Travel photography: Taking pictures on your travels

An important consideration is the weight of your camera and equipment.  Remember you have to carry it.  If you’re using a point and shoot camera, your choices have already been made.  If you have an SLR system, you have to think about what kind of pictures you want when deciding what lenses to bring and what filters to bring.  Regular disposable cameras can be useful, too, if you want to go on a relaxing tour without carrying all your gear.

Focus on what’s new and different from home.  Do stores look different?  Are the trees different?  The flowers?  The landscape?  If you plan to go snorkeling or scuba diving, do not forget an underwater camera – you can get disposable underwater cameras for very little money these days.  If you plan to do a lot of underwater photography, investing in a high quality camera may be worth it, but many people will only go through a single roll of film on one trip, and the disposable camera is a better value.

Remember to take pictures of your traveling partners, whether they are friends or family.  And remember to get in some pictures yourself.  If you’re in a relatively safe place, you can hand your camera to a friendly local or group of tourists for a picture of the whole group of you.  A tripod offers another option to include yourself in many of your pictures.  Pictures with people will be more memorable that just pictures of landscape and tourist attractions.

If you want to take pictures of locals, be sure to ask their permission first.  And depending on the culture, be prepared to offer a tip.  Striking up a conversation before asking for a picture will often give you a chance for more candid and comfortable poses, since your new friend will be more comfortable with you.  You can offer pens or candy to local children.

A final tip: take lots of pictures your first day.  Everything on that first day is new, and your eyes are open.  The second or third day in a new city, you stop seeing everything new.  What was once foreign becomes expected, and you no longer think it is unusual enough to warrant a photograph.  But these “everyday” images of the new city are the images that you really should take.  These are the images that will remind you most of your trip.  So take these pictures of the new and unique before they become everyday and you no longer think them worth photographing.