How to Take Great Pics While Traveling
When starting on a journey, each of us dreams about experiencing unforgettable emotions and capturing beautiful photos. But when it comes to what to take pics of and how to do it correctly, many people just give up.
If studied closely, there is actually nothing difficult about travel photography. All you need is to believe in yourself and look around. With the help of 5-Minute Crafts, you’ll see that there’s no need to take selfies exclusively.
Take pics of everything you see around you.
No one knows for sure which shot out of hundreds or even thousands of other photos will be the best, capable of evoking strong emotions in us for many years to come. In order to have things to recall and choose from, take as many pics as you can. Capture everything you like and whatever your heart skips a beat about. Take pics of architecture, landscapes, regular life, animals, people — everything you’d like to keep in your memory.
Make focal points.
If you want to create nice and memorable photos, pay attention to details that will appear in the frame. With their help, you can convey the unique features of a location, weather, architecture, everyday life, and many other things. Also, you can make a pic more rich and complete by using the specifics of foreground and background.
You can easily convey atmosphere, mood, and emotion with the help of several details. Close-up photography will help enhance the effect that you need.
Feel free to experiment and focus on different details of the same area to emphasize all its features. You’ll delete a portion of your photos in the future and will be able to combine the rest of the pics into a photo series.
Mark your presence.
No matter how beautiful the photos of nature and architecture are that we take, we still tend to look through the ones that indicate our presence more often. Such pics can instantly take us into the past and throw us back into whatever is happening in the frame.
Your presence doesn’t necessarily have to be obvious — one “speaking” detail can be enough to mark it. It can be a mode of transportation that you use for traveling, a random item, or a part of your body.
When taking photos of your hands only, you can mark yourself in the photo, outline details, show texture and scope, and even indicate the weather.
Consider the specifics of the location and look at the world from different angles.
The same location can look absolutely different from different angles. And it doesn’t always look equally good. Try to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the area and understand what you would like to show in your photos and what things you’d like to conceal.
You don’t necessarily have to take pics at eye level. Try taking some photos at the height of several inches above the ground; or to look down at an object, approach it or move away from it. Each shot will look different than the last, which will reveal things about what’s happening around you from a new angle.
Don’t be afraid to shoot from the back.
Being in the frame doesn’t mean you have to look straight at the lens. Photos of people captured from the back or with a 3/4 turn can look just as good as popular selfies and full-face portraits.
Photos from the back seem to show the view of whoever’s in the picture, which can enhance their presence in that place at that moment. The human figure doesn’t draw tons of attention to itself, but instead, it merges into the general picture of the world and exists in it.
Play with perspective and show direction.
When taking photos, make sure to consider the mutual location of objects relative to each other in order to show the depth of the space. “Layered” structures of photos, like when the objects in the frame are located at a different distance from the photographer, make it more interesting and lively.
Take pics of elements with diagonal lines that can add movement to the shot. These can be different stairs, railings, buildings, roads, and paths.
Take photos when a person is least expecting it.
When we feel the focus of the camera lens on us, we might feel a bit constrained and eventually end up failing to see the result we were expecting to have in the photo. Try not to prepare yourself before taking another picture and don’t ask anyone to pose for the shot. Take photos when a person is not expecting it or when they’re behaving naturally. Having taken several such pictures, you will be convinced that it’s the random shots that better convey the mood and often turn out to be the most successful.
Look for non-standard options.
Unusual photos can be taken in very normal situations and conditions. All you need is to use a little fantasy. Use glares, reflections, and play with light and shadows to enhance the frame. Try to look at regular things from a different angle and capture them in your photos in a new light.
You can imagine yourself being part of the paparazzi hunting for another photo of a celebrity. Look at the world through tree branches, make a shot by peeking out of high grass, or capture something from just around the corner. It will help you ditch monotonous photography practices and experiment more.
Don’t be afraid to complement or diversify locations yourself. For that, you can use improvised materials or specially chosen attributes.
