A Guide to the Best Travel Photographs

Every place we visit has its own look, character and ambience. Of course, we want our photographs of these places to last forever and be of high quality; they should capture all the qualities of each place and say as much as possible about the destination.

Most people will more than likely forget over time the smell and buzz of a new place or the awe of gazing for the first time at new landscapes and buildings that they’ve never seen before. Our photographs need to bring these sensations back as well as others; they need to trigger our memories as well as communicate with others how we felt. For this to be possible, we must think and feel as much as look when setting out to make photographs.

First, think about what made you decide on this place, out of everywhere in the world you could have visited. Whatever it was, obviously it appeals to you. This destination is one of the things you want to photograph. There are probably many other interesting aspects of the place that you are not aware of. This is where research comes in.

Great Photographers spend a lot of time doing research; this helps them figure out what’s out there, what a place is about and what subjects we need to cover. Read brochures and travel books, go to libraries, book stores  or search the web. Even talk to friends, or friends of friends who may have travelled there. Find whatever information you can and devour it.

It is vital to understand the customs and traditions of anywhere that you may be travelling. One thing is, you want to be sure you act in a way that is not rude or offensive while you are there; and it’s hard to know what’s acceptable and what isn't without some knowledge. This research will also help you to understand the things people do that at first encounter you might consider incomprehensible or even sometimes horrifying.

When arriving at your destination, within the first day or two, try to take notes of the first impressions, if you have to write it down, do it. When you see a place for the first time; through the plane window; as you step off of the train; or through the front window of your car as you turn that last sharp bend before you arrive; how do you feel? What is the first thing your eyes travel to? What do you notice about the destination first? A smell? The temperature; Blistering sunlight; Mysterious fog; any particular building or landscape? Whatever it is, remember it. First impressions are invaluable sparks to creative interpretation; and by definition are not repeatable. You have seen the place in many pictures, you've read about it. Now you have arrived it is your turn to let your senses partake.

You need to get out there now. The only way to discover anything or to figure out what to shoot is to experience it. Many places are more active in the morning, and late afternoon, particularly the warmer climates. Make sure you are getting up early and staying out late; every day. If you are touring with a group of people, get up well before they do so that you have time to yourself early in the morning to go exploring before you set out for the day. If everyone else is ready to go back to the hotel at 4, don’t go with them; stay out later, hang around till after sunset and catch a bus back. Use any spare time you have to get out and look for photographs. Apart from giving yourself more opportunities, time spent discovering the place will enrich your experience.

If you can help it, get lost; go wandering, any alleyways you come across, go looking. Just set off down unknown roads to see where they lead. Get as far away from the crowd as possible. If you start to wander away from the tourists and tourist sites, away from what’s comfortable, it will be much easier to adapt to the true rhythm of a place and be more observant.

Number one rule? Always have your camera with you and always keep your eyes open. The most important role in travel photography is serendipity, you never know what you are going to run into, and you must always be ready. A lot of the time you will see what could be a great photograph, but decide that the lighting isn't right, or there could be too many or not enough people around. You will have to come back to that place. Sometimes though, you get lucky. Sometimes you will happen to stumble across a scene at just the right time. If you forget your camera, or don’t have enough memory space, or your batteries have run out; you miss out on that once in a lifetime opportunity. This is true whether you are practising street photography, or visiting a natural or man-made site. Obviously, mountains, trees, monuments and other static subjects are not going anywhere, but that one off ray of sunshine, the soaring eagle, or that couple hand in hand that add the needed element to your photography, most definitely are not going to hang around. An easy way is to think of it as hunting, whenever you leave the confines of your hotel room/camp, you should be ready and able to capture anything that may pop up during your adventures.

Always make time for photography. Many good photographs require a commitment of time and energy, just like doing anything well. The main problem with modern day travel is that days are generally full of scheduled tours, events and meals. Most trips are of limited time and naturally, we want to see as many sites as possible. Itineraries rarely leave room for serious photography, so, you’ll have to make your own time. It may help if you make photography a scheduled part of every day you are away, to ensure that you will have time and won’t get tempted to get lazy and say ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. More than likely, the weather is going to be different tomorrow, than it is today, there will be different people around tomorrow, different wildlife. Don’t procrastinate.

In travel photography, it helps if you are familiar with a variety of different photography subjects; you are likely to encounter many different situations and subjects so you will need to know how to photograph portraits, landscapes and everything in between.

