ABOUT TRAVEL AND PHOTOGRAPHY: HOW TO GET THE BEST SHOT
Whether we want beautiful photos to show them to our friends on social media, or we are content creators and every picture must be perfect, or we want to have some special memories from the places we visit, it is good to know a few tricks to make a photo look much better.
Being a photography enthusiast, I bought my first DSLR camera in 2014, and since then the knowledge gained and the desire to take better photos have gone on an upward slope. I was a travel lover a long time ago, so I couldn't help but combine my two great passions, travel and photography. I thought about writing this article in which I would gather all the things that I know and that I constantly apply when I take photos, but also some aspects related to the slight retouches of color and brightness that I apply afterwards and what applications i use.
Even if we don't have the best cameras, we can make the photos look like those of a professional, without wasting a lot of time and without stealing the joy of the moment. There were times when I only used the phone to take photos, and you can see the result in the three images below. These photos have the role of reinforcing the idea that you can do something pretty good with a minimum of equipment.
TRICKS FOR TAKING THE BEST PHOTOS WHEN WE TRAVEL:
1. Avoid taking photos with too many people around. I know, I know, there are times when it is impossible to do this, but you can apply one or more of the options below:
- you arrive at a location early in the morning, before everyone else;
- look for a place a little further away from the tourist objective you want to photograph. Example in the images below, with pictures taken at about the same time, the locations being 10-20 meters from each other;
- mask the people by sitting in front of them and frame the photo in such a way that they cannot be seen. For example, when I took this photo, there were many people around me who wanted to take photos of the cherry tree. I chose to change the perspective, so that other people no longer appear in my picture;
- if you have a DSLR, use long exposure. The people around you will move, but your subject will stay still and you will get a great photo;
- you use what is around you. Do you have a greener area full of flowers, and behind a building that you want to photograph? Sit at the level of the flowers and frame the building. In this way, the people in your picture will be hidden behind the flowers. Or, as I used the pigeons in the image below, it is one of the methods of using what you have around.
2. Research online the location you want to visit and look for places where the best photos were taken, and when you get there go exactly where you want to take photos, without wasting time finding the perfect frame.
3. The composition of the photo is one of the most important aspects. This composition refers to the way in which the visual elements are placed in the photo, so that it is visually pleasing. The most recommended rule for framing a photo refers to the rule of thirds, although it cannot be applied in all cases and it is not mandatory to have it every time for a photo to look good. When we take a picture, we will see on the phone or camera, several lines arranged in the shape of a rectangle. The shape of the quadrilateral represents our photo, and the lines that pass through it have the role of helping us in the composition of the photo. It is recommended, if we have a main subject, to be framed at the intersection of the lines, because that is where it looks best from a visual point of view.
4. Add movement to the photo and capture the moment. Everyone tends to choose a place to sit and wait to be photographed. Most of the time, the moments photographed spontaneously are the ones that give the best in photography. Sometimes it's difficult to catch that spontaneity, especially when it doesn't exist. So we create it through little tricks. What if you pretend you're walking, or in the case of girls, spin your dress, or maybe play with your hair, or maybe something catches your eye, away from the camera lens.
5. Light is very important. The best light for photos is before sunset and immediately after sunrise, at the so-called "Golden Hour". Even cloudy days are better for photography, unlike sunny ones. Excessive light tends to "burn" the photos, and most of the time it is almost impossible to get something good. If you have a DSLR that has the RAW shooting function, it is preferable to use it, especially when you don't have good light. It is applied both when the sun is too strong and when it is too dark. The RAW function offers more flexibility than JPG in the editing part, when you have the chance to save a photo that seems to be destroyed because of the light. An example in the photo below, which was taken during the day and which could be edited and saved due to the fact that I shot RAW, not JPG.
6. If you appear in the travel photos you take, to always look good, test several angles and find out which ones suit you better. In this way you will know how to position yourself and you don't have to struggle too much on the spot. For example, I look better in pictures if I am photographed on the left side.
