6 Secrets of Amazing Travel Photography

Do you want to take great travel photos? Over the many trips I’ve gone on, I have always been focused on taking the best photos possible. I’ve compiled a list of the 6 biggest things you can do that will change your travel photos from ok to great!

Travel photography is art. It makes remembering your trips whether alone or with friends or family that much better. An average travel photo can make that experience seem average. The photo should represent and capture the moment or trip in almost the same way as you experienced and sometimes better.

It’s true what they say, a photo says a thousand words so let your photos from your trip tell your travel story.

1)     Plan & Research

Before you head out on your trip, look up the destination online. Use Google, Pinterest & Instagram to take a look at some of the activities you plan on doing there. Try to plan and figure out the best spots for photos and save those images to your phone or save it into a folder on Instagram to refer to later. Maybe there is a cool metal doorway in the city you will be at, you’ll want to remember that place. I do this all the time because I don’t want to miss the best photo opportunity.

2)     Showcase The Experience, Food, Locations.

Before booking a specific hotel, I like to look at photos of it online to make sure I like it before I book but every time I see photos that people have taken, they are terrible at showing what the place is really like. When we stayed at the Royalton Hicacos in Varadero, Cuba, the hotel was ten times better than the pictures people posted of the hotel.

Make sure to capture your room, the bathroom, the different restaurants, the pool and please don’t forget the beach if there is one. I’ve looked at beachfront hotel photos where no one except the hotel themselves posted a photo of the beach. If you’re going to show these photos to other people, you want to make sure it really showcases the place properly. When at a restaurant, capture photos of the interior to show the vibe, your food, maybe a photo of you sitting at the table, the view if it’s really nice, the live music if there is some, etc.

Show the city streets as you walk around. Will the person looking at your photos get a good idea of what it’s like to travel there? When you look back at these photos, will it feel like you’re transported back in time to that moment?

If you want to learn how to take great quality photos at night on your iPhone, check out my YouTube video here.

3)     Lighting!

The quality of the lighting in the photos will make or break a great photo. Make sure there is enough light whether outdoors, indoors or at night so your photos don’t end up blurry. If you’re having your photo taken or taking a photo of someone and you want to see their face smiling, make sure the light is not behind them because you will get a silhouette and won’t be able to see the person.

During mid-day, taking a photo of a person’s face you will see harsh shadows and raccoon eyes. To combat this take the photo of the person or yourself far away from the camera or turn the face more towards the sun.

4)     Composition

Composition means how the elements are positioned in a photograph. This will also make or break a great photo. This applies to anything like food, a person, a landscape photo, etc. Don’t just point and shoot. Think about what’s in the photo and what’s not in the photo. What elements do you want in your photo? If you’re walking down the street do you want the street to be centred or do you want it to be off to one side? Do you want to show the people walking around or do you want to capture only the stores or architecture?

If you’re taking a photo of your food on the table, do you want your used side plate to be in the shot? If you can’t move it, you might want to take the photo a different way.

Use the Rule of Thirds to help you with your composition. You can turn on the grid section in your camera settings for this. It divides your camera into 3 vertical and 3 horizontal sections and the way to use it is to place your subject along where the lines intersect.

5)     Move Around    

Don’t take the same photo everyone else would of an important monument or a place. Change your angle, use the light rays if there are any, get closer or take the photo at a really low angle where you’re camera is almost at the ground.

Sit, kneel, stand on something, climb a tree, don’t be afraid of looking foolish and different because that is where the best photos will always come from. The people staring at you, you’ll never see them again and usually, they wish they were as creative as you and hey you may inspire someone else to take their photos differently.

6)     Keep It Candid

If you’re traveling with friends or family, it’s fine to take photos of everyone posing but make sure to take lots of candid shots. These photos will make you feel like you’re there in that moment again. Do it at dinner or when walking, or doing fun activities. Be like a paparazzi in a way. These are my favourite types of photos when taking of other people.

*Bonus – Take Lots Of Photos!

Don’t just take 1 photo and be done with it, take a few and from different angles as well because the last thing you want to happen is later when you get to your hotel and you’re looking through the photos you took, your finger was in the shot or it came out blurry or someone’s eyes were closed.

Don’t forget to have fun as well and enjoy the moments in between. After you take some photos, put the camera down and enjoy the moment. 

If you want to dive deeper and really leverage iPhone photography for business or fun or you want to learn how to look good in photos and pose properly, check out my 1 on 1 iPhone Photography Coaching program. It is customized based on your needs and goals and will help you to become a professional when it comes to iPhone photography.

PS: Don’t forget to pin this post for later.