7 ‘Must Do’ Travel Photos for Your Next Adventure

Take Your Travel Photography to the Next Level – From Boring to Fabulous!

You’re planning a trip and can’t wait to take some pics of your travels and awesome places you go. But there is so much to photograph when you are traveling. What do you take pictures of? and how? You want to capture everything. And that’s great. But to make more compelling travel photos, ones that will not only WOW your family and friends, but help you capture every moment of your trip to remember for a lifetime, you’ll want to do more than the typical candid shots or run-of-the-mill tourist photo. Check out the following list of 7 ‘Must Do’ travel photos and take your photography to the next level, from boring to fabulous!

1st ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Tell a story with your photo.

The first of 7 ‘Must Do’ travel photos is to tell a story. Compose your image with several elements that tell a story of what the meaning of the image is and why you took it. For example, instead of just a beach & sea photo, include your flip-flops and a bottle of wine you enjoyed on the beach. This way you are telling a story of your time on the beach, capturing your memory, rather than a random pretty beach picture. Plus it makes for much more interesting photos. You don’t have to shoot only ‘selfies’ to remember ‘you were there’. See the following examples to spark some ideas.

The photo on the left suggests a relaxing afternoon café visit on a sunny day with the hat in the background. The photo on the right tells a story of not just wine, but an old city with other tourists mingling and even the name of the little restaurant on the glass. Also notice the angle of the wine glass shot. It’s taken from below to really highlight the wine but still show the environment where it was enjoyed. By including several elements within the shot, there’s more information to remember this moment on your trip.

2nd ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Include the ‘Grand Vista’ shots for an overall perspective.

The grand vista shots are the easier ones to remember. But be sure to check your lighting. Try to avoid too much sky, especially in mid-day. It can overwhelm the rest of the subject matter. If the weather is cooperative, clouds add more interest to an otherwise plain sky. However, evening and sunset shots can be different and the gorgeous colors in sunsets can make up for too much sky.

Be sure to include something interesting in the foreground for the eye to follow. It’s not as interesting to just have hills and sky…even if it’s beautiful to your naked eye. Having something else to look at in the photo will make it more pleasing.

The left photo was taken from high on a neighboring tower, giving you a bird’s eye view of the little Italian village. The right photo was taken at ground level. Notice the hay bales in the mid-ground. The photo could have been improved if there was a bale even closer to the foreground. Also notice how your eye is drawn into the center by the tree line, the hay bales and the slight orange horizon. Knowing where you want to lead your viewer is important as you craft your image.

3rd ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Include architectural elements:

When you are traveling, chances are you will be seeing lots of buildings, both historic and modern. While taking a picture of the whole building is important, shooting smaller details of the building and it’s architectural elements will make for some intriguing photos and help you to remember all the details that make the building special. This type of shot is another of the 7 ‘Must Do’ travel photos.

Arches, columns, stained glass windows, gargoyles, ironwork, cornices are all beautiful and should be included in your travel photos.

4th ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Be creative by adding repeating elements:

Another interesting subject is repeating elements. Whether a set of columns, a group of chairs, or a line of birds, finding repeating subjects can add a more creative side to your photos. Angle is important when shooting the repeating element. You want to be somewhat off center of your subject so you can see each repeating element. You don’t want the first one hiding the rest, especially if you are shooting directly center.

Sometimes it’s good to get low with the camera then tilt it up to give that low to high perspective. And other times, aiming high, looking slightly down at the repeating elements, will give a better perspective instead of being off center, as in the picture of the line of cannons. When looking through the camera, be sure to line up the shot so the elements are straight and not tilted. Although that can be fixed during the editing process. 😉

5th ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Food Shots…Make them look amazing!

I don’t know about you, but when traveling, trying new foods is one of the best highlights. (Check out our post on food in the south.)And knowing how to take great food shots will help you remember that delicious dish you raved about at the time. The keys to great food shots is focus, color, angle and proper lighting.

Shooting from a slightly lower angle and having some background slightly out of focus is more interesting than just a shot of a plate of food. If possible, include an element such as a menu or napkin that has the name of the restaurant you visited. Then you have a record of where that awesome meal was eaten.

That doesn’t mean focusing solely on your wonderful plate of food can’t also be interesting, especially if you include good lighting and color. But again, get creative. You might even need to ‘stage’ your plate and table a bit to get rid of too many elements. You don’t want the food being swallowed up by a messy table.

Left photo: an example of a closer shot at a lower angle with the coffee blurred in the background.

Middle photo: an example of a food shot that includes a menu and the cup with the name of the cafe.

Right photo: shows the main dish in the foreground with some of the rest of the meal and drinks in the background. Although, this can also be an example of a bit too much going on and the main subject, the food, is competing with the rest of the table. Take your time to set up your shot to avoid a ‘busy’ photo.

6th ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: It’s all in the Details.

Another of the 7 ‘Must Do’ travel photos is taking detail shots. Taking photos of the ‘big stuff’, the buildings, the mountains, the vistas etc. is great to give the big picture of your travels. But having detail shots will provide the photos to fill in the gaps, especially in our memory when we try to recall the trip. So be sure to get in close. Capture the intricate architecture, or the one beautiful flower, or the fun item in a store you love, but is too pricey to bring home.

In the two photos below, you can get a feel for the grandeur of the building amidst the rest of the street scene. But zooming in on the artwork on the side of the building gives more appreciation for the details and skillfulness of the artist and adds to the whole scene and how you remember it.

Here are a few more examples of details that add to remembering the whole travel experience and make for interesting photos as well. Once you start thinking about details, you will see them everywhere. So have fun and get creative and remember, it’s all in the details.

7th ‘Must Do’ Travel Photo: Don’t forget to have fun with your photos.

Travel is about the experiences and the new things we see and do. But it’s also about relaxing and having fun. So don’t get so caught up in taking the ‘perfect’ shot all the time and forget to just enjoy the moment. Be silly with a few photos. Find some humorous sign. Act a little crazy in a photo. Let your personality come out in your photos. That’s where the joy happens!

Can you see how adding some different kind of shots will take your travel photos to the next level. Remember to take photos that tell a story, show grand vistas and include architectural and repeating elements. Shoot food photos like a pro and include small details of your experiences. And don’t forget to have some fun too. There is my list of the 7 ‘must do’ travel photos. Be sure to try out some of these ideas on your next adventure. To see more examples of this kind of travel photography, check out our post on New Orleans in photos. 🙂

Were you inspired to take better photos? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or your own ideas, or even a photo where you used one of the tips. I’d love to see the ideas in action. If you are interested in photography, check out my photo site, Kathy Turpin Photo. 🙂 Till next time, keeping making your Someday, Today!

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