Want friends to love your holiday photos? try these tips
Travel sharpens awareness of our surroundings; the different, the unusual and it’s these things, the view of a new eye that makes great photos.
As a travel writer I take many photos during my first few days in another country, a different culture. (www.kiwitravelwriter.com)
If you want your photos to be more than a mere record of your travels try these tips.
- Keep your camera with you : some of my ‘best photos’ are the ones I missed by not having my camera read
- Filling the whole frame adds impact to many pictures
- Eliminate the unessential, cut the clutter. Don’t try to grab it all.
- Early morning and late afternoon have the most favourable light.
- Avoid midday as overhead sun drains the colour.
- Simple blocks of bright colour make bold statements look at other people’s photos to see what works, what catches your eye.
- Vertical shots are great for height and portraits, while horizontal ones are good for getting some background.
- Hold your camera at an angle for some fun shots: I won a photo-of-the-month prize because my angled shot stood out.
- If possible, leave the subject lean on something, or put their weight on one leg for natural pose.
- Take photos when the person is unaware of you.
- Use a background that enhances the subject: don’t have poles, trees, or the Eiffel tower growing out of your subjects’ head
- Balance the picture; rarely does the subject look great right in the centre.
- Take a series of photos: signs, doors, sunsets, fountains, or faces.
- Use something to frame the subject, a tree trunk and branch, a door, a window – but not with all your photos.
- Finally, be considerate and don’t take photos of people who don’t want to be photographed – eg the hill-tribes of Laos. If I believe I will publish a photo of people, I get permission to do so (when possible) and pay them in an appropriate way.
