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How to Take Travel Photos You'll Be Proud to Show Off Back Home

You've spent days flying, driving, ferrying, boarding trains, or maybe even a combination of all of these modes of transportation to reach your destination. And now you're finally here, the place you've always dreamt about, told friends about, and bragged to your coworkers about, so of course you want to capture it in all its glory on your smartphone or your fancy digital camera . But when you do, you realize the images simply don't do it justice and you're stuck with nothing to show for your journey of a lifetime.

But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, travel photography can be not only easy, but fun. All you have to do is listen to the experts.

On a recent excursion to Havana, Cuba , we were lucky enough to spend a little time amongst some of the best in the travel photography business, including Renan Ozturk , a photographer for the likes of National Geographic and athlete with North Face; Elisabeth Brentano , a California-based photographer who spent nearly a decade in newsrooms around Los Angeles before trading it in to live on the road in search of the perfect landscape shot; and Chelsea Yamase , a Kauai-based adventurer and photographer whose photos will make you want to learn to free dive right this second.

Here's are their best travel photography tips that anyone from beginners to experts will appreciate.

Renan Ozturk: Chase the light

"My biggest travel photography tip is something really simple, which is just to shoot in the good light," Ozturk said, explaining that good light can be found during "sunset or sunrise. It also extends into the pre-sunrise and post-sunset."

To Ozturk, timing truly is everything when it comes to both taking photos and enjoying your time while adventuring around the globe.

"Stay out a little longer than most people," he said. "That will give you better photos and will help you beat the crowd for your food and your photos."

Lastly, the photographer and documentarian suggested would-be travel photographers learn how to use a few editing apps, like Lightroom Mobile . "It's really going to make a big difference," Ozturk said.

Chelsea Yamase: Snap the candid shots

"I think the best photos evoke a sense of place and let you get lost in a particular moment; vacation photos are no exception," Yamaze said. "The three rules I use: lighting, composition, and connection."

It's clear with one glimpse at Yamase's wildly popular Instagram account that she abides by these rules religiously, which helps her followers feel like they are traveling right alongside her as she free dives in Hawaii or camps under the stars at Yellowstone .

And like Ozturk, Yamase believes that getting up early truly pays off.

"In general, shoot in morning or evening light, tropical ocean scenes can sometimes look nice midday when the color of the water is the most vibrant," she said, adding that spending just a few extra moments walking around an area will help you set up the perfect snap.

"Get low or high, and take a few from each spot. A breeze, a slight change of angle or posture can make a big difference," Yamase said. "You can always go back through and delete the ones you don't like."

And beyond the technical, Yamase explained that the "connection" is the most important part of taking any photograph.

"What does it feel like to be here and how can I portray that emotion," Yamase asks herself while clicking down on her camera's shutter. "I see so many vacation photos where couples or families stand in front of a viewpoint, all pose and smile. Totally nothing wrong with those (they make great Christmas cards) but beyond showing that 'Hey we all made it here!,' there isn't much of a story."

Instead, she suggested people try to move and interact with the environment around them, which she said "will be inherently more interesting."

Yamase noted that often the best photos take real moments ("maybe your friend blissfully laying on the beach") and refine them just a touch. She suggested directing your subject to move a certain way ("perhaps asking her to lay 15 feet away where the sand is undisturbed and you can get the water just touching her toes") to help you not only capture a beautiful image, but also capture the feeling of that very moment.

"Overall, I've been in some of the most beautiful places in the world and my favorite photos are always the one I have the most connection with," Yamase said. "The candid, awkward, inspiring, excited moments you can't really plan for. So keep that camera out and don't be afraid to snap candid captures along the way."

Elisabeth Brentano: Talk to locals

"If you want to come home with a truly memorable photo, treat it like a piece of art and take your time," Brentano said.

Like Yamase, Brentano said it's crucial you take a few minutes to walk around an area to find the perfect composition. "Don't be afraid to come back again and try for better light, if you have that option," she said.

Brentano explained that when you're not rushed, you have time to think and try new things with your photography. "You can still shoot the same spots as everyone else, but try to put your own creative spin on it, whether you're shooting or editing."

Brentano added that searching for a unique foreground element, like flowers or rocks, will add impressive depth to your photo. Moreover, she said, don't be afraid to do a bit of research or ask around with the locals about amazing sunrise and sunset spots. "Your efforts will almost always be rewarded," she said.

And if you want a photo of yourself but there is no one around to help, be sure to master the art of the tripod selfie. "You can easily set a 10-second timer on most cameras, and don't be afraid to give it a few tries — I'm certainly not a one-take wonder."

For more advice on taking the perfect vacation snapshot check out our guide to photographing sunsets here.

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

How to Take Professional Travel Photos

Travel photography is not something I’ve very good at. I take all my pictures on an iPhone, and if they aren’t used on the blog, they mostly just sit on my hard drive. I’ve never taken the time to really improve my skills. Like learning a language, improving your photography takes time.

Luckily, just like learning a language, anyone can do it!

Travel photographs are memories. You look at a picture, and it conjures up thoughts, feelings, and smells that take you back to a long-forgotten place. I think it’s important we all spend a little time improving our photography.

Today, professional photographer Laurence Norah of Finding the Universe begins a five-part series on how to take better travel photos and become a better photographer in general. He’s going to share his top tips to help you improve your skills and take awesome photos.

Enter Laurence…

In 2009, I gave up my job in IT and set off to travel the world. My first destination was Australia , a stunning country where I desperately wanted to capture my adventures. I’d been taking photos since I was 13, but it was only on this trip that I started to focus on learning the art of photography and realized that this was something I could be truly passionate about.

I quickly learned the reality that photography is a skill that takes time, effort, and practice to master.

It’s also not a question of gear — great travel photography is very much about the photographer.

In this post, I’ll give you the eight simple travel photography tips you need to take better pictures right away. If you follow these rules, you won’t go wrong!

Table of Contents

• Composition
• The Rule of Thirds
• Leading Lines
• Foreground, Midground, and Background
• Focal Points
• Use of Color
• Storytelling

1. Composition: Taking Pictures People REALLY Want

Patterns — the human brain is a sucker for them. We’re always looking for patterns, be they shapes in the clouds, symmetry in buildings, or colors that compliment each other. There’s just something about a pattern that our brains love.

Understanding these patterns and what pleases the human brain is a nifty shortcut to taking better photos. And that’s what composition in photography is all about. Learn and apply the rules below, and you’ll start taking more photos that people will enjoy.

Before launching into them, though, some important basics. First, ensure that your camera is level. You don’t want wonky horizons. Your brain generally doesn’t like them; they’re the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

Next — stop moving. You want to be as still as possible when shooting to avoid blurry images. Hold your camera with both hands and be steady, or use a tripod.  

2. The Rule of Thirds

One of the most important rules of composition is known as the rule of thirds.

I learned recently that this is based on how babies learn to identify their mothers’ faces, which can be split up into three parts: the eyes, nose, and mouth.

The rule of thirds requires you to break an image into three equal parts either vertically, horizontally, or both. The goal is to place key compositional elements into those thirds.

On your device, find the setting to enable a grid over the preview screen. Four lines will appear, two vertical and two horizontal.

Take a look at my shot above of a surreal sculpture park deep in the Australian outback , over which I have overlaid a grid to demonstrate the horizontal and vertical thirds.

With the grid, you can see how I have composed the image: one-third land and two-thirds sky, while the plane on the left is on the left-hand grid line, close to the intersection of two lines.

Placing subjects on the intersecting points will naturally draw the viewer’s eye to them, as these points are usually where we focus first in an image, and doing so is a great starting point for a good composition.

Another of my favorite subjects to shoot is a sunset. I love how they are always different and how wonderful the light is at that time of day.

To get a great sunset shot, you can easily apply the rule of thirds — composing the shot with two-thirds sky, and one-third land or sea. You want to avoid splitting the image half and half, as it won’t look as good. The shot below of a sunset in Santa Cruz illustrates this and also has an interesting subject in the left third of the image.

3. Leading Lines

When composing a photograph, you want to make it as easy as possible for the person looking at it to figure out the subject and focus of the image.

One way to do this is with leading lines — the use of natural geography or other features that the viewer will naturally look at first and that will lead their eyes to the main subject.

Roads are excellent as leading lines, particularly in big landscape shots. When I was traveling in New Zealand , I wanted to create a photographic story of the hike up Mount Taranaki, one of my favorite New Zealand hikes . Near the start, the walking trail itself gave me a perfect leading line to illustrate the journey ahead, drawing the viewer’s eye into the frame and up to the mountain.

Another good illustration of a leading line is this shot of me walking on railway tracks in Italy. (Obviously, it’s only advisable on either disused or somewhat infrequently used tracks!)

The goal for this image was a self-portrait that evoked my life of travel. The parallel tracks, which appear to converge, were perfect for leading the viewer’s eye to the subject — me. I felt I captured the image of wanderlust that I was looking for by using them.  

4. Foreground, Midground, and Background

Have you ever taken a picture of a mountain or city skyline and then looked at it later and wondered why it doesn’t manage to convey the majesty of what you were looking at?

This is likely because your photograph is a two-dimensional image, and you have lost the sense of scale that is apparent when you are present and in the moment.

When composing a shot — and this is particularly true for landscape photography — think about the different elements in the foreground, midground, and background of the shot.

For example, here’s an example of a sunset in Glencoe, Scotland , easily the most stunning place I’ve photographed in 2015.

I used the rock in this frozen lake to provide something interesting in the foreground, helping to provide scale and balance to the overall image. The viewer’s eye is drawn to the rock, and then likely to the mountain and sunset, before heading into the distance of the valley.

When you are out and about in the world, think about everything around you. If you see a far-off mountain you want to shoot, look around and see if you can find something interesting in the foreground or midground to incorporate into the shot. If you’re near a river, maybe that could be a canoe. Elsewhere it could be a house. Or a group of sheep. Or a car starting to scale a winding road.

If you’re shooting a city scene, look at what is happening all around you. Street vendors, different modes of transport, and signs and storefronts can all be incorporated as foreground to provide context and scale for your city skyline or that interestingly shaped building.

If you can’t find something, be creative. Find someone to stand in your shot to provide that scale. If you’re traveling with a tripod, do what I did in that railway shot and use yourself as the subject.

Thinking beyond the big background parts of the image and focusing on the smaller elements will help you create more balanced, pleasing images.

Just remember not to confuse your viewer too much with too many compositional elements, and keep it clear what the photo is of.

Here’s another shot from Glencoe. Here the house provides that midground scale, while the river works both as an interesting foreground subject and as a leading line to draw you into the photograph.  

This compositional technique isn’t about hanging a picture in a frame; it’s about using what’s around you to “frame” the subject you are trying to capture, illustrating to the viewer what the shot is of and drawing their eyes into the scene.

In this shot of the bridge into the medieval town of Besalú in Spain , I used the old bridge and its reflection as a natural frame for the newer bridge.

When you have found your subject, look around to see if there’s a way you can frame it creatively. Some good options for framing include vegetation, like tree branches and trees, as well as doors and windows.

Take a look at this shot of a temple in Ayutthaya, Thailand , to see what I mean. I wanted to capture the beauty of this temple scene while drawing the viewer into the wat in the center.

The frame in this case is much larger than the subject, but it is never unclear what the shot is of. This is a really easy photography technique, but it might require you to scout around, or step back from your subject, to find a good way to frame it. Don’t be afraid to stand further away and use the zoom on your lens to get the frame you want.

As another example, using trees to frame a waterfall, here’s a shot of Lower Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park.

I felt that the trees added much more to the shot with the waterfall between them. There was a pleasing symmetry to the shot, given the two parallel trees.

There are many more options for framing. Experiment and see what works!  

6. Focal Points

One way to be sure that people look at the part of the image you want them to look at is to have only that part sharp and in focus and the rest blurry.

This is particularly effective for isolating people or animals in shots — take a look at wedding or sports photos of people, and you’ll see how often the subject of the shot is the only thing in focus.

I love shooting events with friends and family, and I find that this technique works really well at isolating the subject from a crowd and making it obvious who the photo is of.

To start with, you can achieve this effect with the “portrait” or “people” mode on your camera.  

7. Use of Color

Color is really important in photography, particularly how different colors work well together. For example, blue works well with yellow (sunflowers in a field), and red works well with green (Christmas!).

To figure out which colors work well together, take a look at this color wheel .

Generally, colors opposite each other on the wheel will complement each other. These colors don’t need to be evenly balanced in a shot — often images work best with a small percentage of one and a greater percentage of another.

Take a look at the shot above, from the gorgeous Nyhavn Harbor in Copenhagen . You can see all sorts of colors, but in particular, the blue of the sky and water is the predominant color, with the houses’ reds and yellows (yellow is opposite blue on the color wheel) offering a counterpoint.

When you are on your travels, keep an eye out for contrasting and complementary colors that you can incorporate into your shots. Spice markets, old European cities , rural meadows, and old colorful barns in green fields are a great place to start.  

8. Storytelling

Remember that when you are taking a picture, you have all the background and surrounding knowledge of your trip in your mind. When you look at the image later, all of that will come back to you.

No one else has that advantage. To them, that shot of a waterfall is just that — a shot of a waterfall. The story of the five-hour hike there through a leech-infested jungle? Lost. The feeling of how refreshing it was on your skin when you took the plunge to cool off? Also gone. It’s just a two-dimensional image on a screen, likely quickly flicked by to be replaced by the next image in the stream.

It’s your job to bring all that lost context to life.

We’re often told that a photograph is worth a thousand words. As a photographer, it’s your job to convey those words. Figure out how to tell that story with your image. Get the shots that pull your viewers into your stories. Use emotion, find and freeze moments, and incorporate the human element so your shots resonate with your viewers.

Take this monkey in Rio de Janeiro . These guys were being really cheeky with tourists, trying to get food from them and generally playing around as much as possible. I wanted to try and capture some of that, and I managed to get this monkey sticking its tongue out at me.

I’d advise spending time thinking about the shot you are trying to create, the moment you are trying to capture, and the story you are trying to tell your viewer. Put yourself into their shoes, imagine you are going to be looking at the shot with no other context, and try to build the shot from there.

This is probably one of the harder parts of photography, and — like the shot of the monkeys above — will likely require some time, patience, and luck. You will make errors. But with research and practice, you will be able to master it!

Practice makes perfect – and travel photography is no different in this regard! The more photos you take, the more you will learn how to compose and capture great shots. While reading some travel photography tips will definitely help, the key is to actually go out in the world and practice them. The more you practice, the faster this will all become second nature. It won’t happen overnight, but over time your skills will improve — I promise!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start taking some photos!

Laurence started his journey in June 2009 after quitting the corporate life and looking for a change of scenery. His blog,  Finding the Universe , catalogs his experiences and is a wonderful resource for photography advice! You can also find him on  Facebook ,  Instagram , and Twitter .  

Travel Photography: Continue the Series

For more helpful travel photography tips, be sure to check out the rest of Laurence’s series:

• Part 1 – How to Take Professional Travel Photos
• Part 2 – How to Shoot the Perfect Travel Photograph
• Part 3 – The Best Camera Gear to Get
• Part 4 – How to Take the Perfect Photo: Advanced Techniques
• Part 5 – 7 Editing Tips to Improve Your Travel Photographs

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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21 TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS (Easy Ways to Improve Today)

• Last Updated: February 8, 2024

Here are our best travel photography tips for beginners and intermediates, based on our experience of going from complete beginners to professional travel photographers, and now working in the industry for 8 years.

Picture this.

You finally book a trip to your ultimate bucket list destination.

Antarctica, Iceland, Namibia, Bali, seeing the Aurora Borealis – wherever it is, you’ve waited your whole life to finally visit.

Naturally you are going to want to capture the best travel photos possible of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure to share with your portrfriends and family members, on social media, and maybe even print on the wall at home.

Moments in time or a travel experience that you always want to cherish.

So you’ve splashed out on a new camera based on expert recommendations , and you’re keen to hit the road.

But here’s the problem – you don’t have the faintest idea how to get the same kinds of images you see in postcards or on the internet.

