get less than half of the normal battery life if it’s especially cold. You can find more tips for dealing with cold weather in this guide.

 Don’t Overload Yourself

Before you head off on your big travel photography adventure, it’s pretty easy to sit there looking at all of your camera gear and maybe even lusting after some new equipment online, imagining scenarios where you’ll need a full arsenal of lenses to best capture your destination. While traveling, I frequently see photographers absolutely loaded to the gills with gear — multiple camera bodies, half a dozen or more lenses, and a huge camera backpack to tote it all around in. Unless you’re a seasoned professional and you know how to make the most of every piece of gear you’ve got, most of the time having so much equipment-bloat just means that your bag is too heavy, your camera too obvious, and your risk too high to go to the places where you might get the best shots. Our guide to essential travel photography accessories has lots of great ideas – many of them small and lightweight, but it’s a good idea to only bring what you really need.

Go at the Right Time

Many places celebrate local traditions, religious holidays, and have colorful events throughout the year. Celebrations and events offer a perfect chance to capture the local culture, so it pays to research before you go! Also take note of the local climate – while it might be a hot, dry summer where you live, it could be raining or snowing where you plan to visit.

It might sound like common sense, but countless travelers have gotten to a foreign country only to find they arrived during the monsoon season – something they could have easily avoided had they simply done a little research. Make sure your gear is prepared for the conditions too

Use Atmosphere and Mood to Illustrate a Story

Travel photography and storytelling go hand in hand – you can provide context with your images by mindfully being aware of and including several visual elements in your scene, which we’ll go over one by one:

 Lighting

Start by identifying what and where the light source is in the scene. Does the light have a cool or warm tone? Is it soft, diffused sunlight filtering through a layer of fog or harsh midday sun, casting long shadows on everything the light touches. Once you’ve made a mental note of where the light is, figure out if changing your own position would improve the scene. Pick out what your subject in the scene is (it might be one person, a crowd of people, an old car, anything really…), and ask yourself if there’s a better place you could stand to capture it. Light has the power to both bring out details and textures and to shroud them in silhouettes and shadows.

In travel photography, details and mystery both have a place, and it’s up to you to decide what fits your vision of a great photograph.

Movement

Identify any sources of motion in your composition – people, animals, rain drops, etc. and think about how you can convey a sense of the movement as a travel photographer. Capturing photos where movement is frozen is what comes naturally most of the time, but sometimes a photo can really improve and depict a greater sense of atmosphere when a slower shutter speed is used. Besides typical long exposure photos, panning is another technique that can be used where a slower shutter speed is used, but the camera is panned to keep up with the subject in motion, blurring the background of the image but keeping the subject in focus. It’s a tough art to master and takes a lot of practice, but it can really make for great travel shots in certain situations.

Color and Contrast

Where would we be without color? It’s as essential to photography as light itself, even for the travel photographer shooting in black and white. Color, tones, and contrast help to create compositions that are aesthetically pleasing and draw the viewers eye to the subject.

 Depth and Space

A photograph is composed of a foreground, a middleground, and a background: These spatial elements are really important to think about when composing any photo. Foreground lines, textures, colors, and tones, can help highlight the subject matter or draw the eye towards it, creating a sense of depth. Position yourself in the best spot to tell a story in the space you have to work with, avoiding distracting elements if possible and pulling the eye into the scene.

Texture and Pattern

The human eye loves textures and patterns. They give images areas of visual interest, and when a texture repeats itself it becomes a pattern. To use these elements to your benefit, look in your scene for areas of textures and patterns – ripples of sand, colored tiles on a wall, patterned fabrics in a market. Ask yourself how these textures might add aesthetic interest to or distract from your shot.

Lean In to New Experiences

My most favorite travel experiences (and often the ones from which I came away with some of my favorite photos) are the ones that made me the most uncomfortable at the time. Being in a foreign country where you don’t speak much – if any – of the local language can make interactions awkward.  You don’t always know the right things to say, the taboo things not to say, or what to fill the awkward pauses where no one knows how to communicate what they’re trying to say in the other’s language. And sometimes that’s OK.

Shoot in RAW or RAW+Jpeg

You might not feel the need to shoot RAW when it comes to photographing your friends and family events, but when it comes to shooting serious travel photography, having RAW images will give you much more flexibility in processing the shots you’ve taken on your trip. Shooting RAW+Jpeg will allow you to quickly share some Jpeg images while you’re still on your trip and when you return from your trip you will have the high quality RAW images that you can edit for printing, publication, and submitting to contests.

Use your Shots!

It’s fun to take photos just for the sake of photography, but if you’ve captured the beauty of the world you can do more with your shots than just letting them sit on your hard drive for 10 years. Start a blog, enter photo contests (be sure to read the terms & conditions carefully), participate in a local art fair — the options are endless, and with a little perseverance you might even be able to turn your passion into a little profit. If you spend countless hours on your trip taking the photos though, spend some time making sure you do something with them when you get home!

Capture Local Life:

Photograph daily life and candid moments to tell a more comprehensive story. Engage with locals respectfully, and seek their permission before taking their pictures.

Stay Safe and Respectful:

Be aware of your surroundings and prioritize safety, especially in unfamiliar places. Respect local laws and customs, and be mindful of privacy when photographing people.

Remember, the most memorable travel photos often capture the essence and emotions of a place. So, while technical skills are crucial, an open mind and a willingness to immerse yourself in the culture will truly set your travel photography apart.