We love to travel. We love to visit new places, and we love bringing our cameras to these new places. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about vacations, and how to make the most of your photos when you’re out in and about. I was just on vacation not too long ago, and came home with a ton of pictures. Some I was very proud of, some others I could have done without. So what can we do to MAKE the most of our VACATION photos?
1) Posing
Wherever we travel to, there is most likely a very iconic place we visit. Whether, for me, it being the Golden Gate Bridge, or say it’s Las Vegas and we’re walking along the famous Strip, there is something iconic, and meaningful in that place we’ve gone to visit. Usually we like to pose in front of such an iconic place.
This is where the fun can start. Start thinking creatively. Instead of just standing arm to arm, think of another way to display the place (jumping shots, pretending to lift the iconic image up, etc.)
2) Use of foreground and background!
I am a huge fan of foreground and background when taking a picture. It can really add a lot to an image.
3) Candid Shots. (action shots)
Sometimes when you’re on vacation you may have someone with you. Stop a minute and just observe the person and how they’re taking in the place you’re visiting. A great shot will come out of that. Whether it is them dancing in front of a place, them trying out oysters for the first time, or perhaps walking along railroad tracks, a picture can come out of it.
4) Composition
As of lately I recognize when you visit a famous, iconic location, there’s a plethora of shots of this same iconic image. So I start to think, “what is a picture I can take” that perhaps no one else has. Like the image above, adding the simpliest of details can help to make your picture stand out.
So start thinking of composition, and what you can add to your photo to make it different from the typical, “picture.”
Inside Fort Point
5) Label Your Photos!
At the end of each travel day, write down a list of the places you’ve visited, and what you took pictures of. That way, when you look back at your pictures you can describe the pictures perfectly, and remember where you went, even years from now with the correct labeling.
and really, it comes down to having fun, and enjoying the surroundings around you. For me, when I go on vacation I don’t leave home without my camera so I’m capturing every moment as I experience it so when I come home I can share with others and make them feel as if they’ve just been on vacation with me.
Or, to come back and I am able to tell a story through my pictures. Work on doing a photo essay where your pictures tell the story, as opposed to your words telling the story, etc.
Bon Voyage!
I totally agree with you on taking pictures of the person you are with and how they are taking in the experience of being in a new place or trying something new and/or exciting. My fiance does this pretty much constantly with me. His phone has one of the best cameras in it that I have ever come across. It’s a beast, and with it, he has taken some hilarious and some just plain awesome pictures of me in new places and experiencing new things. This is really awesome because there aren’t that many good pictures of me in existence, but when he takes a picture of me, it comes out awesome. He has a gift or something, or he just has a way with getting me to relax in front of the camera, something that hardly ever happens. I see a camera, and I freeze and just look weird and kind of terrified.
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He’s really good for you =)
Jamie recently posted..Making the MOST of your VACATION photos!
Great tips. Another thing I do in addition to taking pictures of iconic places, is to take pictures of the people around me – to get a feel for the culture and people at the place I’m visiting.
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That’s another great point. Yes, capturing the culture around you. I look at some famous photographer’s pictures and they really have been able to capture the essence of an area.
Jamie recently posted..Making the MOST of your VACATION photos!
I love sharing photos from my travels {notice my latest blog posts}. Great tips for your traveling photographers.
yes and I’ve enjoyed your sharing =)
Jamie recently posted..Making the MOST of your VACATION photos!
Hey, I love the idea of a photo essay, I think I will do that next time we take a trip!
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Great ideas all. I love photo essays!
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Love the essay idea, Jamie! I try to do that and combine it with words, but I love to try it without words:)
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Awesome tips!! And I love your photo from inside fort mason. I especially have trouble labeling my photos while on vacation, my digital camera doesn’t give me that option and I end up with 300+ photos and have trouble remembering which was which!! And I am like you, I take my camera absolutely everywhere!!
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Linda, glad you stopped by! I know it’s really hard with the fluency of digital photography. That’s why if you can bring a small notebook to jot notes in (perhaps in the car or transportation after you day around with the camera or to label the set of photos on your computer with where you’ve been when you get back. =)
Jamie recently posted..Making the MOST of your VACATION photos!
Great tips…I need to work on composition!
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This would have been very handy. But I just came back from Chiang Mai late last night. Nonetheless, will keep these points in mind for my next travel
I feel like I need to go on vacation. I am a little nervous. I sent my son to running springs, Ca for camp this week and he took my camera. I hope I get it back in one piece.
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The camera will be okay =)
This is going to sound very strange coming from me. But I HATE posing for vacation photos. I make myself do it at least a few times, so that I can actually prove I was there. Honestly, I always feel silly. Something I need to get over!
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hehe, I’ve learned something new about you =)
Will be putting all these good tips to use
Thanks!
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I want to label all of my vacation photos. Which programs allow you to label pictures? By the way your picture of the fort is Fort Point, not Fort Mason.
Well, usually when I upload photos I always make a new folder naming what those photos are. I also have a program titled, “FastStone Photo ReSizer” in which I am able to resize my images and make a new folder which I can name whatever I’d like. Pretty convenient.
And it is indeed Fort Point. =) The Fort right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. Here’s the link: http://www.nps.gov/fopo/index.htm