Travel Photography - Techniques for Making the Best Out of Your Travel Experience
Travel photography separates itself from other genres of photography by being more about the journey rather than the mechanics. There's no denying the importance of familiarizing yourself with certain compositions and lighting elements, but to become a truly refined travel photographer you must have a passion for adventure and capturing different kinds of culture.
This article will mainly focus on the art of "globe-trotting" and the steps you can take in planning out your shots beforehand. While you may not necessarily be traveling the world all of the time, travel photography usually involves visiting areas that are anomalous to your lifestyle, so you must learn how to become receptive to these different environments.
Plan First, Pack Second
You can't leave your fundamentals behind and expect your campaign to be a success, so you probably have many questions. What types of lenses should I bring? How many different filters will I need? Should I pack a tripod? Are backup pieces of equipment important?
First of all, slow down! Allow me to ask you my own question: Do you even have a refined plan for what kind of shots you're going to take? The reason I ask this is because the equipment that you pack should be respective to the outline of your arrangement. Most traveling photographers know exactly what they plan on shooting before they arrive at their destination.
Mark Harris, a well-renowned travel photographer, once said, "A destination is not a story, that's just a starting point."
A simple, yet very true statement. Just because you plan on traveling to a prestigious location doesn't mean that your shots will carry themselves. What is going on in the area that you're going to be visiting? What over there is significant enough to be worth capturing? Better yet, what kind of style are you aiming for?
Mark Harris believes in having a unique style and stresses the fact that "you don't want to be seen as a jack of all trades - that's not how you get jobs."
So, as a future note, you must be ready to apply some of your own unique characteristics when building your portfolio. Don't rush the discovery of your preferred style, because it should be exactly that - a discovery. Your style will eventually come to you in a natural way after you put a variety of compositions to the test and gain more experience in travel photography.
Asking for Advice
Most exotic countries are littered with tourist stations, so it's never hard finding someone to answer any questions you may have about your destination. Feel free to tell the tourist staff why you're visiting and what your style of shooting is - odds are they could easily point you in the right direction. Also, ask them if they have any magazines, brochures or postcards that could enlighten you on your options.
Take Part in the Action
Part of being a photographer is not being afraid to get involved. If you choose to take all of your shots from a subtle location because you're afraid of getting rejected by people, then you will compromise a great deal of your opportunities and potential.
Besides, most civilians in the area won't mind having their pictures taken. If they do, then it's as simple as tipping your hat and moving on to the next subject. If you're having trouble dealing with any language barriers, use your facial expressions and other forms of body language to help them realize what you're trying to accomplish. You'd be surprised how interesting and passionate your shot can become if you interact with the scene.
Even better, if you commit to a person or a group of people for long enough, they will eventually start to ignore you and forget you even exist. This will allow you to capture their natural moments at the angle you desire (as opposed to hiding 50 yards away).
Nonetheless, there are sometimes certain rules or restrictions when it comes to shooting in certain areas. Do yourself a favor and make sure that it's okay for you to be taking photographs at a location so you don't risk encountering any conflicts.
Pick the Right Time to Visit
Depending on what you're trying to capture, sometimes the best time to travel is during a holiday or a religious event. If you're visiting a foreign country, take the opportunity to learn about when they are celebrating and how you can get involved. After all, one of the main reasons travel photography is a renowned art is because of the way it emulates other cultures.
Weather also plays an important role here. Make sure you look into seasonal forecasts before traveling - if you're trying to capture the refreshing, hot air of Spain, then you probably shouldn't visit during the winter when it is constantly raining. Knowing exactly what kind of weather you want to photograph is imperative because you will need to bring the respective equipment to deal with the conditions and lighting.
Originality Is Key
Since the travel portion of travel photography is only a medium, you must be ready to accelerate your inspiration. The best way to do this is to pick a particular theme you want to focus on and then base the entirety of your campaign on it.
For example, if you were actually heading off to Spain, you could choose to make the country's exotic food the focal point of your shots. This wouldn't mean that all of your photographs would have to be of food - you could take shots of people dining, chefs making the food, a holiday or religious get-together, restaurant buildings or even the simple leisure activities that the people of Spain enjoy while eating. The possibilities here are endless and your theme simply serves as a foundation on which to build the innovation of your shots.
Remember, there's no use in trying to be a "jack of all trades." Given the possibility that you may want to sell your work in the future, you would have better chances of being successful if you presented photos taken of a particular aspect of your destination rather than all of it in general. Not to mention working with a theme will also make it easier to discover your preferred style of photography.
On the contrary, you may have no interest in selling or preserving your work at all. In this case, it's usually kosher to offer your photographs to the people who were involved in your adventure. You can always ask them if they would like you to mail them the pictures or you can just offer the photos to a local tourist station.
Take Notes and Be Ready to Improve
At the end of each night, take some time to record the day's events in a personal journal or notebook. Think about certain shots you may have missed or how you could further improve on the shots that were successful. Also, it helps to write brief descriptions for each photograph, such as names and other keywords that made the occurrence special. This is useful for if you ever decide to chronicle your experience.
But You Still Haven't Told Me What Equipment to Bring and What Settings I Should Use!
I know I haven't. I saved this part for last because it should be your very last concern. Would it make more sense to plan your trip around your equipment or to plan your equipment around your trip? Clearly the latter.
Now, considering the fact that your composition will vary depending on what type of theme you will be pursuing and the weather conditions of your trip, choosing between an SLR camera or a compact device is mostly up to you. However, I will say that most experts in the field recommend an SLR camera simply because of its capable ISO settings and flexibility in terms of switching between different lenses. One could argue that ISO isn't as important in travel photography but they'd be wrong. ISO has as many uses as your other settings and very rarely should one be prioritized - you should always aim for the right combination of all the elements.
To be exact about which lens you should use, I would recommend packing both a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. It's nearly impossible that you wouldn't encounter a situation in which you would want to use one instead of the other, so being ready to make the proper adjustments is vital if you want to expand on your options. A wide-angle lens will allow you to fit more substance into your frame and a telephoto lens will help you increase the size of the more significant aspects of your venue.
When working with aperture, you will want to keep your F-stop higher for shots that require an amplified Depth of Field. This will keep the foreground in focus with the background which will balance the quality of the entire photo. When it's darker out you will need to increase your aperture by lowering your F-stop. Experimentation here is the key.
Your ISO and shutter speed will also be determined by what kind of lighting you are working with. Your ISO will need to be higher if you are taking interior shots with higher ceilings or if it's darker outside, but be aware that your camera can capture a lot of noise if you keep your ISO too high. When shooting exterior spaces, a strong source of light should be approached with faster shutter speeds and light that is more "blanketed" due to cloudy skies should be approached with a slower shutter speed.
Get to Know Your Camera As Much As Possible
Overall, being familiar with how your camera responds to light is what will ultimately make quality photographs. Take plenty of test shots before going on your trip so you know exactly which settings work best for certain situations. The hard work of travel photography is all in the preparation - once you arrive at your destination, it's all fun and experience from there.