The kinds of travel photos that just pop, stand out from the rest, inspire you to book a flight immediately.

Luckily that’s where we come in.

We’ve been fortunate enough to work as professional travel photographers for almost a decade now, being paid to fly around the world, running photography workshops, take pictures for the tourism industry and tell stories.

And now we want to share our knowledge, secrets and insights from our travel photography journey with you so you can take better travel photos.

In this post you’ll find many of our favourite travel photography tips you need to know to come home with shots you will be proud to show off.

Today is the time to learn. Let’s begin.

Table of Contents

1) Know Your Camera

2) focus on the golden and blue hours, 3) plan your shots, 4) learn about composition, 5) framing, framing and more framing, 6) move your feet, make them feel comfortable, 8) use a tripod, 9) find the right travel photography gear, 10) be unique, 11) find your voice as a photographer, 13) aperture, 15) shutter speed, 17) bonus – general ideas for camera equipment settings, 18) use manual mode, 19) shoot in raw (if available), 20) learn about post processing, save this pin for later, general travel photography tips for beginners.

To start with let me talk about the general travel photography tips that I feel are not only the most important, but also the most difficult to master.

Developing an eye for photography takes time. Years in fact. It’s a never-ending learning process, but I promise you with practice you will get much better.

And once you start to get the skills for framing and composing a shot, the rest is easy.

Whether you shoot on a dSLR, mirrorless, smartphone or an old film unit, the first travel photography tip is to get to know your camera equipment.

Whatever you have in your camera bag , take the time to read the instructions, play around with all the buttons and camera settings, and spend hours with it in your hand so that it becomes a part of you.

Study the menu so that if you need to change camera settings in the field you’re not spending minutes scrolling through it when timing is critical.

Also don’t forget to learn your camera’s limitations.

Does it perform well in low-light or does the image fall apart? Is it sharp wide open, or do you need to stop down to get the best clarity? Does it have inbuilt image stabilisation?

Ultimately when you pick up your camera you want to feel comfortable and know exactly how it works. Then getting better pictures will come faster and easier.

Light is everything when it comes to travel photography images, and there’s a good chance you’ve already heard about the golden and blue hours.

The Golden Hour is that time when the sun is low in the sky and it throws a magical, warm glow across the scene.

Think the first hour after the sun peaks in the morning, and the last hour or two before the sun drops over the horizon in the afternoon.

The Blue Hour is when the sun is below the horizon and the sky gives off a beautiful blue hue.

If you really want better travel photos, one of the best travel photography tips we can give is to get used to waking up early and stay out late to make the most of these two times of day.

If you’re not a morning person, get used to setting an alarm. Many of the great travel photos of the Taj Mahal and other tourist sites with no one in them for example were taken by people who got there early.

Taking photos in the middle of the day can still result in great shots, but in general you’ll find the blue sky too blown out unless there are some interesting clouds, and on a sunny day you’ll find the lighting conditions can be a bit harsh.

Instead use the middle of the day to get street photography, or scout out photo locations and a vantage point for your sunrise and sunset photos to come back later.

Bonus Tip – Even if it looks like the sunrise or sunset might not be so beautiful, wait around. You never know when the clouds might break or the sky randomly lights up in brilliant colours.

Before you arrive in your tourist destinations, spend a few hours planning out your shot list of images you want to photograph.

You can get inspiration from Instagram, Google Maps, travel guides, magazines and more.

Make a note of these pictures, and then plan your day around the optimum time to shoot (sunrise or sunset for example).

Doing this will help you nail the shots you want to go, and give you more purpose and direction.

You need to know that all of the best photographers use tools like Google Maps or social media to form a shot list, and you should get used to it too.

You’ve probably heard about how important it is to compose a shot properly, and I bet if you’ve ever read a photography manual you would have come across the ‘ rule of thirds ‘.

Good composition can be the difference between an average shot and award-winning travel photos.

There’s all kinds of ‘rules’ that theoretically make a photo look nicer, such as not putting your subject in the middle of the shot, don’t cut elements out of the frame, etc.

But right now let’s go a bit into the Rule of Thirds.

This concept is where you divide your image into 9 even squares (many cameras actually have this grid line feature built into their display options).

Then what you do is you place the subjects and points of interest such as a human element along those lines and squares.

Here’s an example of how this looks:

The idea of the rule of thirds is that this is a mathematical idea of what our eyes naturally find pleasing. So it’s good practice to incorporate this method into your shots.

Another thing to look for is leading lines that naturally draw your eye around the photo, as well as different angles and shapes.

Have a river flowing from the side of the shot up to a waterfall on the top left for example, or the foreground bending around, leading the eye towards a church at the top of the photo.

This is a skill that you’ll learn with more practice.

An important thing to remember is that rules are meant to be broken .

Get used to analysing your shots with the rule of thirds, but please don’t use it as gospel if you think a different composition would work.

Adding a human element also brings a lot of interest to a good shot, so place people in your frame.

When you look through the viewfinder or LCD screen, don’t just focus on the subject.

Make sure you run your eyes around the entire frame to make sure you’re not accidentally cutting off something important.

Double-check that the top of a mountain is fully inside the frame, or that your friend’s whole body is in the shot as an example.

This isn’t gospel, because sometimes having something cut off from the frame can be good for composition, but you’ll have to be the judge of that.

Also check to see if you can use something natural in the scene to create a frame inside your picture.

Think of looking out a window at a building, or a bent-over tree surrounding a pretty lake.

These can all help make better travel photos.

This is one of the most important travel photography tips I can give – Move your feet.

Don’t just arrive to a scene and take a shot from the place you’re standing.

Instead take a few minutes to walk around and see if there is a better frame or composition.

Go closer, move back, step to the side, consider your lens’ focal length, etc.

Imagine trying to take that iconic Taj Mahal photo, only to find out later that you were 2m to the left of centre, throwing off that perfect symmetry.

Or maybe if you walk to the river’s edge you’ll be able to incorporate some interesting rocks into the scene instead of just water.

Better yet, take multiple travel photos and fill up those memory cards from the same photo locations so you have lots of options when you get home to see which is your favourite.

7) Ask People for Permission

Travel photography isn’t all about capturing the most beautiful sunsets and gorgeous architecture around the world.

Travel photography is also about the people you meet. But if you’re a bit shy like me, how do you get those amazing portrait photos without feeling rude?

Simple – just ask for permission.

Asking someone for permission to take their photo is polite and respectful.

If you have had a great encounter with someone, or you just see a great opportunity and want to capture a wonderful portrait, give them a big smile and ask if it’s ok to take their photo.

You’ll find many people are more than happy to pose for a photo if you just ask (just make sure you respect them if they say no).

But what if you want to get a candid shot, with the subject looking natural?

There’s always another way to get these without annoying the person.

Don’t make it obvious that you are taking their photo. Act natural and take lots of photos of the environment around them.

You can also keep your camera down by your side and point the lens in their direction.

If you have a zoom lens, use it. This was you can be on the other side of the street or market and still photograph the person.

Interested in learning more? Join one of our exclusive photography workshops in Antarctica, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or Mongolia !

Another one of my favourite travel photography tips for portraits is to bring in another element to the shot.

Some people will feel uncomfortable posing for a stranger, but if you can make it about something else they will feel much more at ease.

As an example, maybe ask if they can pose with something in their store like a rug, or ask them to show you their wedding ring.

This way they’ll realise there is more to your photo than just them. This will also add a lot more interesting elements to the shot!

A tripod is one of the best camera accessories you can have in your camera bag, and really essential for travel photography.

This will allow you to get excellent shots in low light, as well as get creative with your images (like taking long exposures).

These days you don’t always need a massive tripod to travel around with, especially if you want to travel light and are a hobbyist photographer. Look at some of the Joby Gorillapods .

Another good thing about using a tripod is that it will force you to slow down with your photography and put more thought into each shot.

Rather than just pointing and shooting, you will think carefully about where you want to set up your tripod and how you want to compose your shot.

Honestly if you want to become a better travel photographer, you’ll need to invest in at least a small tripod.

You don’t need to go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars on new travel photography gear to get the best shots.

In fact chances are you already have a perfectly adequate camera right next to you (your phone).

Instead just get what you an afford, and as you grow with your photography style, post production, etc, you’ll learn what camera gear you need as well.

Things like filters, tripods, flashes, prime lenses, zoom lenses, etc will come in time.

For now, all you really need is a camera, memory card and enthusiasm!

Check out our recommendations for the best travel tripods .

There’s nothing wrong with getting those iconic shots of the Eiffel Tower or Machu Picchu to share on social media.

They’re beautiful and are often amazing camera angles of famous places that everyone wants to visit.

But don’t forget to be unique as well! Find a different perspective that hasn’t been photographed a million times.

In fact make it your goal to get a few unique shots that you can be proud of.

Over-expose, under-expose, incorporate motion blue – the only limitation is your imagination!

Just like a writer or musician finds a particular style they like, as a photographer you need to discover your ‘voice’.

Travel photography is such a broad term that can cover just about anything.

Really just taking any travel photos will fit the description, whether it is landscape photography, wildlife photography, architecture, portraits, food or whatever.

Just find a style you love most, and focus on getting better at it.

If you really like black and white photography, then start shooting in black and white! Love taking images of crazy street markets? Then get out there and find them!

Experiment, learn, discover and nurture!

Technical Travel Photography Tips

While the technical side of using a camera is usually the most overwhelming thing for a new photographer to think about, it’s actually one of the easiest things to master. All it takes is a bit of study and practice.

If you’ve never looked into getting out of ‘Auto mode’ on your camera, then terms like ISO, aperture, white balance and shutter speed will seem completely foreign.

READ MORE: Check out our great article and blog posts featuring our best landscape photography tips !

12) Exposure Triangle of Photography

The Exposure Triangle is a metaphor to explain the 3 elements that allow light onto a sensor.

A camera captures light, and the right amount is needed so that your image isn’t too bright or too dark.

The 3 parts of the Exposure Triangle are aperture, ISO and shutter.

Each one affects how light reaches the sensor in different ways, and getting this combination right is essential to capturing a beautiful image.

If you want more information, I’ve put together this comprehensive guide to understanding the exposure triangle which you should really check out.

For now though I’ll explain these three things briefly, and how they relate to taking better travel photographs.

Aperture is how wide, or small, the blades in your lens are and how much light goes through the lens.

The aperture size is measured in ‘F Stops’, and displayed as numbers. f5.6, f8, f11, f16, etc

A wide aperture (small number – f1.8) lets in more light than a low aperture (big number – f22).

A wide aperture also has a shallowed depth of field than a low aperture. I know it can be a little confusing, but you’ll pick it up the more you play around with it.

If you want the background blurry in your photo, you’ll want a wide aperture. If you want everything in focus, you’ll want a low aperture.

ISO is how sensitive your camera sensor is to light. A small number, such as 100, means it’s not very sensitive and therefore needs more light to leave an impression.

A high number, like 6400, means it’s very sensitive and needs only a little bit of light to show up on the sensor.

The higher the ISO, the more noise shows up in a photo. Noise lowers the quality of your image, so in a perfect world you’ll want to keep this as low as possible (unless you’re going to stay out late doing astro and night photography ).

It’s also necessary to raise your ISO if you’re shooting moving subjects (or handheld) indoors.

Shutter speed is pretty straight forward – how long it takes for your shutter to open and close. This allows you to freeze a frame, or introduce motion blur.

Want to capture a bird in flight? You’ll want to have a fast shutter (1/4000th of a second for example).

Want to make a waterfall look silky smooth, like you see in so much Iceland photography? Go for slow shutter speeds (3 seconds for example), and check out our guide to waterfall photography tips while you’re at it!

Keep in mind that if you are holding your camera equipment rather than using a tripod, you’ll need to have a fast enough shutter to eliminate your own hand movement.

As a general rule 1/60 of a second is the slowest you should go so your picture doesn’t pick up hand movement. Any slower than that and you’ll probably need a tripod.

16) Combining All Three for Perfect Exposure

There is no ‘perfect setting’ for aperture, ISO and shutter. It all depends on what you are trying to photograph and the style you’re going for.

Luckily most decent digital cameras have two little tools that will let you play around figure out how all three work together – manual mode and histograms.

Manual gives you complete control over your camera’s ISO, aperture and shutter.

If you change one, nothing else will change, unlike in ‘aperture priority’ mode or ‘shutter priority’ mode.

The histogram is a visual display of light. When the bars are all the way to the left, the image is darker. When they are all the way to the right, the image is lighter.

When most of the bars are in the centre, this is perfectly exposed.

The best way to figure out what combinations work best when you’re a complete amateur is to put your camera on “manual” mode, activate the histogram, and play around with the settings.

Pick an aperture (f/8 for example) and point it at the scene. Now look at the histogram.

If the image is too dark, then you’ll need to let more light in. Let’s make the speed slower. See a change?

Now put the shutter back to where it was and instead change the ISO. Make the ISO higher. Is the image getting lighter?

Spend an hour or two playing around with different apertures, ISO and shutter so you get an idea of how each one affects the light hitting the display.

Take note at how drastically things can change if a cloud goes in front of the sun, or you take the camera inside.

This just comes with practice of course, and knowing what settings you want for a particular scene will become second nature

Keep in mind that not all travel photos needs to be perfectly exposed. Sometimes having a darker image looks much better than having one that is nice and bright. You can use your judgement for this.

This is very, very basic and by no means should be read as gospel. There are a million different things that can affect why you would want a faster shutter, or wider aperture. But if you are confused about what to pick for what here’s a quick idea.

• Landscapes – You’ll want your aperture around f8-f11. You’ll also want your ISO as low as possible. Slow down the shutter accordingly.
• Portraits – You’ll probably want to photograph your subject to be sharp, but the background blurry to bring focus on the person. Have a wider aperture (say f2.8 for example), and a faster shutter (around 1/160 at the absolute slowest) to freeze the subject. Adjust ISO accordingly.
• Indoors – Because it is darker inside than outside, you’ll need to let a lot more light into the sensor. Unless you’re using a tripod, keep the speed at around 1/60 as the slowest, and the aperture around f5.6 to start with. Adjust ISO and aperture accordingly.

Of course there’s a bunch of other styles of travel photography that would use different settings, such as astrophotography, architecture, street scenes photography, wildlife photography, etc.

In time you’ll learn what settings work best for each scene.

The best way to get to know your camera and how light works is to have complete control over what settings you choose.

The only way to do this is to shoot in manual mode (shown by the letter M on most cameras).

It will take months of practice, but I promise you that in time you’ll be able to look at a scene and instantly know what aperture, ISO and shutter to use to get the exact style of image you’re looking for.

You can also use aperture priority mode (the letter A on your camera) if you don’t want to make the big leap to manual just yet.

This way you can lock in the aperture you want (f8 for landscape photography, f2.8 for portraits, etc) and the camera will automatically adjust the ISO (although you can control this part too) and shutter to get perfect exposure.

I highly recommend focusing on learning manual settings though until you have it perfected.

When you take a photo on your digital camera, the computer chip inside it takes what you captured on the sensor and converts it into a format that can be easily read. For most cameras, these two formats are RAW and JPEG.

JPEG is a compressed format that the camera creates to save on space. In doing so it ‘locks in’ all the data that it picked up such as the colour and white balance.

RAW files actually saves all the data of what you took and doesn’t compress it.

Most decent digital cameras will give you the menu option of shooting in RAW, and I recommend you use it if you ever plan on editing your photos.

Keep in mind that the file sizes will be a lot bigger (for example on one of our cameras a RAW is 42, while a JPEG is just 20), so you’ll need to have extra memory cards and external hard drive storage.

If you have no plans on editing your photos then shoot in JPEG.

Some people think that editing your photo is ‘cheating’. But the truth is photographers have been editing their photos ever since photography was invented.

Yes, even your favourite photos in National Geographic have been manipulated in some way.

99% of photos you see in your favourite travel magazines have been edited. Every professional photographer edits their photos to some degree.

The reason is that not all cameras are great at capturing exactly what the eye saw in terms of colour and light.

