Photo by @atravelmaker
It’s the time of year to pack your bags and head off on vacation. During your trip though, you will definitely want to capture every moment. It can be hard to figure out what shots to take or how to get an original vacation shot. Check out our top nine vacation photo tips for inspiration!
9. Bring Extra Equipment
Make sure to charge your batteries overnight and even bring an extra battery. There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of an excursion with a dead camera battery. Bring extra SD cards too. Running out of storage and having to delete other vacation pictures is not the way to spend your trip.
Photo by @cameraaddicts
8. Try a New Point of View
Try to capture tourist attractions and landmarks in a unique way. This could be through not focusing on the landmark as the subject and instead placing it in the background. You can shoot the landmark from another perspective like birds eye view or shooting from the ground looking up.
Photo by @marcello.grandi
7. Get Up Early, Stay Out Late
Take advantage of vacation time by extending the hours that you are out and about. Going out early in the morning to avoid lines and crowds. Being out at different times of the day also increases the varieties of lighting you will encounter and can make for some beautifully or dramatically lit scenes.
Photo by @cisoufil
6. Research Before You Leave
When you are planning your vacation, look up photos of the places you want to go online to see what they look like and plan out framing and vantage point. Online research also allows for you to see how other travelers have captured certain places and give you some inspiration.
Photo by DariuszSankowski
5. Take Pictures of Your Travel Companions
The trips that you go on are about so much more than pretty landscapes so be sure to capture that in your shots. You only need so many landscape shots. Pictures of your loved ones are valuable so capture candids of your companions throughout the vacation.
Photo by @iness_arn
4. Shoot Now, Sort Later
Try to live in the moment on your vacation. Great picture opportunities come fast so don’t miss them because you’re sorting through other pictures. It’s always better to take more pictures and then edit them later. On that note, don’t delete pictures before you have the chance to look at them in depth.
Photo by Felix_Broenniman
3. Don’t Worry About the Perfect Shot
Take time to enjoy the vacation and don’t worry about getting the right shot. Once you stop focusing on making everything perfect, good shots will happen. You can’t force good pictures to happen.
Photo by @alenadarcy
2. Take Time to Frame
Though you may be immediately tempted to shoot everything in sight, take a minute to observe your surroundings. Sometimes taking a wander can allow for inspiration to strike and end up with a creative shot.
Photo by @pierdepe
1. Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Vacations can be unpredictable, so you never know when a photo worthy moment may appear. Even if it sits in your bag for most of the day, you never know when inspiration may strike. If a DSLR is too bulky to bring to an activity, at least carry your phone.
Photo by @ada_kunzova
Want More Travel Photography Tips?
Check out our travel photography class for more tips and tricks to get the perfect vacation shots.