Now that you know how to take amazing travel photography (part 1), let’s go a little more in-depth to the dark, scary corners of taking pictures.
Just kidding, travel photography is fun, and always should be! When else can you buy eleven croissants because you “need a shot of a person enjoying a DELICIOUS FRENCH TREAT AND STOP CRYING MELISSA, I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE FULL!”
See? Even eating a bag full of croissants can be stressful under the wrong conditions. Especially when you’re trying to force something that doesn’t come naturally. Which brings me to my first point:
Look Natural, Darling
The best pictures are ones that people don’t know you’re taking. This doesn’t mean you should sneak around your friends trying to get a picture of Melissa mid-sneeze; it just means that the “classic” photo of a smiling person standing in front of a famous thing isn’t always the most interesting. A picture of your friends laughing because you spilled chocolat chaud on your jeans, sleeping on a stranger’s shoulder on the train, or even just looking bored because SOMEBODY forgot to book “skip-the-line” tickets at the Louvre (we’re all looking at you, Melissa) is better. The point is: real pictures will allow you to tell real stories that connect with real memories. Smiling in front of the Arc de Triomphe is a nice picture, but not as natural as the one of you looking like a ghost because you just found out what paté was made of. Don’t delete the unflattering pictures, love the trip (and your photos) for its highs and lows.
Engage
Take pictures of people interacting with their surroundings! Can you tell I’m not a fan of looking straight into the camera, keeping your arms by your side, and trying your best to be a Top Model? You deserve more than one hundred pictures of the same pose. You deserve to let your funk show, at the very least with a “peace” sign. Laugh with other people, try and spell out your name using only your bodies, or even be in mid-bite of a macaroon. Make sure your pictures reflect the fun you’re having, and the things you’re doing.
Be One With Nature
With all of the world’s amazing historical and modern structures and architectural feats, don’t forget about what’s naturally around you. Nature is big, it’s grand, and it has things you’ve never seen before. Sometimes the best pictures I come back from a trip with simply let nature do what is does best: be impressive. Mountains, rolling hills, a small frog smiling up at you: photography allows you take home a part of the country/countries you visit without destroying the ecosystem. Good job, photography, good job.
Looking at the big picture (pun most definitely intended), I want to end once again saying that even though there are guidelines for cool photos, they aren’t soul-crushing rules. Have fun, take some pictures, and maybe one of them will even have your friend in mid-sneeze.
Aren’t you glad I only used one pun? I mean, photographers have to deal with enough crop (ZING!).
