A holiday or trip to a wonderful place isn’t complete without taking great photos to remember it by and showcase it to family and friends. A great travel photo of scenery, people and events will allow you to capture the trip and keep it for years to come. If you are also a travel blogger and content creator, a lot of people will be interested in seeing your travel photos to learn more about the destination itself, rather than just to simply see what you’ve been up to on your holiday.

So, how can you take great photos during your travel adventures? How do you go about improving your travel photography skills and capture the world in a beautiful and accurate way? Here are some tips for taking great travel photos that yourself and others will enjoy for years to come.

Get Acquainted With Your Camera

Whatever type of camera you use, be sure to understand how it works and what settings it has. Take the time to read the instructions to understand what each button does. Whether you’re using a new or old camera or simply just your iPhone, you should be familiar with it and understand how it works. Taking great travel photos will become easier and faster if you do.

Aside from that, know your camera’s limits too. Does it operate well in low-light conditions, or do the images degrade? Is it crisp, wide open, or do you need to stop for maximum clarity? Is there a built-in picture stabilisation?

Bring The Right Travel Photography Gear

Although cameras and iPhones alone are sufficient for taking photographs, you may choose to utilise other camera gear to expand your photographic style and abilities. Photography gear includes zoom lenses, prime lenses, tripods, filters, flashes, and more. If you’re in the UK, visit Camera World for great deals on second-hand photography equipment.

This is especially important if you travel alone and need a tripod, for example, to set up to take photos of yourself on a timer. A gorilla pod is also very useful if you want to capture time lapses of sunsets, as you can just set it up and leave it there without worrying your camera will move or fall over. If you are wanting to film underwater, make sure you have the right underwater camera equipment. There’s lots of handy camera equipment you might want to add to your arsenal to take great travel photos.

Take Advantage Of The Golden And Blue Hours

Another key travel photography tip for beginners is to understand the most vital elements of photography is light. Most professional photographers wait for the perfect lighting, and if you want to take great travel photos, you might as well do the same.

Have you heard about the golden and blue hours? The golden hours are the times after dawn and before sunset when the entire sky shines a warm orange, whereas the blue hours are the times before sunrise and briefly after sundown. Take advantage of the golden and blue hours to take great travel photos. Get up early and stay out late to make the most of these hours as they look stunning on camera. It’s a good idea to plan your holiday around these times – if you know you want to capture a certain shot, schedule the visit into these times of the day.

Get Closer To Your Subject

It is believed that the closer you are to your subject, the more clarity and intrigue you’ll be able to capture. There are two acceptable and effective ways to accomplish this. The first option is to zoom in on your subject using most cameras’ zoom-in and out functions. This highly efficient photographic technique has produced some stunning photographs in this age of large lenses. This only works to a certain extent before your shot will become grainy and less in focus. How good your lenses and cameras are will dictate how far you can zoom in and still get a great travel photo.

The second option is to move closer to your topic. While this may not be comfortable for everyone, the person who sees the snapshot will surely appreciate it. You can also get macro lenses if you want to get really close and capture the details on flowers for example.

Find Different Takes On Landmarks

Most of the time, tourists stand in the same spot to take a picture of a well-known landmark or tourist destination. If that seems a little boring to you, finding your own perspective would take a great travel photo. Social media users can get tired of seeing the same locations from the same viewpoints all the time. Try taking your travel photos from a different position. Like most skilled photographers, think of alternative ways to capture a location. Underneath? Overhead?

To begin, arrive at a time of day when the light is optimal. If you have a long or zoomed lens, experiment with their diverse views to create something unique. Try something absolutely out of the ordinary, such as snapping shots in the rain, and see what unfolds. Try out new things and have fun so that you take great travel photos.

Learn How To Take Night Photos

Night photographs can make for great travel photos and can be quite striking. The best time to snap wonderful night photos is when there’s still some light in the sky. Besides, there’s something lovely about the early evening—city lights dazzle, water blurs, and passing cars produce stunning light trails. If you’ve never shot amazing night travel photos before, it’s a good idea to practice this at home to master the skill before your vacation.

Before Capturing Photos, Look Around, Then Think

Another helpful tip is to take a brief look around before taking a shot. This way, you’re giving yourself a chance to think about anything fascinating that could be happening around you that would enhance your shot. As a result, you’ll obtain a significantly greater proportion of intriguing images than if you just snap without thinking about what you’re going to shoot. If you’re in New York, see if a yellow cab is about to pass, for example. This really makes for a great travel photo.

Travel photography appears to be so straightforward. What could be simpler than travelling to a famous spot in a beautiful country with a camera and capturing some incredible photographs? However, once you get to your destination, you realise that taking a good travel photo is far more complicated. This is why, on your next trip, keep the tips mentioned above in mind to assist you in enhancing your images.

Main Image – Tatiana Syrikova via Pexels / Second Image – Dominika Roseclay via Pexels

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