Now that you’ve begun to change your focus by thinking in angles, being aware of light, and using natural borders as I described in part 1 of this series, you can round out your decent photography skills by loading up your memory card.
Digital cameras give you a few options that weren’t readily available, or not possible, with film cameras to use for decent travel photos. I can’t teach you how to take great travel pictures since I’m not a great photographer, but I’ll try to help you get a few decent shots to show off from your next trip.
Vary The Distance
Take the same picture from a couple of different distances or by changing the zoom a few times. You can often get a number of perspectives that you may not have realized by getting a bit closer or further away from your subject. You can combine varying the distance with taking the shot from different angles.
People and Animals
Evolution has adapted our minds to take particular notice of human faces and animals, and your friends will do just that if you take pictures of them. People, even from a distance make most pictures more interesting, even if they are bland in every other way. Most people don’t mind having their pictures taken if you ask and if you can’t find any, use your own face. Animals on the other hand don’t usually need to be asked permission, but you’ll need to be patient to get a good shot.
Take Lots Of Pictures
The nice thing about digital cameras is you can take hundreds of pictures without running out of film (here’s what to do if your camera battery dies) and it doesn’t cost you any extra. The single best way to increase the quality of your pictures is to take more of them! For every really neat travel picture you see in a travel magazine there are hundreds others that were taken and didn’t make the cut or flat out weren’t good.
Don’t over think your pictures and certainly don’t be reluctant to snap away. Many of my best pictures were taken by accident or as a result of taking a bunch of pictures and weeding out the best ones. Experiment with the same shot using the techniques in this series or by playing with the settings on your camera. Take a look at some of my decent pictures and videos from my recent trips to India and the Inspire Me Africa Photo Contest for some great examples of travel photography.
[photos by: caribb, danorbit., Erick Loitiere, billaday, dariuszman86]
These are all great tips. I really like the series. Especially the tip about using nature to add the frame to the picture. Thank you!
Thanks. The elements of a decent photo are all around us, it’s just a matter of finding them 😉
With the digital cameras of today, there is very little excuse fot not taking a reasonable photo as you can have lots of attempts. Some good reminders as to ways to make them better. Also the start and end of the day are good times as the light gives lots of possibilities at those times.
That’s the wonderful thing about digital cameras…you can keep taking and taking and taking pictures. Plus you get the added bonus of seeing your work progress instantly and can adjust for light, color, etc.