Never be satisfied with the first frame you take of a place or thing; it’s always likely that you can come up with something better, why else would painters make sketches? Get closer, and ever closer still. Try different angles and different lenses. Wait for the crowd, the light; wait for the bird to land on that tree branch. Never be in a hurry to move on to the next site. Tell yourself that there is nothing more important than getting this shot perfect. Once you have experimented with every possibility you can start to work on the next one.

Landscapes

Whether it be mountains, forests, plains, deserts, swamps, lakes, rivers or sea coasts, each landscape has its own characteristics. Individual sites within each category have their own too. The Grand Tetons don’t look like the Andes; the Nile River is different from the Mississippi.

For each different kind of landscape you are shooting, think about what the essential qualities are. Not just the visual ones, think about how the place makes you feel and what kind of emotions it brings out in you. Then look for how you can bring those qualities and emotions into each photograph. Is it a bright, sandy coast or a rocky and violent wave-washed one? If it’s the former you want to show blue skies and sunlight whereas for the latter you want to be showing waves crashing against the shore, probably in stormy weather.

Cities and Towns

Just like landscapes, every city and town has its own look and feel – a distinctive setting, architecture or skyline; some have famous local sites or a particular style of food or dress. In every city, there is always at least one thing that is unique. There are three things you need to do when covering a town, city or even small village; capture a sense of place (usually a wide angle shot that covers thee setting, skyline or other view that gives a feeling for the whole); landmarks that the place is famous for and the life of its inhabitants. It could be a good idea to check out the postcard racks in your hotel or at kiosks for an idea of where the best views are and what is considered well-known for that particular city.

Monuments and Other Buildings

While photographing buildings, statues or other monuments you must think about what they represent before you shoot. For example: There’s a large statue of Vulcan outside Birmingham, Alabama. You could make a perfectly nice image of him standing on his hill on a sunny day; such a picture would not say a lot about who Vulcan is. A photograph on a stormy evening, with maybe lightning in the background, would.  Cannons on a historic battlefield might look better in fog than in bright sunlight. First, get the idea of the subject, then; think of the weather, light, angle etc. that best communicates that monument.

Photographing Family Members and Friends

It is not rare for people to travel with family or friends and naturally we want to come home with pictures of them as souvenirs of said trip. Make sure to get these, but also remember that you can include members of your family, and friends in your other photographs to make them more effective.

When photographing your friends, try and strike a balance between a picture of them and of the place you are visiting. If you are going to take a close up portrait of someone, you may as well take the photograph in your own backyard… often you will want to take a picture to document your shared experience. Show enough of your friend so that he is recognisable, but, don’t take a photo so close that there is no context. If your friend is the main subject, take the photo so that he is strong enough to draw attention and be recognisable, but still have some sense of where he is.

Photographing Strangers

The number one rule of photographing strangers; ask permission; especially if you are working close. Talk to them before you pull out your camera; learn at least how to say ‘hello’ and ‘may I take your photograph’ in the local language – showing that you’ve made a little effort helps a lot. Explain what you want to do and that you want to make a photograph. Most people will be agreeable if they are approached in a friendly manner and many are flattered that someone has shown interest in them and what they do. Sometimes, in places where there is a lot of tourism, you might find that the locals are sick of having their photograph taken because many tourists don’t bother to ask permission first. The only way to overcome this is by becoming friendly with the locals or by going to places less frequented by tourists.

In a lot of tourist destinations, you model may ask for money if you want to photograph them. Most places are desperately poor and people have few ways of getting cash. They money they ask for most like won’t seem like a lot to us but can make a world of difference to them… Now you can choose to deny this and just find someone else to photograph, but just think, every time you buy a post card you are happy to spend money on a photograph that somebody else took, so why not spend a little on your own?

Of course there will be times that you won’t be able to ask permission. If you are shooting a wide angle shot of a market, or a street scene, you are not going to run up to each person and ask if it is ok. Generally, most people don’t mind in that situation, it’s more if they are being singled out that they start to get uncomfortable. But not always. Make sure to be sensitive to what’s in your viewfinder, if you can see people are getting nervous, ask their permission or move on.

Be sure to make use of people in you images to give them life and scale. If the size and structure of a particular building appeals to you, the picture could be much more effective if you shoot it with people walking in front. They will not only give it scale, but will also let viewers know what sort of people live there and how they dress.