Best travel photos of all time
Anyone can take photos today but we tell you how to improve your travel photographs by following the steps, making your trip an unforgettable memorie captured in spectacular pictures. As you prepare your luggage and planes for your next adventure, whether it's a weekend getaway to a new city or a long trip to a distant country, you're sure to wonder what that experience will be like. Being able to document those special moments for yourself, and doing it in the best possible way, is very important not only for yourself but also to be able to share it with your friends and family upon your return.Let'sw start with with these 12 tips to capture the best pictures without being a professional photographer.
1. Whatever your camera is, know it thoroughly!
It does not matter if you have a mobile phone or a SLR camera that you do not know how to use. Investigate and learn! If there is something we have learned, the less time you need to set up your equipment, the faster you will be able to capture those great images that you want in your trips. The best help we have received to understand the functions and buttons of the camera has been through tutorials on YouTube. You will be surprised to see how much free help you can find online if you spend some time looking for it.
2. Check the equipment before leaving on a trip.
"Child, have you turned off the gas?" The classic phrase of your mother. Well with the camera happens the same. Take one last look and prepare your backpack well. Do not leave anything you may miss during your trip:
- cards
- batteries
- chargers
- filters
- cleaning kit, etc.
3. Tell the story of your trip.
Types of photos The beauty of travel is that you live a unique and unrepeatable experience. To cover all those moments well, We classify the photos of our trips into four groups. They are the following:
- Postal photos: This is what we call the typical photo of the typical monuments that you can see on the Internet. But not for that you are going to stop photographing the Roman Colosseum or the imposing Machu Picchu, right? Of course: with a correct exposure, the straight horizon, respecting the rules of the composition and as always, looking for your personal touch. For example; How about a panorama?
- Portraits: Very nice your postcard photos but, do you come out? Are they really yours? The real protagonists of travel are you. We want to see all those moments! Moments of laughter, amazement, or even despair when you get lost. A coffee on a terrace, a nap in the park, your friend's clown and their faces. When you look at the pictures again you will remember all those funny stories. Look for originality. Make yourself a funny self-portrait, change angles, try reflections on the crystals, etc. Oh, and remember that the background shows where you are but occupying the space right in the photo. Do not forget that what matters is the person.
- Photos details: Finally, and to finish capturing the personality of a place and its people we dedicate ourself to take pictures of details that we find curious or characteristic.Look around. Be observant and look at everything that catches your attention as the facades of buildings, the shape of lampposts, cars, people, etc. This type of photos is the one that will give you more freedom when it comes to being creative.
- Other photos: Here we include photos that do not have to be representative but are equally good. It is about moments that arise. Small gifts that life gives us. Some very fleeting, will you have the camera ready for that occasion or will it be stored in your backpack?
4. Wake up very early
Assume it The "trial and error" strategy is a decisive part of photography. I could not tell you how many times we returned to the hotel after many early mornings without a decent photo. However, when we are able to capture an impressive sunrise, we realize that having set the alarm at 5:30 has been worth it. And now you will say "Are you crazy? Early in the holidays? " Yes, the one who wants something, something costs him. When you feel that enormous satisfaction of which we speak to you, you will understand that not only have you enjoyed taking photos, but you have also seen amazing things.
5. You do not need a very expensive camera
Have you never heard that the camera does not make the photographer? Well, it is completely true. And to give you an example, it is not the first time we see incredible photos of people who only take pictures with their mobile phone. Nowadays with applications like Instagram it is easy and quick to share your photos, and you can be inspired by a couple of finger touches. To edit the photos on my smartphone we use a couple of applications. Snapseed (also available in Google Play) and Enlight (you can download Photo Editor if you use Android) allow us to make a development advanced enough to get the atmosphere we want. Other applications such as PhotoPills or The Photographer's Ephemeris are great for planning where the light will be at a specific time of the day or planning sunrises and sunsets. And if you are an advanced photographer, they will even help you to know where the Milky Way is and you can practice astrophotography.
6. Tell a story with your photos
Try to change your style and your point of view, do not settle for the same type of photos. If you use a social network to tell what you do while you are traveling, try to incorporate different types of elements. Portraits, landscapes and food photos, for example, add depth to your narrative line and will help you practice in each discipline. Focus on the most curious details of each of them and open yourself to constructive criticism.
7. Investigate where you are going
We are in favor of a balanced preparation. Before riding a train that takes you to some remote place, investigate some things. Find out about the weather forecast, things to avoid in the local culture, events that happen while you are, etc. I'd rather be prepared for the worst than not be at all. But at the same time, let yourself be carried by the current. Sometimes planes are lost, luggage is lost, and complicated situations arise from nothing. The best way to deal with them is with an open mind. From a photographic point of view, look for those hidden treasures that have gone unnoticed. As we said before, anyone can go to Cusco and take a picture of Machu Picchu Citadel. Do not stop doing it, of course, but at the same time look for an original way to make that site special for you and for the person who will see your photo.
8. Be patient
Many of the photos you see are the result of endless patience. Wait what is necessary until you get that person who walks through your landscape and give the photo that scale you needed. Your schedule may be full of monuments to see and museums to visit, but the sunrises and sunsets will give the best light to your photos. Try to avoid the central hours of the day to take pictures outdoors. You will avoid strong contrasts and overexposed photos.
9. Leave the camera aside once in a while
It seems ironic, right? It is one of the most important principles in Travel Photography. Yes, you are trying to document your trip in the most original way possible, but you will often meet people who make an amazing photo, watch it a couple of seconds on their screen and leave immediately. Think where you are Take your time to understand the environment that surrounds you and its importance. You do not have the luck to enter Machu Picchu every day or to visit the ruins. Make sure you take a moment to realize how lucky you are to be in such a special place.
10.Take your time before deleting anything
Just take a little distance and do not erase any pictures until you're back home. Sometimes, you will need a little time and space to see (and understand) the potential in a photo. When we first saw one of our favorite travel photographs, we found it bland and somewhat empty, as if devoid of life and history. After a few weeks we changed our mind, we realized that the light was beautiful, the slight blur suggested movement in a dreamy and surreal way, and the colors were impressive.
11.JPG or RAW?
If you are very organized as well as meticulous, surely your ideal format is RAW. In this case you will need to take many memory cards to have plenty of space. If you travel through sites with the possibility of it you could buy some extra card but that will not be possible in some destinations and you have to take it into account. If you like the immediate, you have little space on your cards, you want to share the photos or upload them quickly with your friends and Facebook and you do not like to complicate your life surely your format is JPG. As soon as you arrive on a trip you can select your photos and prepare the material to show it.
12.ENJOY!
Last advice! Do not obsess. You are traveling. Enjoy your experience There are times when it is better to leave the camera and rest from the photos for a while. Like when the nightlife comes.
Our experiences are shaped by the places we go to, the people we know and everything that happens along the way. Travel Photography is for us the set of all of them converted into one. The fact of documenting our trips gives us a feeling of happiness, as well as creating many good memories with which to look back. Whatever your goal when traveling, enjoy it. And most importantly, do not stop exploring!