10 Tips for awesome travel photos

10 Travel Photo Tips

Here are 10 tips for great travel photos to keep in mind when going on that vacation to make sure you come back with great travel photos of your holiday.

Travel photo tip 1. Travel light - A point and shoot automatic camera or camcorder will be enough. Take enough film or tapes according to the amount of days you will be away. Don't forget batteries and the charger. No need to bring bulky stuff like a tripod, lenses etc. It's a real bother keeping an eye on it all the time. Unless you are a professional photographer on a paid shoot these things just end up just sitting in your hotel room.

Travel photo tip 2. If you are travelling by plane keep the film and camera in your hand luggage. Checked baggage is put through an X-Ray machine. The strong magnetic field of the machines usually spoil the film or wipe out the memory card of a digital camera. Checked baggage also has a high chance of getting delayed or lost in transit.

Travel photo tip 3. Research the Destination - search the Internet and read guide books on the places you'd like to visit. Especially look out for Interesting monuments, festivals or parades that may be on during your visit. Plan ahead, else you'll end up with pictures of just the airport and your hotel room.

Travel photo tip 4. Make a Photo Story - take photos of family/friends and you in different moods at different places. Like - annoyed at the airport - curious in the taxi - relieved as you check in the hotel - joyous on the ski slopes - or drunk at dinner.

Travel photo tip 5. Take pictures that prove you are in a different place from home. Most folks spend thousands of dollars on a dream destination but end up with boring pics of them lying in bed in a hotel room or sitting in the grass, snow or sand that could just as easily be their own backyard. Here are some ideas of what you could include in the background behind the subject that would give a feel of being in a new place.

(a) Road Signs - which show your location, especially those in a different language or script like urdu or chinese. The weirder they sound the better.

(b) Food - pictures of you eating exotic dishes in restaurants with local decor.

(c) Street Scenes with local folks using different modes of transport. eg. a doubledecker bus in London, an autorickshaw in India or a thuk thuk in Thailand.
(d) You can pose with cops in different uniforms, police cars or cars with different license plate numbers.

(e) Local people of other races in traditional costumes. Most people may be suspicious or shy and not want to pose even if you pay them or ask nicely. In this case, click a shot of your family with the local people moving about in the background.

(f) Local markets - colourful stalls and beautiful artifacts being sold always make for great photographs. Look out for shops selling something unique like spices, dry fish or religious items.

(g) A local animal, bird, flower or tree native to the place visited like the Lotus flower in India, Gazelles in Africa or Coconut trees in the Carribean. Its obvious from the picture on the right that this girl is in Australia because of the kangaroo she is feeding.

(h) Local Architecture - if there are no famous monuments in the area you can take a photo of you with any other house or building in the area that looks old and traditional like this photo of a chinese house.


Travel photo tip 6. If you see something you really like and can't buy because its either too expensive, bulky or not for sale, Just take a photo of yourself with it like the lady on the right.

Travel photo tip 7. If you need to give your camera to someone else to click a photo of yourself make sure that you can run faster. Remember, a camera is a very resellable item and thiefs loiter about looking for such chances. Give your camera either to a fellow tourist or a person wearing high heels, visibly lame, fat, unfit or elderly. Don't trust touts who keep following you and asking if they can help. Many people insure their camera for this very reason.

Travel photo tip 8. While taking a photo of a famous monument like the Effiel Tower or Taj Mahal make sure the full building fits into the frame behind the subject. If you are too close, you'll get a background with just indistinguishable bricks or pillars like the lady in the second photo.

Travel photo tip 9. Keep the film/tapes you've finished with either in different bags or in your hotel. Just in case you lose your main camera case and film you will still have some of the photo memories in a safe place.

Travel photo tip 10. Be extremely careful when photographing religious places, veiled women and government buildings - especially areas like docks, railway or military areas. There may be no readable signboard that photography is prohibited but officials or annoyed family members may confiscate or break your camera. However, if you are a woman you may get away with it but try not to take risks.

These tips will get you those awesome holiday photos that you can show off to your colleages in office. For tips on Avoiding Common Photo Mistakes click here.

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Photography Tips - avoiding common mistakes

Have you ever felt disappointed when your photo prints did'nt look as great as when you first shot them ? I have, and this list is a result of the numerous dud's I've laughed at while viewing countless photo albums. So whether you have a simple automatic camera or just can't be bothered to adjust the focus/ exposure/ lens on your hi-fi digital camera - these tips will get you those elusive 'show -offable' photos.