If you really want to get the most out of your professional travel photography business, you should start playing around with post processing.

Many people have heard of Adobe Photoshop , but it’s a pretty advanced tool that most people wouldn’t ever need to use (until you get more experience).

To start with look at the free apps that you can get on your phone, such as Snapseed, or free editing programs on your computer, like iPhoto or GIMP.

Once you get serious about travel photography and you want to start editing all of your photos that are filling up your memory cards and external hard drive, we recommend purchasing Adobe Lightroom.

If you’re ready to make the jump to using Lightroom and Photoshop, Adobe have a great ‘Creative Cloud’ package, which is what we use for only $10 a month. You can buy it here with a 7-day free trial

21) Practice, Practice, Practice

Just like anything, becoming a great travel photographer takes time, and a lot of practice. The only way you can get better is by getting out there taking travel photos!

You don’t even have to travel the world to tourist destinations or have the most travel camera available to be a great photographer.

Borrow some family members to take their portraits, get a friend who is also interested in photography and push each other, or grab your smartphone and go shoot sunset.

Buy whatever you can afford, go for a walk around your city and snap away.

We hope that this general guide on travel photography tips for beginners has been helpful.

Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other questions. We have a lot of experience working with tourism boards, and would be happy to help you too.

Good luck on your photographic journey, and maybe we’ll see you in National Geographic one day!

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means if you book accommodation, tours or buy a product, we will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These commissions help us keep creating more free travel content to help people plan their holidays and adventures. We only recommend the best accommodations, tours and products that ourselves or our fantastic editorial team have personally experienced, and regularly review these. Thanks for your support, kind friend!

Alesha and Jarryd

Hi, We’re Alesha and Jarryd!

We’ve been traveling the world together since 2008, searching for the planet’s best destinations and adventures.

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40 incredible photos of uzbekistan that will blow your mind, 15 epic landscape photography tips from a pro (plus settings to use), 10 best camera backpacks for travel [2024 guide], 73 thoughts on “21 travel photography tips (easy ways to improve today)”.

I indeed agree in Know your camera and Plan your shots. These tips would make a good start in achieving your socmed worthy travel shots. And ofcourse, the other tips will surely be useful too. Great post!

Good article but I need to say something about using Manual – it’s not that great. Manual is just a different mode of settings for exposure, little different from either shutter or aperture priority, except these two give you a leg up, to where you’re going anyway. At the end of the day whatever exposure setting you choose will be just a combination of the 3 on the ‘exposure triangle’. Instead of using manual try these other two in conjunction with exposure compensation, which overrides the exposure meter reading. You still need the meter for any exposure anyway, just not necessarily using the value it recommends. It amounts to the same thing, only easier, quicker, and still constraining one of the triangle sides that you want. I use manual for specific unusual objects, such as sun, moon, stars, but during general daytime subjects it’ll be very unusual to hamper yourself by not using the aid provided when there is no advantage.

Your blog has become my go-to source for insightful content.

Thank you so much. So glad to hear. 🙂

Before you go, research your destination and its culture. This will help you better understand the people, customs, and landscapes you’ll be photographing.

I benefited a lot from your post. Thank you

So glad you did. Thank you for stopping by. 🙂

Thanks for sharing all this amazing tips & information. Fabulous post !

You are welcome. We are happy to help. Happy photographing

nice summary of basic photo tips that will improve my shots, thanx!

You are rocking..keep it up your work

Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

Great article with great tips and i also like the pictures

Thank you so much Alesha and Jarryd for these amazing photography tips! I look forward to putting into practice some of your wonderful ideas and tips! I do so appreciate any tips that I can get to improve my photography. :)) Cheers, Marilyn

I absolutely loved this article! Like you I received my first ‘proper’ camera at 14 and since then have been hooked. I recently purchased a Nikon D750 and am absolutely loving it. Although at the moment I only have two lenses for it I am hoping to be able to afford more soon. What are your favourite lenses?

In my photography I love capturing candid portraits of people I encounter during my travels. I always struggle with the dilemma of getting the perfect candid shot and feeling compelled to ask permission before taking the shot. As a very shy person directing people in images is daunting, but it is something I am striving to work on. It’s nice to read that you are also shy yet manage to capture such incredible images of people.

As I am mostly self-taught, I always love to read technical tips to improve my images. I found the technical side of your post incredibly helpful and wanted to say thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed post. I believe it really helps and inspires amateur photographers like myself.

Glad you liked the article. Thank you for your comment. Keep photographying Caitlyn 🙂

Great tips and awesome photos! I always tell people if they aren’t comfortable with their settings, the #1 way to make sure their images aren’t blurry is to shoot in TV/S (shutter) priority. That way you can prioritize having no hand shake.

Thank you so much. Great advice. Thanks for your comment. 🙂

Awesome tips for everyone and specially to me who loves capturing photos everytime i travel.This one also help me and give me more knowledge on how to make awesome photos and its good because you don’t need to buy expensive camera to have a good quality photos, just your iPhone or smartphone you can make a great photos.

Hi, you are so right. You can take great photos with your phone. Glad the article could help you.

Great article! Do you even bother carrying your camera with you during the day in broad sunlight? I find it’s not worth the hassle for such poor shooting conditions.

Hi Scott, It all depends what we are doing. If we are on a job, we always carry our cameras with us. The midday sun is harsh but you get used to working with it. Especially indoors with the sun coming through the cracks, it can work out really lovely sometimes. When we are travelling on our own time, we don’t usually carry the camera. Happy travels

I really enjoyed reading this post, as I am a beginner in photography as well and it’s always interesting to see what gear other people are using!

I have the Canon Rebel as well, and also love the 50mm lens. It’s just great and is so versatile!

Thanks for sharing.

Glad we could help. Thank you for your comment. Happy photographing,

Great tips guys! Photography is an art so it must be learned properly. A good guide can teach art in a great way. This article is similar to a guide because it is an eye-opener for blooming photographers and travel lovers.

Thank you so much!

Thank you for your comment Glorias. Glad the article could help.

Hello Alesha and Jarryd, not sure to whom I adresse the message to, but I’m guessing Jarryd took the pictures and Alesha wrote about it :p

Anyway, do you guys use any customized Firmware on your DSLR? like the CHDK or Magic Lantern. That’s one question, the other one will be: can’t find any Mobile Phone photography on your blog? can you please refer me to any article that provide valuable info around Mobile phone photography?

Hi Ayoub, The photos and words in the article are a combination of both of us. Usually Alesha is the photographer and Jarryd is the writer.

We use use no customise firmware at all. We haven’t ventured this way as it voids our warranty.

As for phone photography, maybe this is an article we should write. With our phone photos, we do use Snapseed to edit them. But do not take any photos through any apps. All the best

Thank you for the tip regarding phone photography, I mostly use the customized firmware to do timelaps and edit directly on the camera, keep me posted after publishing the new article. (Already subscribed to the weekly newsletter)

Definitely will do. Thank you so much. Happy photographing. 🙂

you are doing a great job

Thank you so much. 🙂

This was really an amazing list of tips, I am a hobbyist photographer and this would really helps me a lot

Glad we could help. Keep up the photographing. 🙂

Great tips Alesha and Jarred. I really liked your golden and blue hours tip. Will try it soon and hope get amazing pics 🙂

Glad we could help. Practise will get you on the right track and before you know it you will be taking amazing shots. We are still learning about photography everyday. We love that you can never stop learning. Thanks Linda.

Some of the best tips I have read so far. Amazing post and captures so much detail. Worth the read for every travel photographer. 🙂 Keep it up.

Thank you so much,. We really appreciate it. 🙂

Priceless tips for amateurs like me. Thanks for sharing. For a long while, I’ve tried to follow the rule of thirds, but the best shots came out when I finally dared to break it. You’re absolutely right about the rules are meant to be broken. Regarding the camera, I agree it doesn’t have to be the most expensive. But sometimes I have a feeling my shots would have been better had I owned a proper camera. What device is the best balance between price and quality?

HI Robin, you’re welcome. We are so happy we could help. Sometimes breaking the rules works out to be better. 🙂 We definitely know what you mean. You do not need to buy the most experience camera. A camera that you can use manual settings, is great as you can start using and playing with aperture, shutter speed and ISO. We started off with a Sony RX100ii and it was great. Compact and a great camera to learn. Here is some articles that may help. https://www.nomadasaurus.com/best-camera-for-travel-ultimate-photography-series/ https://www.nomadasaurus.com/best-camera-accessories-ultimate-photography-series/

Thanks a lot for the great advise! I especially like your explanations about the exposure triangle. I was a bit aware of it before, but never played around with it unless I wanted to change the depth of field (and even then, I did this very rarely). But thanks to focusing more on it, I am starting to get the hang of it. I have taken some very good hummingbird pictures, for example, which never would have been possible if I hadn’t raised the ISO so I can keep the shutter speed fast. Those birds zip around like crazy!

Also, I think one of the most important pieces of advise, and the one I’m struggling with most, is to always look at the whole frame. I am guilty of looking at the main subject and later finding out that I cut off important things on the side or that something weird is in the photo that shouldn’t have been there.

Hi Ilona, so happy the article could help you. That’s amazing you experiment with your hummingbird shots. They are fast birds. By practising photography, you will get better and better. No matter how experienced you are, there are always things to learn. When you come to a scene you want to photograph, stop for a minute look around, walk around and think about what shots you want to take. Obviously this is hard when the subject is moving but great for landscape and street photography. All the best and keep up the awesome work. 🙂

Hi, I took around 500 shots on a trip to Kyrgyzstan recently, some I think are pretty good, but now after reading your tips, I think I will make another trip to that part of the world again soon!

what a great tips especially the lighting part – i also agree that getting up earlier and shooting in the natural sunlight is so great for your photos. talking to the locals and knowing your camera, You guys covered it all

Thank you so much for reading Shama. Glad you liked our article. Natural lighting is the best. Even though sometimes that early morning is hard it is worth it. 🙂

u are absolutely right u don’t need an expensive camera or go to Bali ( although it’s a good idea) to get great photos. it’s just simple common sense and a good eye and you can master photography

Well said. Thank you for your comment and reading Shama. Have a great week.

Thanks a lot for the helpful tips on holiday photos. My partner and I are in Easter Island, irresistible place for photo opportunity. My Nikon D7000 will keep on taking photos on auto mode for the time being until I have had enough practice following your guidelines and the who knows what photos I might produce! Thanks.

Glad we could help Balu. Definitely when you have time, go out and take some photos on manual. Play with the different settings. Before you know it, you’ll only be on manual. At the beginning when I was still learning, I would take a shot on the manual settings I thought and then a shot of the same view on auto in case I messed up. Better safe than sorry. Have a great time in Easter Island. There is so much to do there and learning about the history is amazing. Take care. Alesha

Guys your advice are completely helped me. I was stressed before, i want to travelling at the moment but i hope i can take a good picture cause you know how annoying it will be when we take a picture and then when we are home they are completely bad. So then you have to comeback at the same place again just to take a picture. But this one is helpfull

Hi Fabio, Don’t stress. You are going to bring back amazing photos from your travels. It is all overwhelming at the beginning but it gets easy. When you are shooting, put some time aside and concentrate on what you have learned. It doesn’t matter if it takes you 20 minutes to an hour to get your shot. If their are other photographers around, most of the time that are happy to give you some advice. Let them know you are new. Maybe they will let you know their settings for ISO, aperture and shutter. When it comes to editing, take your time as well. There are many You Tube videos that can help you for free. Have a great time on your trip. Happy travels

Hey Guys, very useful tips especially the Bonus tips.

Keep Sharing!!!

Glad we could help. Thanks for reading.

P(Program) you set either the aperture or shutter and the camera adjusts the other one accordingly to maintain the right exposure. Thanks

Thanks Rezan

I love traveling around the world. I wish to capture some of the beautiful places that I enjoyed. The above tips helped me to improve my travel photography skills. It also helped me to click some of the memorable moments of my travel with my friends and relatives.

Hi Vivek, Glad we could help. It is all about practise. We love having a day to ourselves and just getting out and shooting anything – landscape, cityscape, people or animals. We try to give ourselves a challenge sometimes. It makes it interesting and we are enjoying ourselves. 🙂

Great tips to help out beginners like me. I need to work on to ask people for permission as I get shy sometimes. I love the quote “rules are meant to be broken”!

Thank you Mao. Don’t worry, “asking” will come. Alesha was so shy and I used to take all the people shots. Now she is more confident and really enjoys shooting people. All the best.

THANK YOU . Your very easy to read starter guide to photography was AMAZEBALLS I learnt so much .cheers LIZY

Thank you. Glad we could help. Happy shooting and get creative. 🙂

Hey guys, this is an amazing guide, thanks for writing this up in such detail. As an amateur, I always look for good travel photography tips from other travellers. I left my tripod behind in Thailand and I think this was a huge mistake, I need to get a new one, urgently 🙂

By the way, really enjoy your photos on your blog and Instagram, they are amazing! 🙂

Glad we could help guys. We never used to use a tripod in our early years until we discovered how amazing the shots can be with one in low light and now we have 3. You can rest your camera on something to get a shot but you are limited to positions. Thanks for reading guys. 🙂

thanks for the tips. i’d make one edit: instead of ‘move your feet’ i’d say “don’t be lazy”…move left or right. move forward or back. climb up on something or get down on your knees.

Love it Aaron. You are so right. A little to the left might be the perfect shot or a little to the right and crouching might be the perfect shot. thanks for the input. Have a good one.

I love this post. It is incredibly helpful to all beginner travel photographers like myself! I have only been shooting in manual mode for the past 5 months and have already seen a huge increase in the quality of my photos! But I am always looking to improve. Will definitely be sharing your post

It is crazy how you improve when you start shooting manual. I know Alesha did also. You learn so much about the camera and what it can do, it is incredible. Thank you for reading and all the best with your photography Hayley. 🙂

this guide is amazing, thank you so much for explaining everything in a way an amateur can understand 🙂

Bookmarking the post for future reference!

Cheers, Naddya

Thank you guys. We are glad it is useful for you. 🙂

Wow! Amazing Tips. These tips will help a lot to click great pictures with your camera. Love the point of Shutter Speed. and about RAW.

Thanks for Sharing Helpful Post.

Thank you so much Nitin. Glad we can help. Thank you for reading.

Yeah I agree with you buddy.

Thank you 🙂

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How to Take Travel Photos: A Complete Guide

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Travel photography is one of the most exciting types of photography you can pursue. Combining two of life’s great pleasures—exploring new lands and taking photographs—is a thrill any photographer would enjoy. 

While travel photography is open to anyone with the drive to get up and hit the road, there are a few things you need to learn. That’s why we’ve compiled this in-depth article containing everything you need to know about travel photography. We cover everything from camera settings to the best travel gear, so keep reading to find out more. 

What Is Travel Photography

Travel photography is simply taking pictures of different places around the world. But good travel photos are not mere holiday snaps. Travel images should show a location in a new light so they’re interesting even for people who have already been there.

Travel photography involves many different styles and techniques. You can incorporate landscapes and portraits into your travel photography. You can even use more advanced techniques like time-lapse and long exposures.

A travel photographer needs to show more than the obvious. They need to explore each location at a deeper level and look for elements that make that place unique and interesting. It isn’t enough to take pictures of the famous landmarks. A travel photographer needs to look deeper and go beyond. 

Far-flung exotic locations often hold the most romance for travelers, but you don’t have to go far to practice travel photography. Venturing to new locations is always exciting, but you can also photograph places you’re familiar with. Using your familiarity to your advantage, you can give viewers a deeper view of these locations.

Anyone can shoot travel photography. The first thing you need is a desire to explore the world, which is something you probably already have. But continue reading for everything else you need to know about travel photography, from techniques to gear.

Mastering Travel Photography

While travel photography is open to anyone with an adventurous spirit, mastering the art does require practice, knowledge, and skill.

Firstly, you need to understand your camera and its settings. You might be tempted to take the easy road and shoot in Auto mode. But you’ll get far better results and more interesting and unique images when shooting with semi or fully manual settings. 

