In the past, you needed a dedicated camera to take good travel photos, but not anymore. Thanks to the rise of smartphones with built-in high-resolution cameras, anyone can take great photos nowadays. That said, we still recommend investing in a DSLR or mirrorless camera for traveling if you are serious about photography and want to grow as a photographer.

In this article, we’ll share five travel photography tips for beginners designed to improve your skills and help you make the most of your photos. We’ll cover various topics, including planning and packing for a trip, the best camera settings for travel photography, how to get sharp images, and more.

OK, what are we waiting for? It’s time to dive in and discover how to start taking better travel photos today!

Check out the video above by Andrew Lanxon Photography to learn how a professional travel photographer takes his best photos when on vacation. 

Table of Contents

• Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Make a Plan Before You Travel
• Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Don’t Overpack
• Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Have Your Camera With You at All Times
• Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Shoot RAW Photos
• Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Bring a Tripod Alternative to Help With Sharp Photos

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Make a Plan Before You Travel

Photo by Opat Suvi via Shutterstock

Researching and planning before traveling will not only make your vacation smoother and more enjoyable, but it will also help you take better pictures. Find the best photo destinations where you are going, and be sure to include them on your travel itinerary. If you want to go a step further, you can create a detailed shot list of all the photos you want to capture.

Other ways to plan for a photography trip are preparing the right photography gear, getting accustomed to your camera before you go, and staying up to date with local weather forecasts.

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Don’t Overpack

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Photographers love gear, and while having lots of photography equipment at home is convenient, it’s completely the opposite when traveling. Lugging around a heavy suitcase is a giant burden and an easy way to make yourself miserable while on the road. That’s why we recommend practicing minimalism and only packing the true essentials for your next trip.

That means your travel camera, one or two lenses (max), a lightweight tripod alternative, and spare batteries/memory cards. Depending on the type of images you enjoy shooting, you might also want to throw in a small camera cleaning kit and some lens filters. The less you have, and the easier it is to carry, the more likely you are to take photos.

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Have Your Camera With You at All Times

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That leads us to our next travel photography tip for beginners—always carry your camera, no matter what. You never know when something unexpected will happen, and you want to be prepared to capture it on camera when it does. Even if you are only popping out to grab a quick morning coffee, think twice before heading out without your camera. 

Following this rule is easier than ever in the current age of smartphone photography. Better yet, you can instantly share photos from phones with loved ones back home or upload them to social media.

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Shoot RAW Photos

Photo by weerasak saeku via Shutterstock

Another one of our top travel photography tips for beginners is to take RAW images instead of JPEGs. RAW photos store much more information in them than JPEGs, which gives you more control when it comes to editing them. Editing is an easy way to enhance the quality of your photos, as long as you don’t overedit. 

When shooting in RAW, we recommend investing in memory cards with more storage and an external hard drive since the files take up more space. Other important camera settings for travel photography to monitor include the shooting mode, autofocus mode, drive mode, and exposure settings. 

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Bring a Tripod Alternative to Help With Sharp Photos

Photo by Sarath maroli via Shutterstock

One of the keys to getting the best images is stabilizing your camera. When traveling, having a tripod – the traditional means of camera stabilization – isn’t always practical. So, many travelers turn to simply holding their cameras in their hand while they shoot, like the gentleman in the image above.

Though this may generate acceptable results in most situations, why leave things to chance? The slight movements that occur while hand-holding your camera can cause otherwise fantastic photos to be slightly blurry. So, to address this problem, bring a tripod alternative to help you achieve maximum sharpness.

I’ve used the Octopad for years and years now, and a simpler and more effective tripod alternative you won’t find. Its small form factor allows you to throw it in a camera bag or satchel without being weighed down by a bulky or heavy tripod. Yet, despite its small size, it offers all the stability you need to keep your camera on the straight and narrow while the shutter is open.

In fact, the non-slip bottom of Octopad is ideal for positioning it on virtually any surface – including those that are sloped, slippery, or wet. And don’t worry about getting Octopad dirty or wet, either. Its durable build allows it to be used and abused without suffering malfunctions. Like I said, I’ve had my Octopad for years, and it’s still going strong!

Octopad Isn’t Just for Camreas

Better still, Octopad is a great help for other creative pursuits. For example, I often use my time traveling to film footage for my YouTube videos. Octopad is perfect for supporting external mics, B-roll cameras, or lighting for my videos. With a couple of these bad boys in my bag, I can generate high-value video footage on the go. Nice!

Now, gear is not the end-all, be-all for great travel photos. However, having gear that facilitates your process certainly helps. So, as you travel more and take more photos and videos, be sure to invest in quality gear that makes your job easier, that way you have more time to explore!

Just so you know, some of the cool stuff we mention comes with affiliate links, meaning we earn a commission if you buy (no extra charge to you!). Plus, we occasionally feature sponsored content, but rest assured, we only shout out products we genuinely stand behind.

Hero Photo by Jaromir Chalabala via Shutterstock

Learn More:

• Photography Tips: Techniques for Beautiful Landscapes
• These Beginner Tips Will Get You Better Photos With Your Action Camera

The post Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: How to Make the Most of Your Photos appeared first on Photography Talk.

Below, we’ll explore four creative portrait ideas that will help elevate your travel photography. They include environmental, candid, cultural, and silhouette portraits.

