How to Take Better Photos in Popular Travel Locations
You are on vacation and you have your camera in a famous tourist spot where everyone and their mother took the same picture over and over again. How do I make sure every shutter click counts?
While my untrained eyes tried and failed to capture the incredible beauty of Cuba’s biggest landmarks (full disclosure: Adobe paid for my trip), I received much-needed help from Renan Oztürk, photographer and director of National Geographic. In just a few sessions, he taught me how to turn my boring and boring vacation photos into interesting visual stories that my friends and family would really want to see.
Decide who you are shooting for
Sometimes I photograph places and I don’t know why. So ask yourself who your photos are for. Are they for you? What to reference later? If so, ask yourself what exactly you want to remember. Are they for your family to show? If so, you can make sure you get into the good part of these photos. They do not want to see the place where you went, they want to see you in this place. Or are they for your friends or social media? If so, your photos will need a little flair to get more attention. The whole point of your photography is to tell a story that only you can tell. Who is this story for?
Discuss the topic and connect
You need a theme. This is the most basic concept of photography, but many people completely ignore it when they come off – myself included. What exactly are you trying to capture at this moment in time? Be specific. It’s not “I’m photographing this building,” but “I’m photographing that doorway where the light cascades across the wood paneling.” This is not “I photograph the locals”, but “I photograph the man who puts out a cigarette while he laughs.” Once you figure that out, focus your shot on what you want people to see the most.
“I want everything to be focused on exactly what I want people to look at – the eyeball of the person in the portrait, the average fisherman of three …”, explains Oztürk. When in doubt, he recommends bringing humanity to your photos. Look for stories – they happen around you. Find a local who is doing something unusual or unique in this space and capture it. If you have a living object, contact it. Put the camera down for a moment and start a real conversation. You never know where this story will lead.
Don’t just point and shoot
When I snapped like a happy idiot, Oztürk warned me against knee photos and filming “just because”. He advised me to develop a healthy case of FOMAS or fear of missing a shot. Good shots come and go in the blink of an eye and need to be monitored closely. You cannot do this if you just rush into some building about which you no longer care.
Your goal is to show people something in a new way. Take time to plan your shots, find a new angle, highlight interesting things in the foreground, or shoot through objects and get closer than everyone else. Set and adjust the scene for your photo, removing distractions (adjusting your position to keep objects or people out of the frame), and then capture when the moment is right. Remember, no one wants to see the same general plan of 20 buildings. Show a sense of curiosity and explore, says Ozturk: ”Maybe 100 people walk along the corner of this street and take pictures, but look what’s in the alley.”
Getting to a new place, Ozturk first of all looks for people and lighting. He then looks to see if there is water or smoke around, and if so, tries to hide it behind the object. He also recommends taking photos in a subdued way. For example, place your camera on the ground and shoot from there. This gives you a whole new perspective and foreground element to play with. Plus, you have a full range of motion to make your objects look and feel more than life.
Get the right lighting
When it comes to photography, lighting is everything. Poor lighting can make the most interesting objects look terrible. It’s best to shoot at the right time of the day, like golden hour . If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, golden hour is a period of time during the day – just after sunrise and shortly before sunset – when the sunlight is redder and softer than the rest of the day. This makes the photos look amazing. You can find out when it is day using various online calculators and apps .
Ozturk says that if it is mid-day, when the lighting is harsh and bright, it is better to look for places with a lot of shadow and shoot there. Or, if you’ve just missed the golden hour, you can still try to use the light as best you can by using it as a backlight for the sun’s rays. Position the sun directly behind your subject and shoot as soon as the light barely skims the edges for a neat effect. It is best to use a large aperture value (f-14 to f-16) for this, Oztürk says.
Be vigilant, patient and prepared
To take exceptional photographs, it is often necessary to get up early and get there before all other tourists arrive. Not only is the lighting better, you also need to worry about having fewer old people in hats and waist bags cropping your footage.
Sometimes it means spending time after everyone is gone, says Oztürk: “Good photos come out when you step outside of your usual tourist time, when you’re ready to wait for photos, when people are having dinner, or when you get up in the morning. early, while tourists usually sleep. That’s when some good stories come in. That’s when good photos come in. It’s about being in the right place at the right time. “
Once you’re in a good location, it’s time to wait for the perfect photo. It helps you take food and water with you, so you don’t always need to run until your next meal. Just make sure you have everything you need to shoot and know how to use it properly. You don’t want to miss out on an epic photo for messing around with settings you don’t understand. If you can handle it and be ready to shoot, you will take a few pictures that no one else will take.