You should also experiment with composition, and you can try both color and black-and-white photography. These are stylistic choices that’ll give your travel photography a personal touch. You also have to consider specific types of travel photography so you’re ready for anything when you’re on the move. 

The following sections cover mastering the art of travel photography. Click the links in the text for more information on each topic. 

Camera Settings

When it comes to camera settings for travel photography, there are a few key things to keep in mind. First, make sure your camera is set to the right aperture and shutter speed for the type of photo you want to take. You’ll also need to adjust your white balance and ISO as you move through different locations.

To learn more about camera settings for travel photography, check out camera settings for travel photography .

A travel photography shot list helps you plan and capture the best photos on your trip. Research the location thoroughly, including famous sights, experiences, geography, and lighting conditions. Look at existing travel photos for inspiration, but aim to create something unique.

Use a spreadsheet to organize your shots by day and time, considering factors like sunrise, sunset, and harsh midday light. Include a mix of portraits, environmental portraits, cityscapes, daily life moments, religious sites, festivals, food, transportation, landscapes, close-ups, architecture, night scenes, and wildlife.

Remember to be adaptable and respectful of local customs. With careful planning and a detailed shot list, you’ll be well-prepared to capture stunning travel photos that transport viewers to your destination. To learn more about creating a travel photography shot list , check out this in-depth guide.

Composition

Good travel photography composition captures the beauty and essence of a destination. Use the rule of thirds by placing important parts of your photo on the intersecting points of the grid. Or take advantage of symmetry by centering the axis of symmetry in one direction.

Direct attention with leading lines, using elements like paths or fences to guide the viewer’s eye to your subject. Frame spectacular views with windows or arches to provide context. You can also use bold colors to lead the eyes or balance the composition.

Change your perspective by moving around, kneeling, or shooting from a rooftop. Get close to fill the frame with your subject or step back to include surrounding context. Play with scale by including familiar elements like people to convey the impressive size of large spaces.

To learn more about travel photography composition , check out this in-depth guide.

Black & White

Black-and-white travel photography can be a powerful way to capture the essence of a place. By removing color, you can focus on the light, shapes, and textures that make a scene unique.

Pay attention to contrast and tone in your black-and-white photos. Look for strong shadows and highlights that create depth and drama. Texture is also important in black-and-white photography, so seek out interesting surfaces like rough stone or smooth water.

Most importantly, use black-and-white photography to connect with your subject and tell a story. Whether it’s a portrait of a local person or a landscape that captures the mood of a place, aim to convey emotion in your images.

By developing your own style and vision, you can create compelling black-and-white travel photos that stand out. To learn more about black-and-white travel photography , check out this in-depth guide.

Unique Perspectives

Taking unique photos of famous places can be challenging, but with some creativity and planning, you can capture stunning images. Start by researching the location and scouting out potential spots for your shots. Arrive early to avoid crowds and take advantage of the soft, golden light.

Look for elevated views or unusual angles to create a different perspective. Use composition techniques like the rule of thirds to emphasize the landmark in an interesting way. Including people in your shots can add a sense of atmosphere and tell a story.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques like light trails or time-lapse photography . If you encounter photography restrictions, think outside the box and find creative solutions. To learn more about capturing unique photos of famous places , check out this in-depth guide.

Documentary Photography

Documentary photography captures real-life events as they happen. It’s a form of visual storytelling that depicts the world around us. Documentary photographers often work on long-term projects to tell new stories through their images.

You don’t need to travel far to find good documentary photography ideas. Look for interesting subjects in your family or community. Focus on the people involved to help viewers connect with the story. You can also tackle big topics by photographing small, local stories related to them.

Visit and scout your locations before the shoot. Get comfortable with the basics of photography, like camera settings and composition. Keep your story personal and critique your work as you go.

If you want to learn more about documentary photography ideas , we have a detailed guide to help you get started.

Train Photography

Train photography offers a diverse range of subjects, from historic steam engines to modern bullet trains. To capture excellent locomotive photos, research train routes and schedules to find the best locations and times. Use natural light to your advantage, with side or backlighting to highlight steam and texture.

Longer focal lengths can compress the scene and show the train in its surroundings. At stations, photograph details like wheels and logos to create atmosphere. Adjust shutter speed for sharp images or creative motion blur, and slightly overexpose for more detail.

For more insights on capturing stunning train photography , check out our full-length article.

Backing Up Photos

It is important to back up photos while traveling, and an external hard drive is a great option. They are compact, durable, and have large storage capacities.

Smartphones and tablets can also be used to manage photos on the go. With the right accessories, they can connect to external storage devices. This allows you to back up and edit your photos without a laptop.

For the best results, use multiple backup methods. This could include an external hard drive, a USB thumb drive, and cloud storage. By having multiple copies of your photos, you reduce the risk of losing them. If you want to learn how to back up photos , check out our in-depth article.

Making Money from Travel Photography

Becoming a travel photographer takes hard work and dedication. You need to learn a wide range of photography skills for shooting everything from landscapes to portraits. Building a strong portfolio of your best travel images is key to attracting clients.

To get your name out there, create a travel website or blog to showcase your work. You can also sell your images on digital platforms like stock photography websites. Selling physical prints of your photos is another great option.

As you travel, look for photography work with local businesses, such as hostels or tourism boards. Capture great travel content and consider offering tours or workshops for extra income.

To learn more about how to become a travel photographer , check out this in-depth guide.

Travel Photography Jobs

Travel photography jobs can be an exciting and rewarding career path for those with a passion for photography and adventure. However, it’s important to understand the challenges that come with the job. You’ll need to have exceptional photography skills, business savvy, and the ability to handle tough physical conditions.

To succeed, you’ll need a strong online presence, including a professional website and active social media accounts. You’ll also need reliable gear that can withstand the demands of travel.

There are many ways to make money as a travel photographer, such as selling prints, licensing stock photos, writing for publications, and teaching. The key is diversifying your income streams and constantly looking for new opportunities. With hard work and creativity, finding paid travel photography jobs can be both fulfilling and profitable.

Get Paid to Travel

Getting paid to travel and take photos is a dream for many photographers. There are several ways to make this a reality. Selling prints of your travel photos through print-on-demand websites is one option. You can also upload your best images to stock photography agencies and earn passive income from sales.

Entering travel photography competitions is another way to earn money and gain prestige. Winning contests can help you promote your work and attract potential clients.

Building relationships with travel magazine editors can lead to regular paid assignments. Learn what they want and deliver high-quality photos to make their jobs easier. To further your success, get paid to travel and take photos by marketing your photography services to people who have the budget to hire you.

Sell Travel Photos

Selling your travel photos can be a great way to make money with your photography. To get started, ensure you have high-quality, well-lit, and properly composed images. They should also be free of technical errors like chromatic aberration and noise.

There are many ways to sell your travel photos. You can sell them through stock photography agencies, directly to clients, or as prints. Each option has its own requirements and markets, so consider your goals before deciding which path to take.

Actively promoting your work is key to maximizing sales. Use social media, email lists, and other marketing strategies to reach potential buyers. If you’re working with a stock agency, ask them what types of images are in demand so you can plan your shoots accordingly.

Learning how to sell travel photos takes time and effort, but with persistence and a willingness to adapt, you can turn your passion into a profitable venture.

Gear for Travel Photography

When packing for a travel photography trip, it’s important to bring the right gear. A lightweight and compact camera body is essential, along with one or two versatile lenses like a wide-angle and a medium telephoto lens.

Don’t forget a sturdy tripod that fits in your luggage for sharp shots in low light. Filters like a circular polarizer and strong ND filter are small but open up creative options when traveling.

Cleaning supplies, extra batteries, memory cards, and rain protection round out the must-haves. With the right travel photography gear , you’ll be ready to capture amazing images anywhere your adventures take you.

Traveling with Camera Gear

Traveling with camera gear can be challenging, but there are ways to make it easier and safer. Use padded cases to protect your equipment from bumps and knocks. A shoulder bag is a good option for keeping your camera close and secure while walking through busy areas.

Always carry your gear in your hand luggage when flying. Most airlines understand the importance of this and are lenient about the weight of your carry-on bag. To deter thieves, hide or remove any camera branding using black duct tape.

Insuring your gear is crucial in case of theft or damage. Take down all the serial numbers and make sure your equipment is fully covered. By following these tips for traveling with camera gear , you can have peace of mind and focus on capturing great photos during your travels.

External Hard Drives

An external hard drive is an essential accessory for travel photographers. Memory cards fill up fast when you’re traveling, and you don’t want to carry a bunch of them around with you. It’s best to take an external hard drive to keep all your photo files in one place.

You’ll need something durable yet compact, which is why we recommend the LaCie Rugged Mini for travelers. It’s an easy fit for any travel camera bag. You have storage options up to 5 TB, and it’s the most durable external hard drive on the market. 

See more of the best external hard drives in our full-length article.

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Cameras for Travel Photography

The Canon EOS RP is a great mirrorless camera for travel photography. It’s lightweight, easy to handle, and has a 26 MP full-frame sensor that captures high-quality images in any situation.

The camera’s autofocus system is fast and accurate, even in low light. It also offers eye-detection AF for portraits. The EOS RP can shoot 4K video and has convenient Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

This camera is ideal for most travel photography needs. If you want to learn more about the best travel cameras , check out our detailed guide.

Mirrorless Cameras

The best mirrorless cameras for travel are compact and lightweight, but still capture stunning photos and videos. Our top pick is the Nikon Z50 . It has a compact body that fits easily in any camera bag. The 20.9 MP sensor produces bright, vibrant images with excellent low-light performance.

The Z50 is also great for travel vlogging. It records 4K video at 30 fps and has an articulating screen for easy self-recording. Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth make it simple to share your adventures with friends and family back home.

If you want to learn more about the best mirrorless cameras for travel , check out our in-depth guide. We cover a range of cameras for every type of traveler, from beginners to professionals.

Compact Cameras

The Sony ZV-1 II is a pocket-sized camera packed with features for modern travelers. It has a high-resolution 20 MP sensor and a versatile 18-50mm zoom lens. The f/1.8-4 aperture provides solid low-light performance.

Vloggers love the ZV-1 II’s 4K video at 30 fps and the special Cinematic Vlog Setting. A built-in mic and wind muffler make capturing audio easy. Real-time AF with face and eye detection keeps subjects sharp.

The Sony ZV-1 II is the ideal compact camera for travel vlogging. It’s a worthwhile investment for creating exciting content abroad. But we have more options in the link above. 

Lenses for Travel Photography

The best travel lenses give you a wide focal range in a compact size. Zoom lenses like the Nikon AF-S DX 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 are very popular. It has vibration reduction to reduce camera shake and improve low-light performance.

Prime lenses are another good option. They are usually smaller and lighter than zooms. The Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM is a great example. This pancake lens is ultra-compact but still gives you a versatile focal length.

When choosing the best travel lens , think about the size, weight, and focal length. You want a lens that is easy to carry but still gives you plenty of options. The lenses on this list are all fantastic choices for your next adventure.

Canon Lenses

The best Canon lenses for travel photography are lightweight, versatile, and capture stunning images. Our top picks are the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM . These nifty-fifty lenses are compact, affordable, and great in low light.

Other top choices include the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM for its wide zoom range and the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM for landscapes. The Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a popular all-in-one zoom for DSLR users. It has a constant f/4 aperture and weather sealing.

No matter your camera type, there’s a perfect travel lens for you. Look for a lens that’s light, has a useful focal range, and fits your budget. Canon lenses for travel photography help you capture amazing images around the world.

Nikon Lenses

The Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S and Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G are the best Nikon lenses for travel photography. The Z 50mm f/1.8 S offers sharp images and a durable build. It’s great for low light with its f/1.8 aperture.

The AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is compact and lightweight. It also performs well in low light. The 50mm focal length is perfect for street scenes and portraits.

Both lenses are very popular with travel photographers. If you want to learn more about Nikon lenses for travel photography , we have a detailed guide that covers the best options for Nikon mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

Sony Lenses

When choosing the best Sony lenses for travel photography, consider weight, versatility, and image quality. Our top pick is the Sony E 18-105mm f/4 G OSS PZ , offering a wide zoom range, constant f/4 aperture, and effective optical stabilization in a compact design.

For APS-C cameras, the Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS is a great low-light prime lens. Its wide f/1.8 aperture and built-in stabilization help capture sharp images in dim settings. The Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 is an affordable and versatile prime for full-frame cameras, ideal for portraits and everyday shots.

Other notable lenses include the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS for its all-in-one zoom capabilities and the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN | C for its fast aperture and compact size. To learn more about the best Sony lenses for travel photography , check out our in-depth guide.

Travel Tripods

A travel tripod is a must-have for any photographer on the go. The best travel tripods are lightweight, compact, and easy to set up. They also need to be sturdy enough to support your camera gear.

Our top pick is the K&F Concept Lightweight Travel Tripod . It weighs only 2.4 lb but can hold up to 17.6 lb of gear. The aluminum ball head gives you great flexibility for positioning your camera. And the included carry case makes it easy to take with you anywhere.

If you want to learn more about choosing the right travel tripod , check out our detailed guide. It covers everything from key features to look for to our top recommendations in different price ranges.

Travel Camera Backpacks

When choosing a camera backpack for travel, protection and comfort are key. The best bags are well-designed, roomy, and easy to carry.

Our top pick is the Manfrotto PRO Light Multiloader . It’s sturdy, spacious, and versatile. You can use it as a backpack, duffel, or sling. And it has access from the front and both sides.

The Wandrd Duo Daypack is another great option. It’s made from quality materials that protect your gear from the weather. It has ample storage and the main zipper allows quick access to your camera.

If you want to learn more about the best camera backpack for travel , check out our detailed reviews. We’ll help you find the perfect bag for your next adventure.

Manfrotto PRO Light Multiloader

The Manfrotto PRO Light Multiloader Camera Backpack is a top choice for photographers. It has a sturdy design and plenty of space for your gear.

The backpack is comfortable to wear, even when fully loaded. You can easily adjust it to fit your body.

This bag is perfect for any photography adventure. It’s a worthwhile investment for serious photographers looking for a reliable way to carry their equipment. To learn more about the Manfrotto Pro Light Multiloader, check out our full review .

Think Tank Airport Essentials

The Think Tank Airport Essentials is a camera backpack specifically designed for air travel. It has a smart design, useful features, and fits as carry-on luggage.

This backpack offers secure storage with an efficient use of space and a special lock. The lifetime warranty makes it a one-time investment for years of use.

While it lacks some versatility found in other bags, the Airport Essentials excels at storage capacity, protection, and style. Photographers who want a Think Tank Airport Essentials for their travels will find this bag a great choice.

Weatherproof Backpacks

Protecting your camera gear from the elements is essential. Weatherproof camera bags offer peace of mind when shooting in unpredictable conditions. They feature robust materials and coatings that keep water out, even in sudden downpours.

Our top picks, the Wandrd Prvke , Wandrd Duo , and Lowepro Freeline , have impressive exterior materials that don’t need a separate rain cover. The Prvke’s roll-top design is commonly used in waterproof bags, while the Duo and Freeline include waterproof zippers to secure even the weakest points.

When choosing a weatherproof camera bag , consider not only its water-resistant abilities but also its functionality for your photography style. Look for features like easy access points, ample storage, and comfortable carrying options that suit your needs.

A camera hard case is the best way to protect your photography gear while traveling. The Pelican Air 1525 is our top choice, with its tough exterior and foam-padded interior that keeps your equipment safe and secure. It’s spacious enough for your camera and accessories without being too bulky.

The Vanguard Supreme 46F is another excellent option, especially for adventure travel. It’s waterproof down to 16.5 ft (5 m) and can withstand temperatures as low as -40 C. The customizable Pick ‘n’ Pluck foam interior ensures a snug fit for each item.

For convenience, the Nanuk 935 is hard to beat. Its retractable handle and wheels make transportation a breeze, while the padded dividers keep your gear organized and protected. If you’re looking for a camera hard case that combines durability and ease of use, the Nanuk 935 is a great choice.

