10 Tips for Better Travel Photography

I’m not a professional photographer, but like most people, I want to remember all the places I’ve traveled to and the reason why I went there in the first place. I found that with a little time and patience, I was able to transform my photos from mere ho-hum snapshots to something I wouldn’t mind hanging on my wall.

1. Take time to learn your camera well.
Reading the manual is the boring part, so I recommend you get it out of the way soon after you’ve figured out how to press the shutter in Auto mode. After that, experiment in other modes like Aperture priority or Shutter priority. Digital storage space is cheap these days, so shoot the same image over and over again using various settings. Your camera preserves this info in the image file, known as EXIF data. With an image app like Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, or iPhoto, you can compare the EXIF data from your photos and learn how you achieved each shot.

The image below was taken in AP mode, which means I manually set the aperture as large as possible, and the shutter speed adjusted automatically. With a larger aperture, I can achieve a shorter depth of field where the foreground subject is in focus, but the background is out of the focal range. This is great for portraiture when you don’t want the background to interfere with the subject.

2. White Balance
Shooting indoors under artificial light is quite different from being outdoors. While most cameras can adjust white balance automatically, get accustomed to doing this part yourself. Knowing how to adjust your white balance to suit your light conditions can prevent your images from having a unnatural color cast. No one wants their subject to have greenish skin. Even natural sunlight varies in color and temperature during the day. In the late afternoon, when light rays are longer and more yellow, setting a custom white balance is almost necessary. The process is basically the same from camera to camera: shoot a white surface and use that as your white point. Almost any smooth white surface will work, like a piece of paper, a wall or even a t-shirt.

The image on the left below was shot with a built-in flash, but I forgot to set the white balance so the image is very yellow. After I set the white balance, the subsequent images looked less yellow (right.)

3. ISO
Back in the days of film photography, manufacturers used ASA to express how sensitive to light a film was. The higher the ASA, the more sensitive the film, meaning you could shoot in low light situations. Digital cameras use ISO to denote how sensitive the image sensor is, rather than the film, to the amount of light present. In bright, sunny environments, an ISO of 100 or 200 is good, with 400 being suitable for overcast conditions or indoors. My camera’s ISO goes as high as 1600, which means I can shoot in very low light without flash. However, all that increased sensitivity compromises the image quality, so you will soon discover that higher ISO images will have more added noise, or a grainy appearance. I find that a bit of grain can give some digital photos an edgier look, but for the most part, we want nice crisp travel photos to remember our trip by. To obtain the best image quality, use the lowest ISO possible.

The image below was shot at ISO 1600 in a small concert venue where a flash would have disturbed the performance. The added grain — plus a little bit of post-processing to give it that pink sepia tone — gives the image a spontaneous, in-the-moment look and feel.

4. See the light
I live in San Francisco, a world-class city with many visitors, all wanting to get that great shot of themselves in Chinatown or with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. I’m often approached by tourists asking me to take their photo, and then they immeditely pose — with the sun behind them. That’s a great way of taking a picture of a silhouette, but not very good if you want the subject properly lit. Look at the light you have to work with. Where is it coming from? How is it lighting the scene you want to photograph?

The image below was shot inside a wat, a Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was really dark inside except for this shaft of sunlight coming in through a large, shuttered window, bringing this detail of the mural into focus. If the entire mural had been evenly lit, it might have made for a pretty uninspiring photograph.

6. Choose an interesting angle
Everyone sees the world at eye level. Look for an unusual angle the next time you take a photo. Shoot from the ground up, or stand on something and aim down on your subject. The image below was taken at a street festival in San Francisco. Shooting these stiltwalkers at eye level would not have captured their height, so I lay down in the middle of the street (good thing it was closed to cars!) while the stiltwalkers danced above me. From this angle, the building behind them also fits the frame, reinforcing the sense of height by adding another vertical line to the composition.

Observe the smaller details along with the big picture. This photo was taken at the bustling Amulet Market in Bangkok. Instead of looking for something to focus on among the moving crowd, I took a picture of the little talismans on display.

7. The rule of thirds
According to Wikipedia, the rule of thirds “is a compositional rule of thumb.” It states that an image should be divided into thirds, or nine equal parts, and that important visual elements should be placed along these imaginary lines or intersections. In other words, keeping your subject off center creates more tension and interest that centering the subject.

The image below was taken at a monastery in Thimphu, Bhutan. The simple composition of the young monk in red, the white wall, and intense blue sky makes it one of my favorite shots.

8. Wander off the beaten path
After you’ve taken the requisite shot of the Taj Mahal or whatever, go where the locals go. Walk away from the landmarks and monuments and go find a cafe or market. Personally, I love markets all over the world. You can practice shooting close-ups of food and taking candid shots of people, and end your day by sampling the local street cuisine.

This photograph was taken in Ben Thahn market in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It’s located in a large, crowded arcade and sells everything from silk clothing to pigs’ feet.

Being a photographer also means understanding the culture and knowing what you’re shooting. Don’t forget to exercise a little etiquette, especially in temples. It makes me cringe every time I see tourists pop off their flash in holy places, even in the faces of monks or nuns. If you aspire to photojournalism, keep a low profile and you’ll get the best shots.

When shooting portraits of people, always ask permission first. People the world over are remarkable affable and enjoy having their photo taken if you’re polite about it. Of course, you could just be sneaky and use a long lens to shoot from afar. I tend to opt for the “sneak & shoot” method, as I get better candid shots like these 3 ladies in Bhutan having a chat.

9. Take lots of photos to get one good one
As I mentioned earlier, memory cards are cheap so there’s no excuse for not taking enough pictures. If you think 20 photos is enough, take 80-100 more. Sometimes, it’s all about timing, so find a good location and wait. Eventually, someone will pass by and make the picture more compositionally interesting. Arrive early and stay late. The best light will be in the morning and late afternoon, plus you’ll avoid many of the tourist crowds at the more popular places.

10. Photoshop
Photoshop is no substitute for understanding the fundamentals of photography, but in the right hands — and may I add “used judiciously” — it can really make images pop. Take a look at the following two images. The top image is straight from the camera. The tones are very gray and dull and could use a little help.

After applying a little contrast and bumping up the reds and greens, the image looks a lot better.

Tags: Photography, tips, Travel