5 Photography Tips for Travelers

One of the best treats that you can bring home from an amazing vacation are great photos that truly captured the fun and excitement of your trip, especially your trip to Memphis, Tennessee. Technologically has advanced so much over the years, so whether you’re taking pictures with your iPhone or you have all of the gear to rival a pro photographer, you can make some amazing memories no matter what you shoot with. Great photography comes down to 3 things: even lighting, an interesting subject, and creative styling, so keep that in mind (and follow these 5 tips) to ensure that you go home with photos that you love and want to share!

Natural light is your bff.

Doesn’t matter what kind of phone or camera you’re using, turn that flash OFF. Stand next to a window for indirect sunlight while shooting indoors, and if you are shooting outside, go to a shaded area (trees + clouds act as natural diffusers) for soft, even light. Unless you understand studio lighting, avoid using artificial light when taking pictures so that your images don’t have a weird yellow cast on them.

Play with your angles.

Don’t be afraid to move around! Some shots do look best straight on, but playing with your focal point and what angle you shoot from can change the whole perspective of the frame. Want to make someone appear a little taller? Position your camera slightly lower. Taking pictures of a table full of food? A birds eye view can be beautiful when the table is styled and a human element (someone’s hand grabbing a glass) is added in. Experimenting is fun, and because it’s digital, if you don’t like it, just delete it and start over.

Always stand with your lighting source BEHIND you/your camera.

Unless you’re shooting in a gorgeous open field at sunset, no one looks good when they are backlit by the sun. You always want your light to go towards your subject’s face/front to ensure that your photo is is bright and sharp. If you shoot towards your light source, you risk your subject looking blown out/fuzzy and blurry, so try to avoid it at all costs.

Shoot landscapes + cityscapes early in the day or later in the evening.

If you love to shoot architecture or scenic views but the place you’re visiting is a high traffic area, carve some time in your schedule for an early morning or late evening shoot. This time is usually referred to as “Golden Hour” which is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset. Streets are usually quieter around these times and the lighting is beautiful, so do this when you want to miss the crowd.

Tell a story with your photos.

It’s easy to snap a quick photo, but it takes a little more planning and creativity to create a travel diary. You want to take photos that truly capture the beauty of where you’re visiting, so pay attention to color, texture, architecture, people and the overall area and use your camera to tell a compelling story. For every place that you visit, try to take at least 3 to 5 photos that have an interesting subject. This could be your travel companion, a cocktail, fruit, of the mural on a wall. Play with your angles + distance and get to snapping!

Edit your photos before posting.

As pretty as your picture may be right out your camera, use a photo editing app to tweak it before sharing or having it printed. Filters can be fun, but for most people, brightening, sharpening, and bumping up or down the highlights/shadows before posting are enough. You’ll be amazed at the difference a little editing can make. Mobile apps like Snapseed, Lightroom, A Color Story and VSCO make editing on the go so easy, and it’ll only take a few seconds to do it.

While there are more technical components that you should pay attention to, if you keep these 5 tips in mind, you can produce some beautiful imagery no matter what you use and where you are!

This blog was written by Kim Thomas of KP Fusion, a Memphis-based lifestyle blogger and photographer. We recommend you follow her too!