Travel Apps

Travel apps can make your photography adventures easier and more enjoyable. Snapseed is a powerful photo editor with a wide range of tools, from basic adjustments to creative effects. It’s free and available on both iOS and Android.

VSCO is another popular editing app that offers a simple, streamlined experience. Its presets are based on real film stocks, giving your photos an authentic vintage look. You can also use sliders to fine-tune the exposure and add fade or grain effects.

When you’re ready to share your travel photos, consider using Spot. This app helps you find picturesque locations and share your own discoveries with other photographers. With detailed maps and tips, it’s one of the best apps for travel photography .

Editing Travel Photos

Editing your travel photos can take them to the next level. There are many techniques you can use to improve your images, from simple adjustments to more advanced processes.

Cropping is a quick way to remove unwanted elements or zoom in on important parts of the photo. Sharpening will make details pop, while noise reduction can clean up high ISO shots. Straightening the horizon line is also important for a polished look.

Other useful techniques include adding a vignette to draw the eye, adjusting saturation and contrast, balancing highlights and shadows, and using digital blending for challenging lighting. For an extra level of refinement, you can even remove unwanted objects.

With practice, you’ll learn which editing steps work best for your travel images. Check out our in-depth guide if you’d like to dive deeper into editing travel photos .

Location Guides

Whenever you’re heading off somewhere new, it’s always best to do some research before you go. Your preparations will be more thorough and more specialized when you have a better idea of what to expect. That means you can hit the ground running when you arrive, and you’ll get better results. 

We have a collection of location guides for some travel photography hot spots. These posts give you a head start when taking pictures in these locations, helping you get unique shots in popular places. 

Let’s drop in on a few of the hottest locations in Europe, Asia, and the US. 

European Cities

Europe is a photographer’s dream, with its stunning architecture, charming villages, and beautiful countryside. From the centuries-old buildings to the cobblestone streets, there’s no shortage of photo opportunities.

Some of the best European cities for photography include Amalfi, Italy, with its medieval stories and dainty houses; Venice, Italy, known for its canals and seafood; and Dubrovnik, Croatia, a seaside location with picturesque houses and Game of Thrones filming locations.

Other notable cities include Prague, Czech Republic, with its historic buildings and Gothic churches; Oia, Greece, with its stunning white buildings and sunsets; and Amsterdam, Netherlands, full of incredible art and historical monuments.

Whether you’re interested in architecture, landscapes, or street photography, these European cities offer endless inspiration. To learn more about the European cities for photography , check out this in-depth guide.

Paris is a photographer’s dream, offering countless opportunities to capture stunning images. From the iconic Eiffel Tower to the charming streets of Montmartre, there’s no shortage of beautiful subjects to photograph.

One of the best spots for photography in Paris is the Trocadero, which offers a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. The Champs Elysee and Arc de Triomphe are also must-see locations, with the latter providing a great vantage point for capturing the city’s skyline.

Other notable photo locations include the Louvre, with its striking glass pyramid, and Notre Dame Cathedral, which offers both interior and exterior photo opportunities. It’s still striking even after the fire damage. 

For a taste of modern Paris, head to La Defense, the city’s business district filled with skyscrapers and unique architecture.

To learn more about Paris photography , check out this in-depth guide that covers the best locations, tips, and techniques for capturing the city’s beauty.

London offers plenty of photography opportunities, from cityscapes to street photography and architecture. Some of the best locations include the Palace of Westminster, where you can capture iconic photos from Westminster Bridge or the south bank of the Thames. Tower Bridge is another well-known site, offering great angles for traffic light trails and sunrise photos.

The London Eye is a newer addition to the skyline, perfect for creative shots like zoom bursts or portraits inside the capsules. Don’t miss the photogenic wrought iron roof at Borough Market or the beautiful exterior of St Paul’s Cathedral.

For stunning views, head to The Shard, the highest skyscraper in the European Union. Buckingham Palace is a must-see, especially during the Changing of the Guard ceremony. If you’re interested in photography in London , these locations are sure to inspire you.

Rome is a photographer’s dream, with stunning architecture, rich history, and vibrant culture around every corner. From the iconic Colosseum to the beautiful Trevi Fountain, there are countless opportunities to capture breathtaking images.

Don’t miss the Vatican Museum, where you can photograph the famous spiral staircase. The Pantheon’s exterior and interior are equally impressive, especially during the blue hour. St. Peter’s Basilica offers great views of the city and a chance to capture the Pope if you’re lucky.

The Tiber River provides picturesque views, particularly from Ponte Sant’Angelo towards St. Peter’s Basilica. Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo are perfect for street photography and capturing traditional Roman scenes. To learn more about the best spots for Rome photography , check out this in-depth guide.

Venice is a photographer’s dream, offering endless opportunities to capture its unique beauty. The best time to avoid crowds and oppressive heat is during the low season or early morning. Sunrise at Academia Bridge provides a stunning view of the Grand Canal, while Piazza San Marco is best photographed before tourists arrive.

Don’t miss the iconic gondolas along the waterfront near Piazza San Marco, especially during sunset and blue hour. For a different perspective, head to San Giorgio Maggiore island to photograph the church and Venice’s skyline at golden hour.

Explore the backstreets of San Polo and Dorsoduro districts for charming piazzas, decaying architecture, and canal scenes. Murano and Burano islands offer colorful buildings and glassmaking demonstrations perfect for photography. To learn more about Venice photography , check out this in-depth guide.

Budapest is another fantastic city for photographers, offering endless opportunities to capture stunning images. From the grand architecture of the Hungarian Parliament Building to the thermal baths of Széchenyi, there’s no shortage of photogenic spots in this beautiful city.

One of the best places to start is the Fisherman’s Bastion, a neo-Gothic terrace with breathtaking views of the Danube River and the Pest side of the city. Nearby, you’ll find Matthias Church, a stunning example of neo-Gothic architecture that’s perfect for capturing intricate details and beautiful stained glass windows.

For panoramic views of the city, head to Gellért Hill, where you can capture the entire skyline from the Citadella fortress. And don’t miss the iconic Chain Bridge, which looks particularly stunning at night when it’s lit up against the dark sky. To learn more about the best spots for Budapest photography , check out this in-depth guide.

Japan is a brilliant destination for a photography trip. From stunning landscapes to interesting architecture and fascinating culture, there’s no shortage of inspiration for your travel photography.

Capture the vibrant cityscape of Minato, one of Tokyo’s special wards. Improve your food photography skills at Japan’s many cafés and restaurants, where every dish looks like a work of art. Take adorable photos of tame deer in Nara Park or sharpen your landscape photography in Hakone, with its hot springs, views of Mount Fuji, and gorgeous lake.

Don’t miss the breathtaking cherry blossoms in Japan’s parks during the Sakura season, usually from January to April. Visit the magical Blue Pond in Biei, go on an adventure in Kyoto’s Bamboo Grove, or document the commercial side of Japan in Shinjuku. For more inspiration on Japan photography , check out our in-depth guide.

Tokyo is one of the world’s most vibrant locations, offering a diverse range of subjects to capture. From the bustling streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya to the traditional temples of Asakusa, there’s no shortage of incredible hot spots to explore.

For those seeking modern architecture and vibrant city life, the Tokyo Skytree and Roppongi Hills Mori Tower provide stunning views of the skyline. Harajuku, the heart of Tokyo’s youth culture, is perfect for street photography and capturing unique fashion trends.

If you’re interested in learning more about Tokyo photography , check out our in-depth article to help you plan your trip and find the best spots to shoot. With its mix of old and new, Tokyo is a city that will inspire and challenge you as a photographer.

Etiquette in Japan

When taking photos in Japan, it’s important to be respectful and follow proper etiquette. Always ask for permission before taking someone’s photo, especially if you plan to share it publicly. If you can’t get permission, blur the person’s face to protect their privacy.

Be prepared to show your photos to the police if asked, and avoid using selfie sticks in crowded areas to prevent injuries. In cafés and restaurants, ask the staff for permission before taking photos of your meal.

At night, skip the flash and use a higher ISO and tripod to capture vibrant neon lights. Avoid taking photos in no-photo areas, of children without parental consent, geishas, people on public transport, and those in the middle of prayer. For more tips on photography in Japan , check out this in-depth guide.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a street photographer’s paradise. From the colorful Venice Beach boardwalk to the iconic Griffith Observatory, there are endless opportunities to capture the city’s unique character.

The Santa Monica Pier is a must-visit spot, especially in the evening when the lights come on. Echo Park offers stunning views of the skyline, particularly at sunrise or sunset.

Downtown LA is full of hidden gems like the Bradbury Building with its intricate architecture and the bustling Grand Central Market. For a taste of old Hollywood glamor, head to Union Station or the Hollywood Bowl Overlook. Places for street photography in Los Angeles are as diverse as the city itself, so grab your camera and start exploring.

New York City remains one of the most popular locations for photographers, with countless iconic locations to capture. Central Park offers a variety of scenes, from the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain to the Alice in Wonderland statue. The Brooklyn Bridge is another must-see, with its stunning suspension cables and brick towers.

Grand Central Station and the Chelsea Market are great for street photography and architectural details. Rockefeller Center provides both street-level interest and panoramic views from its observation deck.

Of course, no trip to New York would be complete without photographing the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. For breathtaking cityscapes, head to Brooklyn Bridge Park or find a unique vantage point to capture the Manhattan skyline. Don’t miss the Flatiron Building and the vibrant energy of Times Square.

To learn more about the best spots for New York photography , check out our in-depth guide.

Photography Road Trip

Planning a road trip for photography involves choosing the right vehicle, deciding on accommodation, and mapping out your route. Your vehicle should be safe, comfortable, and suitable for the terrain you’ll encounter. Living out of your vehicle, like an RV or camper van, allows you to stay closer to photo locations and immerse yourself in nature.

When planning your route, prioritize the locations you want to photograph. Research potential spots using apps and websites like Pinterest, 500px, Flickr, and Google’s My Maps. Plot your route, campgrounds, points of interest, and photo locations to make the most of your trip.

Electricity is essential for photographers on the road. Ensure you have reliable power sources, such as a dual battery system, solar panels, or a 12v inverter. Always carry a power bank as a backup. To stay connected, use local SIM cards with data or take advantage of Wi-Fi at cafes and fast food outlets.

By planning your shots in advance and considering factors like lighting, crowds, and unique perspectives, you can capture stunning images that tell the story of your road trip photography adventure.

Inspiration from the Best Travel Photographers

Travel photography captures the adventures and locations you visit during your journeys. It involves many genres like landscape, architecture, street, and environmental photography. Travel photographers often tell stories through their images, focusing on special moments and atmospheres.

There are many approaches to travel photography. You can focus on people, take self-portraits, emphasize landscapes, or try aerial photography. Mixing these approaches can result in a unique style and help you gain recognition as a travel photographer.

If you’d like to learn more about travel photographers , we have an article that goes into greater depth on the topic.

Travel Blogs

Travel photography blogs are a great source of inspiration for your next adventure. They feature stunning images from around the world and provide useful tips for capturing your own travel photos.

Some of the best travel photography blogs cover a wide range of topics, from destination guides to photography tutorials. They showcase the work of talented photographers who have explored every corner of the globe.

Whether you’re planning your next trip or simply looking for some armchair travel, these blogs are sure to inspire you. To discover some of the best travel photography blogs to follow in 2024, check out this list of top picks.

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A Look at My 20 Top Travel Photos of 2021

The clock is beginning to run out on the year 2021 and that means it is about time for my annual post on my Top Travel Photos of the year. To be completely honest, when the year started, my hope was that this post would be filled with wonderful pictures from my autumn trip to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. However, the COVID-19 curse put a dent in my travel plans once again and left me scrambling to change my travel plans this autumn. As frustrating as it was to have to push back my trip, I was extremely blessed to be able to go on several incredible adventures this past year. From those adventures, I was able to capture several great photographs that I am very happy with. The purpose of this annual post is to share these photographs with you in the hopes that it inspires you to plan your next big adventure.

However, before I introduce you to my favorite pictures from my travel adventures this year, let me remind you that you can still go back and review my favorite photographs from previous years in case you missed them. This is a yearly exercise that I have been doing for several years and I have linked to the previous editions of my yearly Top Travel Photos showcase for you to review below.

Follow Me on Instagram for More Great Travel Photos

If you are a fan of my travel photography and you would like to know a very easy way to support me in my quest to keep bringing you travel and travel photography related content, you can give my Instagram account a follow. I post unique travel photographs and travel experiences to my feed at least twice a week and your support would mean the world to me. Like I said, it is a quick and easy way to support me without having to do too much!

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Elephant Seal Vista in California

The travel year began for me with a trip to Southern California to visit my brother and his family. I love getting to see them, but I also love my visits because there are so many incredible things to see and do in Southern California. One of my favorite stops, when I am down there, is the Elephant Seal vista North of Santa Barbara. Seeing these huge and incredible creatures up close is remarkable.

Bull Elephant Seal

This year when I visited, I was lucky enough to visit around mating season, so there were a lot of huge bull elephant seals on the beach. You really have no idea just how massive these seals are until you see them in person. This guy was doing his best to protect a prime piece of beach that he had staked his claim to.

Pinnacles National Park

One of my favorite stops on my California trip this year was to a national park that I have been trying to find time to visit for years. Pinnacles National Park is one of the newer parks in the United States, and it is also one of the smallest. However, what it lacks in size it certainly makes up for in beauty. I think this shot of the jagged rock formations in the high hills of the park perfectly showcases the beauty of this incredible park. If you would like to learn more about the park, I have linked to a visitor guide I created for you to review below.

Condor Landing at Pinnacles National Park

Without a doubt, some of the top travel photos that I took this past year were of the incredible California Condors at Pinnacles National Park. If you haven’t had an opportunity to see these incredible birds in person, you are really missing out. If you think the size and beauty of bald eagles are impressive, wait until you see these kings of the sky.

Condor in Flight at Pinnacles National Park

If I had to narrow down the favorite of my top travel photos from this year, it would be very difficult to not choose this shot of a California Condor in mid-flight at Pinnacles National Park. Seeing this picture brings back such fond memories of seeing these amazing birds in person and just sitting mesmerized as I watched them soar above the park.

Beautiful Santa Barbara, California

Ever since I first visited my brother and his family in Santa Barbara, California, I have been in love with the city. If you love outdoor adventure, the city of Santa Barbara couldn’t be a more perfect destination for you. With close proximity to some incredible surfing spots and the Sierra Nevada range only a short way away, there is always something to do outside. Not to mention, it is the gateway to the Channel Islands, which is one of the most incredible and underrated national parks in the United States. There is some of the best whale watching in the world off of the islands. I took the picture below from high up on the bluffs behind Santa Barbara. In the distance, you can actually see the Channel Islands off the coast. So beautiful!

Beautiful Sunset in Ventura, California

One thing that you can always count on when visiting California is experiencing some of the most vibrant and brilliant sunsets imaginable. This was certainly the case when we visited Ventura, California. The sunset off the beach was so incredible that I was able to capture a number of amazing photographs. This sunset photo is definitely one of my top travel photos of this past year. You can see the surfers trying to get in as many waves as they can before the sun sets behind the horizon.

California Sunset Dreaming

This is another photograph that I took of the same sunset that I am equally as proud of. You can see the young family at the bottom of the screen out on the beach enjoying the incredible view. If I had the time, I would try and spend every evening chasing sunsets as it often produces some of the top travel photos and most memorable shots. If you would like to learn how to predict when there will be an amazing sunrise or sunset to photograph, I have included a guide that you can review below.

Exploring the Porcupine Mountains

As the calendar year turned to Summer in the Midwest United States, it was time for me to head to the Great Lakes to embark on what has become a yearly tradition for me. Each summer, I try and seek out some of the best kayaking destinations to explore. This year, one of the destinations that I chose to explore was the beautiful Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. These rolling hills (I wouldn’t actually call them mountains) are absolutely beautiful and have some really fantastic hiking trails for visitors to explore. I love this shot that I was able to get that shows the mountains with Lake Superior in the distance.

