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About to go on a trip and want to ensure you take some great photos? In this comprehensive (but compact) travel photography for beginners guide, I will help you do exactly that. Go from out-of-focus-Francine to taking pictures you are proud to share on your social media in the time it takes you to read this article.
From selecting the right camera to learning manual settings that will increase the quality of your pictures, these tips will cover the basics vital to make you a better travel photographer. These tips include strategies such as researching destinations beforehand, arriving early at busy locations, and testing out different editing styles to make your images stand out. Regardless of whether you’ve never touched a camera before or if you’re simply an amateur photographer, you’ll definitely get some nuggets of gold from my article.
#1 Choosing the Right Camera
So of course, the first step is choosing the right camera, and that could mean something different for everyone. This choice may seem daunting, given the many camera options available. Three common choices stand out as suitable for novices: DSLR, mobile phone, and mirrorless cameras. Each type comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
It’s crucial to choose a camera that feels comfortable to handle. A camera that feels intuitive can strongly impact how much effort you spend capturing a good travel photo. Understanding the features and functionalities of different cameras is equally essential before making a decision. For instance, while DSLRs offer high-quality images, they can be bulky and annoying to carry around as well as the different lenses that come with that type of camera. On the other hand, mobile phones provide convenience but may lack advanced settings found in dedicated cameras like mirrorless or DSLR options.
If you want to keep things simple, a mobile with a high quality camera could be the best option. Phone cameras these days can actually take some nice photos, especially if you only want to share them digitally or in small prints. However you can make bigger prints too if you ensure you have an in-focus image with a decent amount of megapixels.
DSLRs are normally the ones you see online producing sharp and high quality images. I find the quality is so much better than my phone camera, but its more noticeable as you blow up the picture. Everything looks so much sharper and colours can be portrayed better.
In an ideal world, I would take mine everywhere, but as mentioned above, they can be heavy and annoying to travel with. This is especially true if you are backpacking or moving around a lot. On summer days or when walking uphill you can feel weighed down. This is partly why I gave my Nikon away to my sister, I thought she’d get more use out of it now that I’m older.
The other option is a mirrorless camera. These are normally the size of those old point and shoot cameras us millennials used to take to the clubs. They often are high quality too, but I would still say they’re not quite as good as my DSLR colour wise. However, the difference is only slight and I wouldn’t notice it if I didn’t get to use both my Nikon DSLR and my Sony Mirrorless to shoot the same photo.
The thing is that they aren’t necessarily that much cheaper than a DSLR camera, and they still need separate lenses for the most part. In fact, my mirrorless was more expensive than my DSLR. However as a plus they are much lighter and for that reason I would recommend the mirrorless cameras for backpackers and those moving from place to place often. They are also normally great for video and depending on the model, can have amazing night photo capabilities.
So my recommendations are mirrorless for backpackers, DSLR for those on a shorter or more photography focused trip, and a camera phone for those who want to keep things simple (looking at you, mum).
Ultimately, the key lies in finding a balance between usability and functionality that aligns with your own photography goals. By understanding these different camera types and their pros and cons, hopefully you can feel more confident in what to buy.
#2 Researching Your Destination
One thing that a lot of people skip is actually researching the destination and types of photos that work well there. Understanding the significance of researching destinations can strongly benefit you by allowing you to plan out key shots in advance and help you get the best photos at the places you visit. This can help you find unique vantage points, lesser known spots and see which time of day might be best to get the shot.
Scouting locations online, familiarizing yourself with the lighting conditions throughout the day, and anticipating photographic opportunities is one of my favourite travel photography tips for beginners. This preparation lays a strong foundation for stunning photos during your trip. For instance, imagine finding out a place looks so much prettier at high tide before heading to a pretty beach. Armed with this knowledge, you can plan ahead the best time to visit based on the tides, and get a prettier picture than someone who visited at a random time.
Moreso, finding out that the pathway up to an unofficial lookout is harrowing and should definitely not be attempted with young children or the unfit can save you from wasting your time (and possibly your life).
Or even something more simpler like finding out beforehand that a place closes before sunset so there’s no point in driving out there to find out on arrival.
Learning about local customs and regulations concerning photography at specific locations is also crucial for photographers aiming to respect cultural sensitivities. For instance, in certain sacred sites, photography may be restricted during religious ceremonies or within designated areas. Or that certain places may email you with an invoice if you use a shot taken there for commercial means.
Being aware of these nuances prevents misunderstandings, lackluster photos and potentially dangerous situations during your trip. Ultimately, researching a destination and its photography rules and tips before visiting can only help you get better shots.
#3 Set that alarm
Arriving at popular attractions before the rush of tourists can result in images without heavy crowds, allowing the focus to solely be on the view. This is one of my most important tips about travel photography for beginners.
Weekdays often offer a quieter atmosphere compared to weekends when the masses come out to visit. But on weekends, aim for first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.
The lower visitor numbers not only provides a much calmer environment for photography, but also allows more time and space to frame shots creatively. Imagine standing in front of a waterfall or ancient ruins with minimal interference – such scenarios are more likely when choosing weekdays or early mornings for your photographs.
