7 tips for creating a great travel photo story
Thursday 13 December 2018, 12:01 by Michelle Peeters | 10,761 views | 16 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
One of the best things about travelling is capturing new and exciting locations from your own perspective. You can take stunning photos by simply applying a few easy tips and tricks. I have listed seven of them for you.
1. Research your location
Do your homework. Look at other people's photos of the places you are going to visit and plan which photos you absolutely want to take. At the same time, think about when you can and want to take each photo.
Look at travel blogs and websites. You can often work out from the information there when the light is good somewhere, when it is quiet, when the lights come on, and so on. This information is often crucial.
Also ask locals or local photographers for tips and advice. They will often even want to show you the best spots. The better your preparation, the better your photos will be.
2. New images of crowded, well-known places
As long as certain destinations remain popular, there will continue to be a demand for new and compelling images in travel and general-interest magazines. But how do you capture beautiful and creative images in popular, or even overcrowded, places?
First, you can easily avoid the crowds by arriving at your destination and at the desired time well in advance. That way, you can calmly position yourself in the best spot available. You can also keep many people out of your frame by framing very carefully. It will look as if they are not there!
'Going against the flow' also works very well. You do this by being in places where other people do not go. If the crowds normally go to a certain place at a certain time, look for somewhere else! You never know when an unexpected moment will occur.
Use your camera to take creative advantage of the crowds with motion blur, zooming, panning and depth of field. You can use a tripod with a slow shutter speed to blur moving people.
For most slow-shutter shots with people, you want at least one person who is still and stands out. You can blur walking people with a slower shutter speed of 5 seconds.
Go off the beaten track. With a little extra effort, you can discover real gems near major tourist locations that tourists do not even know about. It only takes a little sense of adventure and a willingness to connect with local people.
3. Choose the right time
The time at which you take your photos is very important. I personally like the early morning and late afternoon, the golden hour, because the light is a rich golden colour then. As the sun is not shining vertically but horizontally on the earth, you have less trouble with harsh shadows.
The moments before sunrise and after sunset, the blue hour, are also incredibly beautiful. This is a great time to take photos with a long exposure.
The sky is also a beautiful blue instead of white. These times can also be perfect for taking contrasting black-and-white photos.
4. Think about and choose a relevant subject
If you want to tell a story, think about what the main subject is that you want to show.
If you position subjects in both the foreground and background, it makes them seem more realistic and gives the image more depth.
5. Post-processing
Do not think that post-processing your photos is unnecessary. Professionals have been doing it since photography began. And it makes a huge difference when it comes to finishing your photos. You do not have to be a Photoshop specialist for this.
Just remember that a quick adjustment to your exposure, contrast, white balance and saturation can already help turn an average snapshot into a stunning image that you can keep looking at.
6. Use composition rules
Learn the basic rules of composition. For example, use the Rule of Thirds and do not place your subject predictably in the centre. By consciously focusing on your composition, your photos will immediately look much more balanced and professional.
7. Try a different angle
This point is closely linked to applying composition rules. Feel free to break these rules and go directly against them. Photography is all about dealing creatively with 'rules', not simply following them obediently.
Once you have mastered applying the composition rules, you can now do things completely differently. Look for unusual angles and framing. It may require a little more flexibility and unusual poses, but your photos will immediately stand out!
More or better tips?
Of course, this is only a very brief list of some of the possibilities for taking sparkling photos during your travels or holiday. If you have more or better tips, let us know in the comments!
Travel Photography Course
If you want to learn more about how to come home with beautiful travel photos in all weather conditions, you can of course take our Travel Photography for Beginners Course on Photofacts Academy!
The course is taught by photographer Nico Delmeire. Nico has travelled all over the world to take the most beautiful images everywhere. In this course, he visits locations in Germany, Spain and our own Netherlands. He also shares stories about his photo trips to other countries.
You can take this and other courses for two weeks with a free trial membership.
About the author
Michelle Peeters is fotografe en oprichter van DeuxBleus Fotografie. Michelle herkent het bijzondere in het gewone en het gewone in het bijzondere. Ze heeft zich nooit willen specialiseren en is daardoor van alle markten thuis.
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16 comments
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4BYE wrote on Tuesday 12 June 2018 at 14:12 | replyClear, and most of it has been part of the way of working for ages. I only notice: 7. Try a different angle - and then I see 3 portraits that don't really have a different angle...
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Michelle Peeters wrote on Tuesday 12 June 2018 at 15:08
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@4BYE: true, the order of the photos wasn't chosen very conveniently in this case..
