
Do you always see those beautiful travel photos but you come back with so-so results? Here are a few tips to get all your friends, family, coworkers and Facebook friends envious of your latest trip 😉
1. Take your time
It takes time to get that perfect shot. You maybe have to wait a bit before those people who are right in the center of your perfectly framed shot to leave. Not in the mood to change lenses of your DSLR? Too bad, just do it!
2. Buy a polarizing filter
Just buy a polarizing filter, it just makes everything prettier. I would recommend one from the brand B+W; these are a bit pricier but the results are priceless. A polarizing filter takes away reflections but also makes the sky bluer and colors more vibrant. It’s like Photoshop right on your camera.
3. Bring a camera that fits your goal
Trust me, you don’t have to buy a DSLR to get awesome photos. When you’re on vacation and hate to carry all that heavy equipment around, just don’t! It will only give you hernia and what more. Some of my nicest photos were taken with my iPhone; it’s always ready at hand and when you frame your shot right, it can make spectacular photos. Not sure which camera to bring along? Read this article about which camera to bring on your holiday.
4. Shoot around sunrise or sunset
This one is kind of lame to mention because I assume most will already know this trick. I’m not talking about taking a photo of the sunrise or sunset, but use the soft orange lighting to your advantage.
5. Shoot the actual sunrise or sunset
Yup, the sun going up or down can be quite pretty, but most sunset pictures will bore you to tears. Want to make this ball of lava more interesting? Don’t make the sun your main subject! Try creating an interesting silhouette of one of you friends by underexposing your camera. Or maybe play with deep long shadows the sunset creates.
6. Don’t shoot everything you see
I sometimes hear people say, aww that would be a nice picture. That gets me thinking: nope, it’s good scenery, but one boring picture. Don’t take a shot of everything you see. Just hold your camera in front of you, look through the viewfinder and exactly what you see is what the result be like. First take a good look before actually clicking the shutter. It will improve your way of looking at things and it will be a lot easier to make a selection of photos from a collection of 400 instead of 4000.
7. Don’t show it all
Are you super excited to show your vacation pics to everyone back home? Just wait a bit. First make a selection, not just a selection, but a really thorough selection. Nobody is interested in seeing you in front of 1000 different sights, or worse; showing 6 pictures of just one sight. You’ve been on a 2-3 week trip? Pick out no more than 50 photos. No wait 30 is even better.
Do you have any tips I’m missing? Please share in the comments.