5 Travel Photography Hacks

5 Travel Photography Hacks You Should Try on Your Next Trip

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through Instagram or another social media platform, marveling at other people’s travel photos and wondering, “How did they manage to get that perfect shot?”

Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to take awesome travel pictures, not unlike those snapped by professional photographers but with more affordable gear.  You may be stumped about how a family member or mutual friend was able to take a photo with amazing impact, knowing that they might have used nothing more than an entry-level camera or even just their smartphone.

As well as taking the photos,  there are lots of great apps that make editing images really easy, you can tweak the colour, crop or with a photo resizer make them look really good, and even use a JPG Converter for easier sharing and storage.

This isn’t just about getting more likes on social media (although that’s a nice bonus)—it’s also about being able to tell the story of your trip and preserving the sense of wonder and beauty in every individual moment.

To that end, here’s a list of simple travel photography hacks that will allow you to level up your holiday photos. These will prove helpful whether you’re on a big family vacation, a solo adventure, or a couples’ trip.

1. Plan Your Shots

While it’s true that lots of great travel shots happen spontaneously, more will be a result of meticulous planning on your part. This includes choosing what you’ll wear, what time of day you’ll take the photo, and what kind of setting would give you the most control over your shots and the most convenience for everyone else in your travel party.

What to wear

First, decide on outfits that you’d love to feature in your travel photos. Now may be the best time to bust out your best travel leggings or that elegant leather jacket you’ve been dying to wear.

For shots you’ll take with your family, consider getting everyone to pack co-ordinating outfits and to wear them during a photo op at the tourist attraction you’re all looking forward to visiting. Planning your outfits ahead will help you yield awesome travel photos and ensure smiles from whoever will look at them.

Choose Golden Hour or Blue Hour

Timing also matters when it comes to taking the perfect travel photos. Consider waiting for the golden hour or blue hour before taking the time to snap away.

Golden hour typically occurs just after sunrise and just before sunset and will likely provide soft, diffused light that can make even the most ordinary scenes look extraordinary.

Blue hour, in contrast, occurs just before sunrise and after sunset. Taking photos at blue hour will allow you to achieve rich, bluish hues that add an enchanting quality to your pictures. Plan with a sunset sunrise or Blue Hour calculator app to nail the timing and capture that perfect shot.

location location

Do your research to find the best places to capture your photos especially around famous tourist sites. You should also consider booking specific locations for photo shoots so that you have full control over the time and space you have for your travel photos.

Renting a space to take photos, for example a photography studio in London or other locations travellers frequent when they’re in the United Kingdom, will allow you to take one-of-a-kind photo souvenirs at your leisure and not disturb anyone else in the process.

2. Be Smart about the Equipment You Choose

Unless you’re OK with packing lots of luggage and paying for excess baggage, pack lightly for your trip. That includes the gear you’ll be taking along for photography. A big, bulky camera bag can also weigh you down, so prioritize essential gear and opt for a lightweight camera and lenses.
If you opt to bring your own camera instead of relying on your smartphone, below are some essential accessories that are worth carrying in your luggage:

Backup storage

Always carry extra SD cards and a portable hard drive if you have one. You’ll take a lot of shots before you arrive at the perfect ones, and you never know when those shots will max out your storage.
Extra batteries. There’s nothing worse than having a dead camera when you’re otherwise all set to capture a picture-perfect moment. Always have spare camera batteries on hand.

Lens cleaning kit

A speck of dust can ruin an otherwise great photo, which makes a lens cleaning kit worth packing.

Smartphone tripod

A mini tripod can be a lifesaver when you want a group shot or a stable, low-light photo. Pack a lightweight, but sturdy one with you on your next trip.

A waterproof bag

Be sure to protect any travel camera you’ve invested in from the elements. A waterproof bag will come in especially handy for beach or rainy-weather photography.

Wide and zoom lenses

A wide-angle lens for landscapes and a zoom lens for capturing details may prove invaluable for your trip. These can make all the difference from turning a “good” picture into a great one.

3. Brush Up on Some Basic Shooting Techniques

Gear notwithstanding, good travel photos are a matter of technique. You don’t need to cram enough knowledge to become a photography expert in the days leading up to your trip, but it will help to learn some basic photography techniques and think about how you’ll apply them in your shots.

One example is the rule of thirds.  Imagine that your image is divided into nine equal segments by two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. Place key compositional elements along these lines. Following the rule of thirds may help you create more balanced and visually interesting shots, naturally drawing the viewer’s eye through the frame.

Try the technique of leading lines by using roads, rivers, or buildings to create lines that lead the viewer’s eyes into the photo. You should also think about how to frame your photos, whether by using a natural archway of trees or the scope of your wide-angle lens.

Experiment as well with reflection, depth of field (or how close or far the subject of your photo is), high angles and low angles, and lighting techniques like backlighting.

Don’t hesitate to practice these techniques in your backyard before you jet off with your loved ones. Practice will prepare you to perfectly execute these techniques when you encounter an interesting new subject or setting at your travel destination.

4. Learn How to Edit Your Photos

The same principle as above applies for editing your travel photos; even a little extra knowledge will go a long way.

For example, when using a DSLR shoot in RAW format, or the format that captures unprocessed data from your camera sensor, to achieve the highest quality and most flexibility in your photo post-production.

Look up some of the most popular photo editing apps online and download them for your phone or laptop well before your trip.

You’ll save time on editing your photos by doing batch editing, or applying the same edits to multiple travel photos. If you know what kind of aesthetic you want to achieve for your photos before uploading or printing them, consider doing a batch edit for modifications like colour correction or vignetting.

5.  Think about the Overall Story You Want to Tell Through Your Photos

Lastly, infuse your travel photography challenge with a sense of individuality and purpose by thinking of an overall narrative for your photos. It can be as simple and familiar as going off the beaten path or completing travel bucket list items with your family.

You can also aim to collect photos around specific themes, e.g. photos of things that surprised you or photos of places you’d want to visit again someday when you and your partner finally have kids.

If you have this kind of “lens” on (pun intended) when you take your photos, there’s a greater chance of them not turning out generic or just like every other travel photo out there. Your creativity will challenge you to see subjects and settings from a fresh perspective and therefore make you feel freer to experiment and capture them from different angles.

Takeaway Thoughts

Remember to practice basic courtesy whenever taking travel photos, such as asking for permission to use your camera, and following other specific guidelines dictated by the country’s traditions and culture, i.e. conforming to a modest dress code. Being observant of these will make the experience pleasant for everyone, including locals you might interact with.

Don’t let your hard work go to waste, and back up your photos frequently. Upload them to multiple platforms, like social media and the cloud, and consider geo-tagging photos so that you and your travel buddies know exactly where a special moment occurred.

The world is full of breath-taking scenes waiting to be captured through your lens. Regardless of all the travel photography hacks here, through it all, don’t forget that the best camera is the one you have with you and the best shots are the ones you don’t hesitate to take!

Take a look at a recent trip I made to Japan where I have used some of the techniques and hacks mentioned here. 

This is a collaborative guest post. Images used are from Canva and Pexels.