Beautiful Bond Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

One of the best parts about the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is all of the incredible waterfalls in the area. One of my favorites to visit when I am in the area is the beautiful Bond Falls, which is located just outside of the park. I was able to capture this beautiful photograph of the falls with the reflection in the water on my visit this past summer. Such a beautiful place.

Breathtaking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Without a doubt, the hallmark of my summer kayaking trip was a visit to the infamous Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If you love to kayak, then Pictured Rocks is an absolute must-visit destination. It is home to some of the best big freshwater kayaking in North America. It is also where I took some of my top travel photos of the year. The huge rock cliffs that highlight this spectacular coastline are amazing to explore from the water. You can also hike along the top of the cliffs to get a bird’s eye view of this dramatic coastline. I absolutely love this shot that I got when I hiked the Mosquito Beach and Chapel Beach loop this summer.

Kayaking Fun at Pictured National Lakeshore

While there might be some wonderful hiking trails at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the claim to fame for this coastline is the spectacular giant coastal cliffs. One of the most popular ways to see and experience these cliffs is to get out on the water in a kayak and explore the coastline. That is exactly what I did this summer, and the experience is one that I will not soon forget. This photograph of our group kayaking thru the large archway on the coastline is one of my top travel photos of the year for sure. For more information on how to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and get out on the water and kayak this amazing coastline, please see my Definitive Pictured Rocks Travel Guide linked below.

Pictured Rocks Kayaking Adventure

While the kayaking at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was cool enough, having the opportunity to do so around sunset just added to this magical experience. As I have mentioned many times on my blog, photographing around sunset or early morning around sunrise are my favorite times of day to take pictures. This shot that I got on the back end of my Pictured Rocks Kayaking adventure is one of my favorites because the soft light of the evening gives the picture a warm glow. What an amazing moment to capture!

Exploring Leprechaun Canyon

My last big trip of the year was to Southern Utah and without a doubt, this trip ended up delivering some of my top travel photos of the year. Southern Utah is such a magical place, which is why I keep getting drawn back there to explore and photograph. On this trip, I was determined to discover some of the lesser-known spots in Southern Utah and explore them so that I could share them with you. One of these places was the beautiful Leprechaun Canyon Slot. I have explored several breathtaking slot canyons in my travel adventures, and Leprechaun Canyon ranks right up there with some of the most beautiful. However, the best part about Leprechaun Canyon is that it is not nearly as busy or crowded as some of the other slot canyons in Southern Utah. As you can see in this photograph of me, we have the canyon all to ourselves.

Exploring the Amazing Goblin Valley State Park

While Southern Utah’s five national parks may get most of the attention, the area is also home to some truly spectacular state parks for visitors to enjoy as well. Without a doubt, one of the most incredible state parks to visit in Southern Utah is the beautiful Goblin Valley State Park. Much like the nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, the Goblin Valley State Park is known for its incredible canyons filled with amazing rock formations. I love this photograph that I took in Goblin Valley because it showcases both the area’s vastness and beauty.

The Beauty of Goblin Valley State Park

Like most places in Southern Utah, the beauty of Goblin Valley State Park is only enhanced as the sun starts to set. I absolutely love the glow in this photograph that I took of the breathtaking rock formations in the valley that make Goblin Valley State Park such a treasured destination. It almost feels like you are walking on the planet Mars when the sun starts to set and the red rock formations in the valley start to glow with the setting sun. It’s a stunning time to see the park!

A Monument Valley Sunset at Forrest Gump Point

Not only is this photograph of Monument Valley one of my top travel photos of 2021, but it is also one of my favorite photographs that I have ever taken in Southern Utah. If this landscape looks familiar, it is probably because it has been showcased in a large number of movies throughout the years. Most famously, this exact spot was showcased in the 1990’s classic “Forrest Gump”, starring Tom Hanks. If you don’t recall the scene, this is where Forrest Gump abruptly stops his cross-country run and decides to go home. It is a beautiful viewpoint of a breathtaking landscape. I love the glowing sunset sky in this shot I was able to capture at Forrest Gump Point this past autumn.

The Beautiful Alstrom Point in Glen Canyon

This photograph that I took of the incredible Alstrom Point in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Southern Utah could have made my list of the top travel photos of 2021 for me simply because it is a destination that I have tried to reach at least a handful of times in the past and failed. I simply never had enough time and the correct vehicle to reach this viewpoint before. This past autumn I was bound and determined to get there, so I set aside a large portion of an afternoon and made sure I had a high clearance 4×4 vehicle with me. Needless to say, getting there still wasn’t easy and involved white knuckle driving on an unimproved road at night, but I was able to finally capture some long-desired photographs of Alstrom Point like this beauty here.

Posing for a Picture at Alstrom Point

This sunset photograph that I was able to take of myself at the incredible Alstrom Point in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is one of my favorite self-portraits of all time. I am absolutely obsessed with the breathtaking viewpoints in Southern Utah and Alstrom Point is one of the most beautiful and difficult to reach. The fact I was able to make it there this year and get this photograph makes me so very happy!

An Amazing Sunrise at Reflection Canyon

For years, the favorite photograph that I have ever taken was one that I took early on in my adventure travels of the incredible Morraine Lake near Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. While I still absolutely cherish that photograph, I may have a new all-time favorite picture. Never before in my adventure travels have I had to work so hard to get a photograph. To get this beautiful sunrise shot of Reflection Canyon in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Southern Utah I had to drive 2.5-hours a mere 50-miles down an unimproved road, hike roughly 18-miles on an unmarked trail thru slot canyons and deep washes, and camp out overnight in 28-degree Fahrenheit temperatures to be ready to capture this photograph. After seeing how it turned out, it was so worth it!

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Published by Josh Hewitt

Avid traveler and photographer who loves to see new places, meet new people, and experience new things. There is so much this world can teach us, we just need to explore! View all posts by Josh Hewitt

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9 comments ›.

These are great photos!

Thank you so much Laci!! 😄

That Sunrise At Reflection Canyon is one of the most beautiful photos I’ve ever seen. And what an amazing place.

Thank you so very much Coral!! You made my day!! 😃

• A Look at My 2022 Travel Adventure Bucket List January 5, 2022 • 8:31 am

Best photos.

Thank you so very much!!!

• A Look at My 25 Top Travel Photos of 2022 January 25, 2023 • 12:01 pm
• A Look Back at My 20 Top Travel Photos of 2023 December 18, 2023 • 8:23 pm

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Thank you so much for the kind words!!

Wonderful, very nice article

[…] Late November or late February are particularly recommended as they offer a balance between good weather and slightly fewer…

I agree!! It is such an incredible place!

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Wedding invitations, 21 travel photography tips and checklist for your next trip.

Written by  Shutterfly Community Last Updated: Aug 12, 2019

Planning your next vacation? Document your trip (big or small) with photos that will allow you to remember and share your experiences long after you return home. Whether you want to capture picture-perfect spots in NYC or head west to embrace scenic spots in San Francisco , you don’t need to be an expert to get genuinely beautiful shots.

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Whether you decide to use a nice camera or a smartphone, there are plenty of photography tips and tricks that will help you know how to take the perfect photo . Make sure the equipment you use is familiar to you. You don’t want to spend the whole trip reading your camera manual.

Once you decide on what camera you’re bringing, the photos will come naturally. In case you hit a photo block and aren’t sure what to photograph, we’ve created a travel photography checklist that includes what to bring on your trip and photo ideas. Simply read through the travel photography tips, print the checklist and you’ll be ready to go!

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Travel Photography Checklist

22 travel photography tips and tricks.

1. Do your research

While planning your trip, make a note of destinations that are beautiful. Find out if they are easy to get to and what sort of transportation you’ll need. Will you need a permit for the area? Figure out the logistics ahead of time so you don’t run into problems after you’re already there.

2. Get inspiration from others

The best way to learn is through others. Look at other photographer’s blogs and social media to see if they’ve been to the location you’re visiting. As you look at photos, create a bucket list of places you’d like to photograph while exploring. And make note of the composition and angles to capture.

3. Practice at home

You don’t need to travel far to practice your travel photography skills. Look up local attractions and go visit them with your camera. Learn how the light works in natural settings compared to more industrial ones.

4. Travel light

You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) bring every camera accessory you have with you on your journey. Not only will they be heavy to lug around, but there’s a danger of losing or forgetting pieces behind. Bring only the key items such as the camera, a charger and memory cards.

5. Charge Your Equipment The Night Before

Make sure everything is charged and ready to go before you set out for the day. Bring along 2-3 extra charged batteries for your camera and external flash.

6. Learn a few words in the native language

If you’re going to a foreign country where the language is not your own, try learning a few phrases. Things like “hello”, “thank you” and “Can I take your photo?” will go a long way and might lead to a better photograph.

7. Listen to the Locals

Ask the locals where the best places to shoot are. Ask about their favorite photo spot and they’ll likely be excited to share the wonders of their home. Be sure to be respectful of their space and leave them alone if they’re not interested in talking with you.

8. Follow Basic Photo Rules

If you’re a beginner photographer, take some time to learn the basics. When taking photos, keep in mind guidelines like the rule of thirds and your depth of field. Learning photography terms will help you take better quality photos.

9. Get Candid Shots

Not all your shots should be posed and planned out. Try a variety of angles, capturing candids. Take photos of everything, the one you least expect may be the one that ends up the best.

10. Give Yourself Time

When shooting, make sure you give yourself plenty of time at the location. A time crunch will lead to blurry and rushed photos. Leave yourself enough time to set up, learn what setting your camera should be on and find the right light. This may mean starting your days earlier than normal.

11. Embrace Golden Hour

Lighting is everything. Make sure you know the different sunrise and sunset times of the location you’re at. Even places only a few hours away can differ. It may also be helpful to know what direction the landmark is facing that you’re trying to photograph so you can plan to be there when it’s in full light.

12. Get a New Angle

If you’re visiting a place that’s been photographed thousands of times, try a new angle. Find hidden details that aren’t always noticed like paintings on the ceiling. Shoot through an alleyway that frames the photo or move around and try to find a new vision.

13. Stay in the Moment

Don’t overthink the shot. Stay in the moment and go with the flow. Don’t be afraid to switch around your schedule to get a good photo.

14. Take Notes

Bring a small notebook with you as you travel and when you take photos to make sure you’re noting the place and your camera settings. This will help you later on as you go back to see what worked and what didn’t.

15. Be Wary of the Weather

Look at the weather forecast if you’re shooting outdoors. Remember, just because it’s raining or snowing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. Sometimes a foggy backdrop can reflect the light and make for an even better photo.

16. Bring Secure Bags with Locks

You’ve probably invested a lot in your camera and accessories, so make sure they are kept safe. Bring a camera bag with you that has a lot of padding and can be locked.

17. Backup Your Photos

Every time you return to home base, whether that be a hotel or friend’s home, make sure you backup your photos . This will free up space on your camera and will keep your images safe.

18. Always Bring a Camera When You Can

Bring your camera with you wherever you go. The perfect shot could be where you least expect it. This will also let you document your whole trip, not just parts.

19. Be Respectful of Your Environment

You may be visiting this place but to others, it’s home. Be respectful of the people and animals you meet along your journey.

20. Get Lost

Get out of your comfort zone and a venture off the beaten path. Try finding something unique to photograph. Get a little lost.

21. Share Your Work

Once you’ve returned from your trip, make sure your photos don’t just sit on the memory card or computer. Share them by creating a photo board on your wall or styling a travel photo book .

22. Print Everything Ahead of Time.

Before you start your travels, don’t forget to print your boarding passes, itinerary and other documents just in case your phone isn’t working properly. By printing everything ahead of time, you do not have to wait in any lines, worry about the digital kiosks in the airport or lack of wifi connection

Click To Download Travel Photography Checklist PDF

Travel photography is a fun way to document your trips. It allows you to take your stories home and share them with friends and family. Try creating a collage with a photo collage app and sharing your experiences on social media.

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Improve Your Travel Photography (15 Tips for Better Pictures)

Prepare to take better travel photos before you leave.

We’ve all grown impatient and expect to be able to figure out equipment just by using it. But I think that’s a mistake. If you want to improve your travel photography, you have to be familiar with the features of your camera and phone. Some are buried in menus, not at all obvious at first glance.

When did you last read the manual or watch videos about the functionality of your camera or smartphone? How many of the features are you missing out on?

Knowing how to use all the important features of your camera is the first step to improving your travel photography. So, now is a good time to read the manual.

Did You Just Get a New Camera?

Sometimes people buy a new camera right before a trip.

If that’s you, read the manual, take your new camera out and shoot for a while, to get the feel for the features. Don’t miss great travel shots because you didn’t know your camera.

Make Sure You Have Enough Memory Cards, Batteries, and a Charger

If you’re shooting with a DSLR or mirrorless, carry at least one spare battery. It’s surprising how fast they can drain, especially if you’re in a cold environment.

Remember to bring your battery charger and a few extra memory cards. It’s up to you whether you bring your laptop to transfer your files or keep them on the memory cards until you get back home. (I bring my laptop plus a backup drive to clear off my cards every night.)

Take a Camera or Just Your Phone?

A few years ago, this wasn’t a serious question. But now, you can get incredible photographs and videos using just a smartphone.

Today’s phones have far more amazing technology built-in than the newest cameras. The camera companies need to wake up or they’ll soon lose their business.

Smartphones give you:

• Detailed low-light images with less noise
• Sharp hand-held long exposures due to image stabilization technology
• Audio that zooms in with video
• Built-in software for editing photos and video

So, the choice is yours. Travel light with just your phone, or take you DSLR or mirrorless camera.

Get Into Manual and Out of Auto Mode

Yes, all cameras have Auto mode where the camera tries to do the work for you. Sometimes the results are fine, but mostly, they could be better.

Ideally you should be shooting in full Manual or Aperture Priority mode to gain much more control.

Although it’s confusing and intimidating at first, with a bit of practice, shooting Manual will become second nature to you.

If you’re looking for help, I’d recommend John Greengo’s course, Fundamentals of Photography as the perfect place to start. This is the course I bought years ago, (it’s been updated since then) and I still refer to it from time to time. I’ve bought other courses, but find this one the most useful. Here’s what’s included:

• 107 Video lessons in HD
• Over 24 hours of class content
• Lifetime access, anywhere, anytime
• Streaming and offline access on desktop and mobile

What I really like about this course, is that it’s broken down into the separate lessons which are clearly titled. So, when you want to learn about a specific topic or just refresh your memory, you go to that video and the associated documents.

Learn How to Use a Photo Editing Program

If you’re wondering why other people’s photos look so much better than yours, one of the reasons is that they have been edited in programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom .

If you’ve been using JPEGs right out of your camera or phone, learning how to edit will be a big step up.

There are many choices for photo editing software: free or paid, mobile or desktop or online service.

The most comprehensive image editing app with the steepest learning curve is Adobe Photoshop. It’s what the pros use. If you want to learn, here’s a great and inexpensive Photoshop for Beginners course from CreativeLive .

The most popular professional photo editing software is Adobe Lightroom, which can be used together with Photoshop. You can get access to both for about USD $10 a month. There are some things Lightroom can’t do, but if you want to start editing at a professional level, it’s a good choice. It’s available for desktop and mobile.

The most popular photo editing software for smartphones is Snapseed, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store . Although not regarded as professional level, it is loaded with features that make it worthy competition to Lightroom.

Just think of your original image as the raw material. Your edit is the rest.

There are of course many other editing programs, but I think that if you’re going to learn how to edit, you may as well start at the top. You’ll eventually want to move up to one of them anyway.

If You’re Editing Travel Photos, Learn to Shoot in RAW Format

DSLR and mirrorless cameras give you the option of shooting in RAW format. On the most recent generations of smartphones, there are setting for the native apps to shoot in RAW, and there is a wide variety of third-party apps.

A RAW image file is a big file that contains minimally processed data – it’s meant to be edited. On its own, it’s flat, unexciting. But it contains a wealth of information, and most importantly any editing you do on a RAW file is non-destructive. That means you can always re-edit to try different styles.