Timing plays a pivotal role in determining the quality of travel photos. It can also be important if you want certain lighting, such as sunrise or sunset.
Finding out the sunset time before hand and planning to get there with enough time before that can make sure you don’t miss the golden colours. Personally, I normally search the sunrise time online and then plan to arrive 30 minutes before hand.
Consider this scenario: you’re at a popular lookout during the golden hour, witnessing the view basked in warm sunlight while fewer tourists are around due to an early start. Going early can get you less crowded photos and more often than not, prettier lighting. By planning your timing better, you’ll also be able to prioritise which sights to visit at particular times to get the photos you want.
#4 Mastering Manual Settings
Learning how to use the manual settings in your camera can increase the quality of the photos you take. For instance, setting the exposure or white balance beforehand can mean less editing afterwards to try and get the picture the way you want it to look.
Learning about manual settings like shutter speed, f-stop, and white balance is crucial for creating well-exposed images. For beginners, these terms might seem confusing at first glance, but taking a moment to learn about them will help you immensely.
Shutter speed dictates the amount of time the camera’s sensor is exposed to light, affecting how motion is captured in an image. For instance, using a fast shutter speed freezes movement, ideal for capturing action shots like a busy street market or a person skipping through some palm trees.
On the other hand, a slow shutter speed can create beautiful effects like silky waterfalls or star trails in night sky photography. Understanding how to use this setting can help you control how your images look in a way that often can’t be fixed in post processing.
Similarly, f-stop determines the size of the aperture opening in your lens, impacting both depth of field and exposure. You can experiment with different f-stop values to achieve either sharp focus on a subject with blurred backgrounds (using low f-stops) or everything in focus from foreground to background (high f-stops). This knowledge allows you to better compose your photos with intentional focus points that draw viewers’ eyes to specific elements within the frame.
Lastly, mastering white balance helps ensure colors appear accurate and true-to-life in photographs by adjusting for different lighting conditions. Whether shooting at sunrise with warm tones or under fluorescent lights with cooler hues, setting the correct white balance ensures more natural looking images.
So when you have a free 5 to 10 minutes, I’d strongly recommending looking up a youtube video or two, or reading an article to give you more insight into these settings. I’ll be making some videos on this shortly.
#5 Confidence in Posing
For many people, stepping in front of the camera can be a daunting prospect. However, striking a pose in front of the camera can lead to more personal travel photos. Plus, they’re super popular on Instagram. Learning to pose confidently without feeling too self-conscious is key to capturing authentic looking moments.
Feeling uncomfortable about being stared at while posing is common among photographers. It’s important to remember that most passersby are typically curious rather than judgmental when they see someone taking photos. And even if they are judging you, you’ll probably never see them again. I hope they trip over while eating an icecream in your honor.
Developing a mindset that removes feeling self concious will lead to more natural poses and genuine expressions. You’ll be able to get the shots faster if you bring you’re a game from the beginning.
One thing I would do if I really didn’t feel comfortable is getting the person I’m with to take photos of me walking towards something (them shooting from behind). It seems more natural so people won’t be interested in you, but you’ll probably get a few good shots with natural looking movement. One of my favourite shots is one where I asked my ex partner to take a photo of me walking down the steps to Machu Picchu. Good posture can help these photos look more professional.
Through posing confidently and naturally, you can add a human aspect to your photographs. By focusing on capturing moments rather than half arsed awkwardness, your pictures will look so much better. So take a deep breath, imagine nobody is around and strike the pose you want so you can move on and be one step closer to eating some really awesome nachos.
#6 Try different editing styles until you find the one
Experimenting with different editing styles can help you find your niche, allowing you to create your own personal style. By trying out various editing techniques such as leaning towards a particular colour scheme or level of exposure, you can discover your own editing technique that resonates with you. For instance, a bright and colorful edit may work well if you want your images to pop, while a slightly over-brightened image could evoke a dreaminess in your photos.
Moreover, trying out different editing styles enables you to refine your post-processing skills and understand how minor adjustments can significantly impact the final outcome of an image. Ultimately, it is through practice and trying different things that you’ll improve the post processing of your images. In this regard, experimenting with different styles can really improve your skills.
Just as no two destinations are alike, no two editing styles will produce identical results – hence the importance of embracing this creative process and testing things. Once you find a style you love then you can work on applying it to all of your images.
For example, I love the candy floss coloured images my infrared (IR) camera produces. No one else likes them (ha ha), but I do and I normally always back my IR camera when I go traveling. I also can use that camera to produce cool black and white images.
Another example is choosing high contrast and colourful editing practices rather than an airy look with subtle colourings. Both result in great photos but have a different vibe. I recommend trying out a few things and seeing what you like, then working on improving your skill on that particular aesthetic.
So as you are about to leave on your next trip, I hope this travel photography for beginners guide has given you some insight on how to be a better travel photographer.
These 6 essential tips serve as building blocks for creating images your friends, family and random Instagram followers will love. By choosing the right camera, growing your editing skills and knowledge of manual settings, researching beforehand so you have a solid plan and learning to pose more confidently, your photographs will improve immensely.
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