A lot of us travel for food, some travel for seeing sights and some travel to experience the World. But all of this comes down to one thing we all want to create memories. How else do we commonly hold on to these memories? Photographs. As many millennials now say; It didn’t happen if it isn’t in a picture.
For sure almost all of us have that easy access to phone cameras closely kept near us. As they say, the best camera you can have is the one you have right now. Quite possibly if you really like taking photos a lot you might have a digital camera and if you are quite serious about it may be a DSLR. But no matter how good or bad your camera is, knowing some techniques on how to shoot can only make your photos looks better.
So here are 5 techniques that I use when taking photos while on the road.
1. The Big Picture
While it is awesome to take photos of and with friends, you can still make it better by showing a bigger picture. instead of taking a tight shot, try showing more of your surroundings, where you are at the moment or maybe a landmark. It doesn’t also have to just with group photos, you can also use this technique with solo photos.
As shown below the first photo does show the subject clearly but it doesn’t tell much about the trip. Comparing shots, the second photo shows the subject and where he currently was. It shows the trains that are evidently Disney themed giving whoever is viewing the photo an idea that I am in the Disneyland Station.
This picture was taken by my dad. It does show me clearly, but it doesn’t give the viewer a clue on where I am at the moment. This photo could have been taken at the mall due to the way it looks like.
This photo, on the other hand, this photo suggests that this was taken in the Disney Train station as evidenced by the Disney themed trains at the back of the subject
2. Eliminate The Crowd
We all have that idea of a picture perfect place with no crowds at all. Reality though is, these picture-perfect places are full of tourist. Still a photo without any stranger in it could be amazing. If you are a techie person and knows a little Photoshop, you can take several photos and use the median function of the software.
But if you’re not even a photo enthusiast and you just want to take a good photo with your phone, you can actually do this trick. Change the angle of your photo. Crowds, of course, are always at eye level. Eliminate strangers from your photo by taking a photo from a lower level putting your subject above you avoiding the eye level where the crowds are.
See how on the first photo shows the huge crowd in the area. Then just by looking for an interesting background and a good angle, the image drastically improves as shown on the next two photos.
3. Use Objects As Frames
Putting the focus on your subject such as your self is crucial to a good photo. If there are too many things happening around the subject it is best to put some sort of frame around them to draw the viewer (who ever is looking at the photo) to the subject of your photo.
In this photo, I used the towers to frame my subject. The foreground with the detail of the tower we were in and the background with the tower adjacent to us. This eliminated much the view of much of the buildings surrounding us. Note that I used a mobile phone only (Asus Zenfone 5) to capture this image. With the right composition, you can capture Instagram worthy photographs with minimal equipment.
On this photo, I used the towering greeneries of the tries to frame the Angkor Wat. I noticed that the tree tops had this distinct divide while it also somewhat follows the curves of the prangs of the temple, so I took advantage and used them as a frame.
4. Create a story
shoot series of photos that will tell what happened on your trip, show what happened when people’s reactions when food was served to them and when they first tasted the dish. It wouldn’t hurt to take as much photo as you can, but also be conscious of your intention to create a story. Take an establishing shot showing the location, then maybe a shot that shows the situation then maybe a photo or two of the event that happened and the people’s reaction.
5. Capture Moments
Candid shots are great in keeping memories. Though it is difficult to know when great surprises can happen, it is not impossible to accomplish. Moments are not limited to candid events though, always have your cameras ready for things like your dad’s first time holding a snake. Don’t be afraid to take lots of photos or even take pictures in burst mode capturing all emotions on their faces.