When you’re finished editing a RAW file, you’ll then save a smaller JPEG version (or a number of versions in various sizes if you like) that you can upload to social media or your website.

Keep in mind that RAW files are quite large and can fill up your memory quickly. So, you may want to transfer the files to the cloud, your desktop or an external drive.

By comparison, a JPEG file is already edited and compressed by the software in your camera or phone. You can further edit it in any program, but you have less information to work with, and any changes you make are permanent. So for example, if you crop an image, you’ll have lost the original, unless you made a copy before you started.

So, my recommendation is to learn how to edit RAW files. Sharper cleaner images, total editing flexibility, better printing quality. You’ll never go back.

Editing on Your Phone, Tablet or Desktop

Today, you can get all the leading editing apps for all platforms. That means, it’s really a matter of personal preference.

For me, I want as much screen real estate as possible, so I edit on a desktop. But others are very comfortable on a tablet.

I don’t know anyone who edits on their mobile, but that’s just me. I’m sure lots of people do, and you can’t beat it for convenience if you’re actually shooting on a phone. When I shoot on a phone, I transfer the shots to my desktop to edit.

Get Better Travel Photographs When You’re Alone

If travel photography is part of your vacation, and you’re with your partner or family, you need to negotiate a little time by yourself to take your photography up a notch.

You want time to find shots, try different angles, and maybe wait until the light is just right.

You can’t expect others to stand around while you’re lining up the perfect shot.

Perhaps you can get out before sunrise while they’re sleeping in or having breakfast. Or, just plan for a few hours of separate activities. You’ll get much better shots.

The best option is to go on a trip alone or with someone who wants to do what you do – take pictures day and night.

After our first trip to Venice, I went back a second time alone , just to shoot. It was great to wander the city with no agenda but to take photographs.

It’s Time to Shoot – Slow Down

Here, I’m talking to myself. I have to keep reminding myself to slow down, look for those “keeper” shots, rather than pointing my lens at everything. One good shot is worth a hundred that you’ll never look at again.

Slow down to really look at what you’re shooting. You may have to wait for people to get out of your scene, for traffic to change or for the light to improve.

A hidden benefit of shooting in Manual mode is that it forces you to slow down a bit. You’ll want to make adjustments to get your settings just right.

The Best Light is Just Before Sunrise or Just After Sunset

For big landscapes – say mountains or by the sea – you’ll want to be on location before sunrise or just after sunset. Colours are richer, the sky is more interesting and if you’re lucky, the clouds will add some drama.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t shoot at other times. If you’re shooting in a city with tall buildings, you may need the sun high in the sky to provide light, and create interesting shadows. In some places, high noon is the perfect time to shoot.

In low-light situations, you’ll likely want a tripod, although some of the newer cameras give you incredible hand-held shots when it’s virtually dark. The most recent generation of smartphones have wonderful low-light capabilities.

Photographing People – Common Questions Answered

Many photographers like shooting people as part of their travel stories. But there are questions about legality, morality, common sense, whether to ask or not etc. (The following are my answers. I’m not a lawyer, and your answers may be different.)

First, in a public space, it’s my understanding that it’s legal to photograph anyone whether you ask or not. But perhaps the bigger questions are about morality and common sense.

I don’t photograph children if they are identifiable. From the back, maybe, but usually because they’re part of a scene, not the focus.

I don’t photograph people who indicate that they don’t want their picture taken. This may be for personal or religious reasons, it doesn’t matter. If I’ve already taken a shot, I’ll delete it. I don’t want to upset people, nor get into altercations.

I don’t photograph people who are in anguish, or having a hard time. That’s why I don’t shoot people living on the street. But that’s my call, I know others see it differently.

Sometimes I ask people to pose for me if I want them to look into the lens. Other times, usually with a longer lens, I’ll shoot without asking. If I ask, and they say no, I won’t shoot. That’s just respect.

Carrying a Tripod or Not?

For the ultimate control of your image, especially in low light, you’ll want a tripod. With a tripod, you can shoot long exposures of many seconds or minutes to get effects like smooth water, silky waterfalls and more dramatic skies.

Travel Photo Composition Tips

There are many books on composition, and for good reason. When all is said and done, it’s the composition of your photo that matters most.

Here are a few techniques to keep in mind for your compositions:

Leading Lines – Photography is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional world. An image with natural lines that lead the eye into the image, say a road, railway line or row of buildings, is generally more interesting to look at because the 3D effect is more obvious. Study images that really appeal to you – many will have obvious leading lines that take you into the picture. Look for leading lines when you’re hunting for compositions.

Rule of Thirds – Many cameras let you see a grid of nine rectangles in your viewfinder, in other words 3 X 3. When you’re shooting, placing the focus of your image near one of the intersections is often more pleasing than dead center. It gives the eye somewhere to go, rather than being stuck in the middle.

Symmetry – In seeming contrast to the rule of thirds, an image that is obviously symmetrical, can be very appealing, because subconsciously, we’re comparing the sections to each other. That keeps us involved in the image.

Balance – While the rule of thirds suggest that the focus of your image is off to one side rather than center, if it’s too one-sided with no counter-weight on the other side, it will feel off balance. This can sometimes be fixed by changing the cropping of the image.

Scale – We’re fascinated by scale especially at extremes. Having people in your pictures can help with the scale of the other objects in your shot such as a building, bridge or tree. You know approximately how tall a person is, which helps you appreciate the size of everything else. See the earlier shot of the boulders in Monsanto.

Negative Space – Sometimes “nothing” can be very meaningful. Negative space is often tied to scale, for example, a person walking down a beach with a huge stormy sky taking up most of the shot.

Framing – Shooting through an archway, a window or door provides a natural frame for the subject. It’s especially useful if the frame itself helps tell the story.

Point of View – Most photography is shot at head height. Try shots with either the camera close to the ground, or from above for a different perspective.

Give Yourself an Assignment With Restrictions

When you shoot travel images, it’s tempting to try to cover everything. I am very guilty of that. To slow myself down and really look, I’ll often try one of two things.

In the first case, rather than carry a camera bag with a few lenses, I’ll pick a lens I don’t usually shoot with, and take only that one. For example, I have a 35 mm lens. It’s not the lens I use most often. It’s a prime, so no zooming. With that lens, when I see something I want to shoot, I have to find the best composition while dealing with the restriction of the lens. I’ll miss some shots because I can’t zoom in, but that’s ok. I’ll get others that I would never have thought of otherwise.

Or, I might give myself the assignment to shoot just one thing – be it a building, bridge, beach, market, whatever. I am going to find many ways to cover that subject – from afar, from a high vantage point if possible, close-up details, with people and without, in different lighting conditions, vertical and horizontal orientation, whatever it takes to really work a location.

Three Last Suggestions – Crop, Straighten Horizons, Clean Up Edges on Your Travel Photos

There are a few purists out there who claim you shouldn’t crop a picture – what you took, is what you get. To which I say, nonsense. It’s your picture. If cropping it makes It better, do so.

But crop or not, the one thing you always want to look for is a straight horizon. When you’re shooting handheld, it’s easy to have a horizon that’s not 100% straight. That’s where editing comes in – straighten out that horizon.

When you’re shooting, look around the edges of your frame. Ideally, you don’t want things like the odd tree branch or light fixture sticking into your shot. If you can eliminate it in-camera, do so. Otherwise, get rid of it in editing, either by cropping or retouching it out. Before you press the shutter, run your eye around the edges.

Parting Words – Always Carry a Camera

Whether it’s your every-day camera, a point-and-shoot or your phone, you never know when a scene will appear that you want to capture. Even if it’s just for reference for you to go back to later, it’s worth having a camera with you.

Get the Convenience of “WiFi Everywhere” to Upload Your Travel Photos

There’s nothing like having WiFi wherever you go. We rented a  Teppy portable WiFi and carried it with us everywhere. It’s small so that it fits in your pocket or bag. With a Teppy, you can connect your phones, tablets, laptops and gaming consoles just like you connect to WiFi at home.

Use the apps on your phone including your favorite GPS apps without paying expensive cellular service fees.

It’s also perfect for uploading pictures, sending emails or just web browsing. We also used it for online work on the road including web updates and social media.

Teppy portable WiFi  works around the world. Try it on your next trip.

Get $25 off Your Hotel Accommodation

For hotel accommodation, we like Booking.com. Photographs show off the properties, and real reviews help you choose the hotel that’s best for you. You’ll find a great selection, current prices and pages that make booking easy.

Remember, the most popular destinations fill up quickly, so book early to get the best selection and price. Click here, and you’ll get $25 off your next reservation on Booking.com .

Thinking of Airbnb? Get $50 off Your First Booking

We’ve rented Airbnb on many of our trips. We wrote an article about renting Airbnb, 12 Tips for a Great Renting Experience to help you make the right decision. If it’s your first time renting Airbnb, click here to get the equivalent of $50 CDN off your first booking .

Choosing a Guide Book? Get 10% Off Lonely Planet Books Here

Along with the websites and other travel planning tools, we still like to have a guide book handy. We’ve tried them all, and these days we prefer  Lonely Planet  books.

Note: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click on them and buy something or book accommodation, we receive a small commission at absolutely no cost to you. This helps with the cost of operating this site.

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Indian vedic astrology nakshatra star temple tour, 27 comments.

Great information, we have started adopting these tips. Really useful. Thank you.

I’ve def been caught out in the field with 4 dead batteries so make sure you bring a TON! Also, great advice about always bringing your camera. I don’t know how many times I’ve been out and about and kicked myself for not bringing it along. Thanks for sharing.

I am not that much of the photographer myself but yeah love to take pics and really try to take as professionally as I can, thanks for tips I am definitely applying in my next trip 🙂

A quick way to improve your travel photography is to think about how you want to compose an image and then try some alternate perspectives. Move around, look up, look down, get on the ground, scout framing options, anything to find another way of capturing the scene.

Love the shots and tips. I’ve been a freelance photographer for months now especially in the field of a wedding. Tips from this article can also be applied. Anyway, a great read and looking forward to more of your work, It’s awesome!

I am new to this hobby and I really appreciate this guide to improve my skills. Thank you so much for sharing this. A lot will really learn from this post.

Travel photography is my favorite hobby. Thank you for your great tips. Next time, I will read your post before I go on the trip So that I don’t forget to take my elements.

Hello there! Great tips. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

What the best article it is. I really enjoy your post. please keep it on.

15 Tips for Travel Photography is really awesome and creative experience sharing site. Thanks for sharing your prominent speech.

Travel photography is my favorite hobby. Thank you for your great tips. Photography is one of the best hobbies a person can adopt, Loved every bit of your article. so there are great information tips for us.

Thank you for your kind words. In regards to lenses, there are many choices, depending on your subject matter. The lens I usually shoot with is a Nikon 18–105 mm. That covers a broad range from wide-angle to zoom. Good luck with your shooting.

Fantastic think about Improve Your Travel Photography. You all are sharing some great tips! I appreciate for RAW format. Also lightroom photo editing software for photo retouching and photo masking. Thank you so much Love it 🙂

Amazing, you are really doing good job.

waw, very helpful article. I would love to share this. thanks for sharing these awesome tips.

Great tips here! Thank you for sharing!

This article is really helping me improve my travel photography skills! Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful tips.

Very informative! Thank you for sharing..

Wow! Love this post! Happy I found such a nice post. Thanks for sharing!

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25 Brilliant Tips For Travel Photography

Let me guess: you love travel, but while you want to enjoy your holidays and make the most of the beautiful destination , you’re also a keen photographer and want to capture stunning images that you can look back on and share with your family and friends.

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That’s why you’re looking for tips for travel photography. But travel photography is hard! What gear should you take? How do you know where to go and when to go there? What about the weather? Photographing strangers is scary! Places are often crowded! There are so many questions and challenges that it can be quite intimidating to even start.

But as they say, a journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step. And you’ve taken that first step by coming here to read my easy travel photography tips for beginners. Hopefully all this advice will help inspire you to get your camera out and start improving your travel photography so you can create beautiful images of your holidays to enjoy for years to come.

Tips for Travel Photography: Planning

1/ do your research.

The best travel photography starts before you even leave home. To make the most of every destination , you first need to do your research. Look up the places you’re going to on Pinterest, Instagram, or your favourite travel blogs, find out where are the best places to go and the best time of day to go there, and get helpful advice on what gear to take. You can also search for images that inspire you and make a list of the sorts of themes and angles you’d like to get. That way, when you’re at the location, you won’t be wasting your precious holiday time searching for the right spot.

2/ Know your camera

Another thing you need to make sure you do before leaving home is getting to know your camera. I rarely read instruction manuals, but when I buy a new camera, reading the manual is the first thing I do. Modern cameras are packed with amazing functions to help you take stunning images, so if you just stick yours on auto and hope for the best, you’re missing a great opportunity to get the most out of it.

If you’re a beginner travel photographer you don’t necessarily need to start learning all the manual settings, but even taking advantage of some of the different modes your camera offers – such as sports, nighttime or portrait – will really help take your travel photography to the next level.

Read more: The Rewards Of Visiting Uganda’s Batwa Tribe

3/ Travel as light as you possibly can

Don’t weigh yourself down with endless lenses, bodies, tripods and other paraphernalia. Yes it’s great to have lots of gear to choose from, but especially when you’re a beginner the key to great travel photography is freedom and flexibility. If you’re lugging a heavy backpack full of stuff, chances are most of it will end up staying in the bag, or by the time you’ve rummaged through it to find the thing you want the moment will have been lost.

This image was taken on Day 5 of climbing Kilimanjaro with a little Fuji X100T compact I bought specifically so I wouldn’t have to lug a DSLR up the mountain. I’m sure I got more and better shots with this because I could have it in my hand so it was ready to go every time I saw something interesting.

Read more: Climbing The 8 Days Lemosho Route On Kilimanjaro

4/ Bring the camera you have, and always have it with you

The old tip, ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’ is absolutely true. There’s no point splurging on a fancy camera if it’s so heavy you end up leaving it in the hotel. I love my Canon 5D Mark IV , but I have to admit it’s very bulky and heavy and there are lots of occasions when it’s not sensible or appropriate to bring it.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve ended up just using my phone because it’s quick and convenient – and you can take great travel photos with a smartphone! As a beginner, the number one best way you can improve your travel photography is by always having your camera close to hand so that when you spot that perfect moment, you’re ready to grab it.

Read more: An Unhelpful Guide To… Aztec Ruins In Mexico

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: On Location

5/ prioritise your photography.

You may get lucky and spot a golden opportunity for the perfect photo, but if you’re really keen on taking the best travel images you can, you’re going to need to carve out time in your trip for photography. That’s what’s going to make the difference between a nice holiday snap and a professional-quality travel photograph.

When I’m travelling, I often plan mornings or afternoons just to explore a place with my camera; for me it’s a great way to really get to the heart of an area and spot things I’d never normally notice if I was just walking round as a tourist.

Read more: Stunning Photography on the Streets of Cuba

6/ Get up early and stay out late

The best times to prioritise for travel photography are around sunrise and sunset. Not only will you get the nicest light – the hours just before and just after dawn and dusk (known as blue hour and golden hour) will give you the prettiest light and the most interesting skies, but you’ll also avoid the crowds and be more likely to get those gloriously empty images of your destination that you see on all the travel websites. Yes, it can be tough to drag yourself out of bed that early, but I promise you it’s worth it!

I took this image of our campsite in the Sahara Desert, Morocco , at blue hour, just after sunset, while the rest of my tour group were drinking wine round the campfire. I don’t regret it for a second, and of course I joined them as soon as I was done!

7/ React to the moment

While it’s great to have a plan, sometimes it’s even better to just chuck that plan out of the window and go with the flow. So you’ve arrived somewhere and it’s really crowded? The weather is bad? That famous landmark you came to see is covered with scaffolding? Then you’ll need to adapt.

Travel photography is all about seeing what’s in front of you and capturing the spirit of the place, and if that spirit isn’t what you were expecting, just roll with it. When I was in India I found everywhere was really crowded, so instead of trying to take photos of landmarks (arguably quite boring anyway), I decided to capture the other people taking selfies and came back with some much more characterful travel images as a result.