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Peter Heins wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 10:55 | replyGood tips but you can't always put the 5th one into practice when you're travelling with a group or with your partner. You have to take that into account too.This year to Zakynthos and deliberately booked an excursion that goes before the big crowds. And explored the location with Google . Then decided to take my Samyang 8 mm Fishey after all to be able to take a creative photo. What also helps is waiting , at the moment everyone is called back to the boat or bus and then making your move.
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Michelle Peeters wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:12
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@Peter: that's right. Or photograph the enormous hustle and bustle and crowd!
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4BYE wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:16 | reply
No, that's why they're general tips! But you can do something about your partner... LOL
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In the end, you also don't want to be the person everyone is waiting for on the bus. That's one reason why I rarely choose those kinds of outings. I prefer to use my own transport. In the past, I've often experienced that, for example, there was a beautiful sunset happening and we had to head back. Or wildlife where you're waiting for a better shot.
So tip 8: Don't tie yourself (too much) to others so that you have all the time to take your shots. -
Michelle Peeters wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:18
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@4BYE: agreed, that's also why I prefer to organize photo excursions on my own rather than let myself be led around. I've also been rushed through temples often enough (including that beautiful one at Karnak) at completely wrong times with the worst light of the day.
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4BYE wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:41 | reply
Michelle, you talk about blurring moving people with a 5-second exposure. Do you mean that you practically don't see anything anymore, or is it more to provide contrast to someone who remains completely still? 5 seconds is already very difficult during the day, of course. I happened to have my kids stand completely still on the subway platform in NYC when the train was arriving or leaving. At 1/8 handheld, that already gave a cool image because of the speed of the train. You do have to take a series then, because only one turned out to be razor-sharp. (Canon 24-70 II has no image stabilizer)
Translated from Dutch.
Have you happened to have experience yourself with taking multiple exposures on top of each other on a tripod to eliminate people? With an x-number of photos, you could roughly achieve the right exposure unless the crowd barely moves. It is time-consuming, I fear. If there are few people, you can of course always use the good parts from multiple exposures and paste them on top of each other. -
Michelle Peeters wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:45
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@4BYE: with a shutter speed of 5 seconds you can still see a vague image. With longer shutter speeds sometimes nothing at all anymore! It is also a matter of trying out different times. If you really want to completely erase people, you can do that in post-processing with Photoshop. You put your camera on a tripod and take multiple shots (preferably quite a lot). Then you put the photos into different layers on top of each other in Photoshop. By erasing people on the different layers, you ultimately end up with an empty square or space without people. A bit laborious, but the result is beautiful and natural!
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Peter Heins wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 11:50 | reply
@4BYE having your own transport isn't always feasible. In this case, you can only get there by boat. Later, when we rent a car for a few days, we go back to that spot, but then you're at a height of 40 meters. Also a nice viewpoint.
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4BYE wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 12:07 | reply
@Peter Of course I understand that!
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Gast wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 13:42 | replyA tripod on a trip? Seems like a contradiction in terms to me.
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Michelle Peeters wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 13:43
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@guest: a lightweight yet sturdy travel tripod! Often not an unnecessary luxury.
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4BYE wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 14:03 | reply
Totally agree with Michelle. I wouldn't travel without a tripod. Granted, I got a carbon one a few years ago, we're getting older too, but I absolutely couldn't do without one. I'm thinking of wildlife, thunderstorms, selfies, veils at waterfalls/bodies of water, etc. Now I also happen to have a superwoman who lends a hand. But I'm not going on holiday without a tripod!
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Michelle Peeters wrote on Wednesday 13 June 2018 at 14:10
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A monopod can also be a nice, compact and lightweight option. That way you avoid all vertical movement anyway. And if you lean it against something (a tree or post) you're completely stable!
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Louis Meulstee wrote on Thursday 14 June 2018 at 09:06 | replyThere are no "tricks" in photography. You can learn working methods or apply a way of working so that you can create a signature. Tricks are what you see with a magician...
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4BYE wrote on Thursday 14 June 2018 at 10:57 | reply
@Louis call it whatever you want. But when I search Google for "trick" I get, among other things, this:
Translated from Dutch.
• smart, handy way to do something
• an action to achieve a goal in a smart way.
• convenient, effective way to do something
and in the crossword dictionary, among others, 1) Dexterity 2) Daring feat 3) Ruse 4) Little trick 5) Magic 6) Plays with time 7) Magic trick 8) Grip 9) Handy operation 10) Skill 11) Little skill 12) Knack 13) Little knack 14) Art 15) Stratagem 16) Trick 17) Artifice 18) Work of art 19) Little work of art 20) Ruse 21) Cunning stratagem 22) Cunning 23) Ambush 24) Way... and the list goes on
Enough reason to use the word.
You don't happen to suffer from Magosophobia, do you?
By the way, nice photos on your website!
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