Whether you are a hobbyist who wants to impress your friends back home, an influencer who wants better pictures for social media, or a professional who wants to capture stunning images for your clients, everyone needs inspiration occasionally. With that in mind, keep reading to discover which types of travel portrait photography inspire you the most! 

Check out Chris Hau’s video above to learn more about travel photography and how to improve your results. 

Table of Contents

• Environmental Portraits for Travel Photography
• Candid Portraiture for Travel Photography
• Cultural Portraits for Travel Photography
• Silhouette Portraits for Travel Photography
• A Good Tripod is Key to Good Travel Photography

Environmental Portraits for Travel Photography

Photo by anek.soowannaphoom via Shutterstock

Environmental portraits are photos that utilize your natural surroundings to enhance the quality of the portrait. Iconic landmarks and beautiful natural features make excellent backdrops for portraits. So, next time you travel somewhere with a jaw-dropping landscape, snap a few photos with you and your loved ones in the frame instead of only scenic shots.

Two more advantages of environmental portraits are that they can make landscapes more interesting and are wonderful souvenirs. Shooting a subject in front of a landscape adds depth, context, and a sense of scale to the photo. At the same time, environmental portraits make great prints for hanging, photo albums for coffee tables, and cards for mailing out.

Candid Portraiture for Travel Photography

Photo by Zivica Kerkez  via Shutterstock

Candid portraits are a fabulous way to capture authentic real-life moments when traveling. Staged photos are also great, but our favorite portraits are almost always the spontaneous ones. There’s just something special about seeing true emotion on someone’s face that makes us light up when looking back on them later.

Whether you are shooting candid portraits of people you know or random strangers, one key is to be discreet. When subjects know you are taking photos of them, their behavior changes (consciously or subconsciously). Therefore, one of our top travel photography tips is to use a telephoto lens for candid photography.

Cultural Portraits for Travel Photography

Photo by Sutprattana Studio via Shutterstock

One of the best parts about traveling is immersing yourself in the unique culture of different countries. So, why don’t you try to capture some of that culture on camera next time? Our favorite way to do this is by showcasing local attire, food, and traditions in our travel portraits. We like to shoot both images of ourselves blending in with the culture and some of the locals.

One super important thing to remember when traveling is to always respect the cultural sensitivities and follow the cultural rules of the country you are in. Read up on these topics before you travel so you can be prepared once you are there. Also, asking people for permission before taking their picture is a good idea, especially if it’s an intimate portrait. 

Silhouette Portraits for Travel Photography

Photo by Tint Media via Shutterstock

Last but not least, there are silhouette portraits. They are one of the most creative portrait ideas out there, and when shot correctly, the results are breathtaking. The key to this type of portrait is backlighting, which creates striking silhouettes in contrast to the background.

When shooting silhouette portraits, be aware that the light will constantly change. Due to this, you have to be willing to play around with different angles, poses, and camera settings to achieve the most dynamic results. Additionally, you can adjust your images in post-production to make them look just right.

The most impressive silhouette portraits are those shot with natural light, but you can also use an outdoor photography lighting kit to manipulate light and create silhouettes. For more information on this subject, check out our “Outdoor Photography Lighting Never Looked So Good” article.

A Good Tripod is Key to Good Travel Photography

Image Credit: Vanguard

Photography 101 is that you need a good, solid tripod to give your camera (or phone) a stable base for taking photos. Back in the day, that might’ve meant lugging around a big, heavy aluminum tripod wherever you went. That’s no longer the case, thanks to innovations from companies like Vanguard.

Take their VEO3GO204CB carbon fiber travel tripod as a great example of this. At just 1.8 pounds, it’s ultra-lightweight and won’t weigh you down during long outings while you explore the areas where you’re traveling. Yet, despite being so lighweight, the tripod offers features like a ball head, a smartphone holder, and a Bluetooth remote for taking awesome selfies.

Image Credit: Vanguard

But more than that, this tripod offers loads of functionality. By that, I mean that it isn’t just a tripod. Instead, it also converts to a monopod if you don’t need the full three-legged setup (and you can use the monopod as a selfie stick). Obviously, this makes the VEO3GO204CB even more compact and lightweight, yet you don’t sacrifice the ability to stabilize your camera or phone. Nice!

On top of that, this tripod/monopod combination can support up to 6.6 pounds of gear. Add a full frame mirrorless camera and big zoom lens, a vlogging camera with a microphone and light, or various other gear, and this tripod can handle it with no problem.

Image Credit: Vanguard

And when you’re done taking photos for the day and ready to hit the road again, this Vanguard tripod folds down to less than 14 inches. You can easily lash it to your bag to easily carry it to your next destination, yet have it in easy reach for when spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities arise.

The combination of the portrait photography tips outlined earlier and the Vanguard VEO3GO204CB, you can travel freely and snap great photos. Better still, you can do so without a huge output of money for a rock-solid tripod. It’s the best of all worlds!

Friendly disclaimer: Our articles may contain affiliate links that support us without costing you more, and sometimes we spice things up with sponsored content—but only for products we truly stand behind!

Learn More:

• How to Choose the Perfect Portrait Photography Location
• A Beginner’s Guide to Portrait Photography Angles

Hero photo by frantic00 via Shutterstock

The post Beyond the Selfie: Creative Portrait Ideas to Elevate Your Travel Photography appeared first on Photography Talk.