Tips for Taking Great Photos While on Vacation

The joy and excitement of travelling to a new place is infectious. It’s easy to get your friends, coworkers, relatives etc equally hyped about your journey and thus it’s only fair to give them some insight into your adventure when you return. Since, as they say, “seeing is believing”, photos are a great way to capture the memories of a fantastic vacation and easily share them with whoever you wish. 

However, sometimes it can feel like the photos you’re taking pale in comparison to the splendour you witness before your eyes, and as such won’t really be able to convey how wonderful the place truly was to whomever you share those photos with. You may think you need to fancy camera or smartphone to really get some great photos, but the reality is far easier. All you really need are a few simple pieces of advice to improve your photography skills.

The Sun is Your Friend

Keep the sun to your back for sharp, well-exposed photos. However, when it’s low in the sky and less intense, turn your lens towards it for some stunning lens flare enhanced scenes that capture the wash-out beauty of the orange sky. 

Life All Around You 

Whether you’re travelling solo or in a group, an important aspect of truly capturing the essence of a place is to embrace the life and ambience of the region. Sometimes, it’s better to have yourself or your friends be a small element within a shot rather than the focus. Let the greater part of the picture be the nature and life around you, locals passing by, plants swaying the wind, distinctive architecture in the area. Aim for a shot that captures the essence of a place.

The Rule of Thirds 

The rule of thirds dictates that your photograph should be divided into three equal sections, vertically and horizontally. You can view a grid on the screen of all cameras and most smartphones to help you apply the rule of thirds to the picture you want to take. You don’t want things like horizon lines or statues to appear as though they’re floating in the middle of the frame, which is what this rule is trying to avoid. Instead, horizontal objects should line up with the bottom horizontal grid line and vertical objects should be placed off-centre rather than parallel to the bottom horizontal grid line.

Interesting Details

Look for the little things that stand out, maybe some unique designs, odd colours, funny signs and other such things. These can give your photographs a storied feel which is great when showing them off to others and will also add some nice variation to your vacation collection.