1. Over exposed Pictures -
(a) Daylight entering through an open window behind the subject - Either close all windows, draw the curtains, change the angle to avoid the window or shift to another location.
(b) A white monument glowing behind the subject - this happens if the subject is in the shade and the monument in the sun. You should either move the subject into the sunlight and use a flash or get him to pose on the side of the building that is in shade.
(c) Subject standing under trees in blobs of sun and shade - use a flash and move close.
(d) White person wearing black or black person in white - change the outfit to offwhite/dark blue or pose them before a neutral background like a green garden etc.

2. Under exposed Photos
(a) The city lights that looked awesome in the night showed up as a black background - The flash covers only a certain area of maybe 3 meters. If its dark, always come as close as possible to the background.
(b) The beautiful sea at dusk is undistinguishable - Never wait for it to get that dark. Even if you can clearly see around you, the details will never show up on film even with a flash. This is also true for rock concerts and sporting events held under lights outdoors.

3. Bad Lighting
(a)Your friend looks old and wrinkly, drugged or shiny - Mornings, evenings and cloudy days give the best natural lighting. If you just have to shoot at midday either shoot in the shade or use a flash.
(b) Lens Flare/ Silhouette - To avoid this, make sure the sun is behind the camera so that the subject's face is well lighted. If the subject starts squinting in the light, move him a bit to the side.
(c) Always use the flash indoors, in shadowy areas or at night.

4. Other Mistakes -
(a) Body/head half cut off - Always hold the camera at eye level of the subject especially for kids or pets. Bend down to get shots of the subject sitting on the floor, lying on the beach etc. Never ask your Granny with Arthritis or Back pain to click such photos - they will invariably come out cut off or lopsided.
(b) Tilted Shots - always hold the camera either horizontally or vertically - use the horizon as a guide to make sure the camera is straight.
(c) Strap of camera / thumb coming in the frame, poles/plants growing from people's head - Pay Attention while shooting.

5. Embarassing Photos -
(a) Strangers frozen in the background making weird actions - don't be in a hurry, wait for them to move off, ask them to move or try from a different angle.
(b) Get your friends/family to pose and smile - If a few are being spoiltsports, don't make the other's wait an eternity as you try to change thier mind. The party poopers are usually either having a bad hairday, no makeup, wrong outfit or some personal feud and you can probably take a picture of them later, if needed.
(c) Beware of towels, underwear lying around the room that may come in the frame - tidy the room or dump stuff in the opposite corner.
(d) Friends making funny faces in the photo or stuffing their mouth with food - you'll laugh but regret it later when the prints prove they are not that adorable. These photos usually end up being torn or hidden for life. Don't waste the film.
(e) Posing on a beach with tourists sunbathing in the nude in the background or photos that show you or your friend as a pervert / or a loser - Ditto as point d - don't waste the film. ( ok maybe one or two at the beach )

6. Lopsided photos without a subject - Driving on a highway, you looked out the window and could'nt resist a shot of the beautiful valley / sunset - Always park the car, get out, see you have a subject (a person, yourself, a building , a tree...anything) before the background, aim and then shoot.

7. Subject's face is a tiny dot - Subject should be at the most 3 metres away from the camera. If the monument behind is too wide for the frame, move the camera and your friend forward till they both fit in the frame. Cut out large expanses of sky or sand that don't add anything to the picture while framing your shot.

8. Blurry Faces - if the subject is too close (maybe 1 metre) to the camera - Move the camera back or the subject forward.

9. Rain - you end up with round transparent white circles on the print because of tiny water droplets on the lens. If its raining, remember to wipe the camera with a soft lint free cloth and get someone to hold an umbrella over you.

10. Reflections - beware of mirror, glass, clear lakes and other reflective surfaces.
(a) Reflection of you holding the camera - avoided by paying attention and changing the angle of the camera.
(b) Reflection of the Flash going off in a mirror behind the subject - ditto
(c) Photo which has a shadow of you holding the camera - ditto

Following these simple tips will ensure nobody repeats the same dumb, avoidable mistakes. You know, everything cannot be fixed with Photoshop. Happy Clicking !

P.S. Make sure the person who clicks your photos is aware of these tips too, or you may end up with lousy pictures of yourself.

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