7. Change your perspective of seeing the world and see the beauty in any place, even if it doesn't seem worthy of attention, you might be surprised by the photos you can take. Below, an example with a location with dilapidated houses, but which perfectly complemented the landscape in the sunset light.
8. Play with lights and shadows. You can make a seemingly mundane photo look much more spectacular if you add some shadows. In the examples below, in the first photo I chose to sit in the shade of a tree to take a photo, instead of sitting in the sun, which risks burning my photo. In this way, I added an idyllic touch to the photo. In the second photo, I chose to position myself directly in the sun. I was able to do this because it was the perfect light, right after sunrise (that golden hour I talked about above).
9. Be patient, patient and more patient! Especially in public places, very well-known and very touristic, even in the early hours of the morning. Wait for the crowd to pass and then take photos. This can make a big difference. I had many situations where I had to wait a few minutes for a place where I wanted to take pictures to become people free. As in the example below, I was in Barcelona, in a park extremely full of tourists. Although I got there the first hour after opening, it was still very crowded, so I had to put my patience to the test in order to create the desired photos.
10. Take into account the color association between the photographed landscape and what you choose to wear, or what the model in the photo is wearing, if you are just taking photos. Avoid getting "lost" in the landscape, as I did in the second photo, and wear clothes that contrast with the chosen frame. Most of the time, red is the color that stands out the best, in almost any setting.
11. Editing photos can make a colossal difference in the final result. Most of the time, when we travel, we don't want to waste too much time setting the camera according to each individual frame and we prefer to leave it on "auto" mode and let it do its job by itself. As a consequence, the camera will not take the best photos, but it will be easier for us to retouch them a little when we get home, or while waiting for take off in the airport.
When I talk about editing, I'm not referring to aggressive retouching, where the model looks unrecognizable after editing in Photoshop, but a light retouching, related to brightness and colors, which accentuates the photo, without touching the features of the model.
As editing software, my favorite is Lightroom, which I use both on my phone and on my laptop. The one on the phone is mostly free, having only few functions that are paid for, but which you don't need, you can manage without them. If you don't know how to use the application, there are many content creators who sell filters (presets) that you can add to the application and use as such.
I decided to create such a filter myself, which I leave below, completely free of charge. You don't have to add this one to the application, but follow step by step what I applied. Most of the time, the preset does not fit every photo, but it can be adapted. If your photo needs more brightness, then set more brightness, or less, if you think it looks better. This filter is meant to give you an idea of how you can edit a photo in Lightroom Mobile.
12. If you are a content creator, you should know that social media favors photos in which you appear versus those with only landscape, in which there is no model. So, even if you are not accompanied when you travel, ask someone to take a picture for you, or buy a tripod for your phone, which is light and which you can easily carry on any trip. This tripod is also useful for couple photos.
CONCLUSION
I know that there can be many details that you have to take into account and it can be overwhelming, but believe me that by practicing it will get into your routine and everything will seem very easy. I am convinced that even professional photographers do not remember all these rules every time, they just entered their routine and apply them without realizing it. I am not a professional photographer, but I have learned from experience and a lot of study. This learning process is one that will never stop, constantly learning new things and evolving.
Although I appear in photos and there is no way to be a model and a photographer at the same time (unless I use a tripod), those pictures in which I appear are thought of by me, from the outfit, location, composition, to the editing. Obviously, my husband, who takes all my pictures and is as passionate about photography as I am, knows all the tricks I have presented above and in addition to me, he knows all the details related to the technical side and we complement each other very well, me being more with the creative side, he with the technical side.
And one more thing: it doesn't matter how many photos you want to take, or how professional, don't forget to put the camera aside from time to time and enjoy the place where you are.
Read also about the locations that inspired me to take the most beautiful photos: Barcelona, Mallorca, Andalucia and Marbella.
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