Read more: India: a Nation of Selfie-Lovers

8/ Set yourself a challenge

It can be all too easy to wander aimlessly with your camera, taking pot shots at random things and not really getting anything good. At times like these I find it’s really helpful to set myself a project. It might be to get ten really great photos of traders in a market, or to focus on doors, street dogs, or graffiti.

You could force yourself to shoot everything without using your zoom or set yourself a travel photography scavenger hunt with a list of 10 or 20 different things you want to capture that sum up the destination for you. Doing this will really force you to think about your photography and help you bring back much better images than if you just fire off your shutter at whatever happens to be in front of you.

In Trinidad, Cuba I spent about three hours wandering around just taking photos of people in doorways; this is one of my favourites.

9/ Abandon your tour group…

If you’re taking a tour or travelling with a group, travel photography can be extra challenging. Getting stunning images takes time and patience, and if you’re always being told to keep up, or you’re worried about getting lost, that can really limit what you can achieve.

So wherever possible, I find the best solution to this is to ditch the group and do my own thing.  If you plan to do this, make sure you tell the guide so they’re not looking for you, get their number in case you do get lost, agree a time and place to meet later, and if you can, grab a friend for company and safety. I also always try to be one of the last back on the bus – not late, of course, so I’m delaying everyone, but not early either, so I’m not sitting in a half empty bus when I could still be out exploring.

In Chefchaouen, Morocco , I left the group and wandered off by myself to find interesting corners like this one.

10/ … but mine your guide for information

Taking a tour – even if it’s just a day trip or a guided visit to a site – does offer up one huge advantage for travel photography: local knowledge! Your guide should know all the best places to go, the key things to photograph, and the best times to go there. I always let the guide know that travel photography is my passion, and they will often give great advice and sometimes even adjust the itinerary to make sure I get extra opportunities to take amazing photos of the destination.

In Inle Lake, Myanmar we had a free day, and by chatting with the guide I learned it was possible to hire a private boat and go out on the lake before sunrise, which is how I got images like this one.

Read more: The Beautiful Leg-Rowing Inle Lake Fishermen, Myanmar

11/ Get lost on purpose

Sometimes the best images I’ve taken have been the unexpected ones, when you wander down a side street and discover a slice of local life that the guidebooks would never know about. If you stick to the beaten paths and follow the usual tourist trails, mostly what you will see is other tourists and the country’s polished public face.

It’s only when you dip a little behind the scenes that you find the really interesting stuff, the bits that haven’t already been photographed a million times. So be bold. Wander curiously and see where it takes you – and when you’ve had enough just ask for directions or let Google maps guide you back.

Tips for Travel Photography: Composition

12 / use the rule of thirds.

If you’re a beginner travel photographer you may already be familiar with this concept. The rule of thirds states that if you imagine your image divided up into thirds horizontally and vertically, the most visually-pleasing composition is one where the subject of the image sits on one of the third lines. This draws the eye in and makes for a much more satisfying image than if you put the subject dead centre or too far off to one edge. It really works and it’s one of the easiest ways to make a huge difference to your photography in a single step.

In the image below, you can see the horizon sits nicely on the bottom third line, and the church tower and window are on the left third line.

Of course the rule of thirds is really a guideline more than a rule. Feel free to break it if you want to! If you scroll through the images in this post you’ll notice that the majority of them do follow the rule – but not all of them!

13/ Include people

While you probably want to avoid massive crowds of tourists, it’s a really great idea to try to capture individuals in your travel photos. Including a person can add a sense of scale to a beautiful landscape or give a focal point to wide shot of a landmark.

A street with a few traditionally-dressed locals walking through will always capture the essence of a destination more completely than an empty road, while a charming portrait of a local character always makes for an engaging image. So rather than waiting for people to walk OUT of your shots, why not think about waiting for them to walk IN?

Read more: 25 Spectacular Places To Visit For Travel Photography

14/ Be patient

The best travel photographs rarely happen in an instant. Yes, it only takes a fraction of a second to click the shutter, but to get to that point you need not only planning, but also patience. Quite often I find I can see the potential shot, but the reality is not quite right. The sun needs to come out from behind a cloud, or I need the right sort of person to walk through the shot, or I want the market trader to hand over the money or the tourist to get out of the way.

Often I can be waiting for ages for the thing to happen; sometimes I lose patience and give up, but other times the farmer I’ve got my camera trained on looks up and laughs and it’s totally worth the wait.

Read more: Taking Portraits in Myanmar (Burma)

15/ Think about what’s in the background

A common mistake that many beginner travel photographers make is that they’re so focussed on the subject of their image that they fail to notice what’s going on in the background. Is there a tree growing out of your subject’s head? Did a tourist just wander into the back of the shot? Is there a parked car or pile of rubbish spoiling the view?

When composing your image, ask yourself, ‘what is this photo actually OF?’ and then try to exclude anything that distracts from that, either by reframing, moving your position, moving the subject (if you can!) or waiting until the annoying person in the back of shot has moved away.

In this image of the Falkland Islands I chose to include the people as I wanted to show the juxtaposition of the group and the albatross colony, but if I’d wanted this to just be a photo of the colony I’d have needed to move or zoom in.

16/ Move your feet

Most modern cameras have huge zooms which allow you to get a variety of different shot sizes from a single standing point. But if you stay stuck in one place, you may be missing out on a better view of your subject just to one side. So don’t get too attached to one spot: get closer, get further away, find a vantage point… you might just stumble across something unexpected. And as an added bonus: photography is great for your daily step count!

While the rest of my group were all standing together over to the left, I explored a bit further round to the side and was able to get a much better angle on this chimpanzee.

Read more: Chimpanzee Trekking In Uganda: A Breathtaking Wildlife Adventure

17/ Don’t copy Instagram

While it’s great to use Instagram for background research, once you’ve seen what’s out there try to think outside the box and do your own thing. No travel photographer ever won an award by taking the exact same picture as everyone else, and no one wants to look at hundreds of identical photos of the same place.

How many photos have you seen of a girl in a big hat with her back to the camera looking at a view? It’s so unoriginal! See what everyone else is doing, sure, but then use it as inspiration and move forward.

18/ Take the obvious shot, then take a better one

Each time you take a picture, instead of just taking one, take two. First, the standard one from the conventional viewpoint, and then do something different. Zoom in, crouch down, move closer, walk round the side, wait for someone to walk into the frame, look for a different vantage point, find some way to make your image a little bit less ordinary. This will set you apart from the masses and give you unique, more eye-catching images.

This first photo of the Duomo in Orvieto, Italy , is perfectly nice, but don’t you think the second one is far more interesting?

Read more: 30 Beautiful Pictures Of Guatemala And The Stories Behind Them

Traveller Photography: Best Practice

19/ be culturally aware.

There are many places in the world where photography is frowned upon. Some sites ban it, in other places local people just don’t like being constantly papped by passing tourists. Sadly with the rise of social media this is becoming more and more common, and it’s certainly something I’ve found frustrating in the past, but as a responsible traveller it’s your job to respect the locals and their customs.

So if you find yourself in a place where it’s not permitted or appropriate to take photos, don’t do it. Simply enjoy being in the moment and focus on making memories instead.

Read more: Ethical Travel Photography: How To Capture With A Conscience

20/ Ask permission

It’s not necessary (and it would be impossible) to ask permission from every man or woman in the street before you take a photo, but if you want to take a close up of an individual it’s a good idea to get their consent first. Doing this shows respect and gives that person the chance to decide whether they want to be photographed or not. Don’t worry if you don’t speak the language, a simple smile and a gesture towards your camera is universally understood.

Sometimes, however, you may not want to interrupt the moment as this can often cause the person to stop what they were doing and ruin the shot. In this case you’ll need to make a decision. If you’re far enough away and can quickly take the photo without offending them, do that. If you want to get closer, the best strategy is to ask permission, take one or two photos, walk away a little and wait for them to forget about you and go back to what they were doing, then come back and get the shot you originally wanted.

21/ Be safe

Of course it should go without saying that while following all of these tips, it’s important to be sensible. Don’t go off alone if you’re not sure you’ll be able to find your way back. Don’t wander into a dodgy part of town with a big expensive camera hanging round your neck.

Make sure your money is secure and your backpack pockets are properly zipped and your passport is in the safe in your hotel so that someone can’t pickpocket you while you’re busy focussing on other things.

Watch where you’re putting your feet so you don’t fall off a cliff or step in front of a car. If possible, have someone with you so you can keep an eye on each other. Photography is enormous fun, but that fun will come to a swift end if you get robbed or worse, and no image is worth putting yourself in danger for.

Travel Photography Tips for Beginners: Technicalities

22/ bring enough memory and batteries.

You’ve spent all that money to go all that way, so the last thing you want is to miss out on bringing home some fantastic images just because you didn’t bring enough memory! Make sure you’ve got your charger, at least one spare battery and a big enough memory card or two. Imagine how annoyed you’d be if you spotted something astonishing and then couldn’t capture it because your card was full or your battery died!

23/ Backup backup

Whether you can do this depends on where you’re going and how light you plan to travel, but I never go away for more than a few days without taking a laptop and hard drives with me. At the end of every day I download the photos and back them up on two drives which I store separately, so that if ever my camera or a drive gets lost or broken, I won’t lose all my images.

This image of a penguin colony in Antarctica was just one of several thousand that I took. Losing them all would have been a disaster so I backed up my photos every day.

24/ Learn some basic photo editing

If you really want to take your travel photography to the next level, you need to learn a little photo editing . No professional travel photograph you will ever see has come straight out of the camera; they have all been tweaked at least a bit.

I’m not talking about hours of colour correcting and photoshopping here, and if you’re a beginner I’m not suggesting you pay for pro editing software (at least for now, though you may want to later on), but there are plenty of free tools out there (including the one that probably came with your camera) that will allow you to make a few simple improvements. Things like cropping, levelling a wonky horizon, or adjusting white balance or exposure, are just small corrections that can really help to make each image just that little bit better.

25/ Practise at home

And finally – yes, it’s all about practice. No one ever got good at anything overnight, but if you’re passionate and you want to learn, you WILL get better! Why not try taking your camera out round your local area, for example? Practice street photography in your own town or shoot landscapes in your nearest bit of countryside. That way when you’ve splurged your savings on that trip of a lifetime, you won’t mess it up!

Further travel photography reading

Looking for more tips for travel photography? Why not try some of these:

• 19 Wildlife Photography Tips for Beginners
• 13 Top Tips For Photographing Markets
• How To Take Great Photos Of The Northern Lights

70+ Stunning South Georgia Photography Tips

• Photography on the streets of Cuba

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Bella is a multi-award-winning travel writer, wildlife photographer and science and history documentary director from London. Among many awards and nominations she won Blogger of the Year at the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Awards 2023 and Best Photography at the Travel Media Awards 2020. Her work has been published by National Geographic, Wanderlust, and BBC Travel among others. Her films have been shown around the world including on the BBC, Discovery and PBS.

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Best Poses for Pictures from a Travel Blogger

April 23, 2022.

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

When I first started my travel influencer journey my photos were painfully awkward to say the least. I’d see all of these photographs of travelers looking so effortlessly natural, and yet the second I was in front of the camera I would completely freeze up. My body would stiffen, my smile unnatural, not cute. I had yet to nail the best poses for pictures.

Luckily, over the years I have had quite a bit of practice. After countless photoshoots for my Instagram account ( @tavernatravels ) and for the many brands that I’ve worked with over the years, I’ve nailed some simple and easy tricks for the best picture poses. 

This article will cover all of the cute and best poses for pictures that will make you feel more confident and beautiful next time you’re trying to get your perfect shot. 

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Cute poses for travel photos

Before we dive into this list I do want to call out that posing might always feel awkward to you, and that is totally fine. I have never been able to shake the awkwardness, and sometimes I feel a bit stupid in the moment while twirling and spinning. But I promise these simple cute poses for pictures will give your photos the effortless touch that you’re looking for. Even if it requires a bit of practice. 

1. Turn away from the camera 

We’re going to start this list out with the easiest pose for cute travel pictures: the “turn away from the camera” pose. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably not wearing a full face of makeup when traveling. And when you finally get to that epic mountain view point after a few hours of hiking, your face might be a bit red and sweaty.

This pose is one of my favorites because it allows you to face away from the camera so that the backdrop can be the focus of the picture. 

Tip: Since you’ll be facing away from the camera, I recommend finding ways to take up a bit more space. This might mean raising your arms, or using a prop like a hat. 

2. Fix your hair 

If you spend just 5 minutes scrolling through my Instagram or blog, you’ll find hundreds of photos of me in the “fix your hair” pose. This is probably one of my favorite poses because it feels like an effortlessly cool pose for pictures. Rather than feeling overly posed, by fixing your hair you’ll be able not only adding a more dynamic pose to your body, but also adding some movement. 

Tip: To get the desired effect, I will hold my hand up to my head, and then slowly whip my head back and forth to add movement to the hair. Make sure that your eyes are always facing the same direction as you head!

3. Twirl and spin

This is one of those picture poses that always makes me feel the most awkward in public, especially if I’m taking my own photos , but it is also easily one of my favorite fun poses for pictures. Similar to the fixing your hair pose, the twirl and spin pose is a good pose for pictures because it helps you to add natural movement into your shots. Not only will this help your photos to feel more dynamic, but it will also help you to avoid looking overly stiff. 

Tip: While not a requirement, I find this pose works the best with a dress. The flowing of a dress adds such a fun element to photos. It also gives your hands something to hold onto to avoid the dreaded awkward arm poses. If you’re not wearing a dress, another option is to add a prop like a hat, which I’ll go into more detail on down below. 

4. Walk towards the camera 

The fake walk. You love to see it!

If you’re looking for good picture poses for your travel photos, the fake walk is it. If you’re just starting out in your picture taking journey, you may find that actually walking towards the camera, with your head angled slightly down, is the easiest.

As you feel more comfortable over time, rather than always walking, which requires the photographer to sometimes move with you, you can try the fake walk. Simply rock back and forth on your feet to make it look as if you are walking. This bit of movement will still add some of the desired wind to your clothes and hair.

Tip: It is super important that you keep your arms loose. You want to avoid gluing them to your sides, which will appear stiff and awkward. 

5. Use a prop 

Adding props is easily one of the easiest ways to snag a great travel photo. They make your photos way more dynamic, and give you something to do with your hands. Hands down my favorite prop is a hat. Whether it is a straw hat in the summer months, or a felt hat in the fall, a hat is so versatile. You can hold it on your head, wave it around in the air, or even hold it in front of your body. 

Other good photo props or accessories include:

• A maxi dress for twirling and swishing
• Flowers for a pop of color
• Seasonal accessories (gift box, pumpkin, etc)
• Relevant food items (a croissant in Paris, a hot dog in NYC) 

6. Look down and away from the camera

I am the queen of awkward faces. Well, honestly I’m just an awkward person in general. So it makes sense that I’ve nailed the “look down and away from the camera” pose. This one is really just as simple as it sounds. It works best, however, if you combine it with walking towards the camera.

Tip: Make sure to not look straight down, as that will put your neck in an awkward position. Instead, look at a spot on the ground about 5-10 feet in front of you. 

7. Sitting naturally pose 

Sitting is a great way to pose for your travel photos, but it can go horribly wrong as well. This biggest mistake when trying cute sitting poses is slouching. This pose works best if you sit up straight and arch your back just slightly. I find this is easiest to accomplish when you fully bend one of your legs (I usually do my leg that is closest to the camera), slightly bend your other leg, and prop your elbow up on your leg. 

Tip: Make sure if you’re propping your hand up on your leg that you don’t make a fist. This will add too much tension to your body and make it look stiff. Instead, pretend that you are holding an egg in your hand! 

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Other photography tips for cute poses

• Make sure to shoot with natural light and avoid shooting directly into the sunlight. Instead, it is better it you look into the sun, and utilize the look away poses if necessary.
• Practice, practice, practice. It will only get easier over time.
• Take photos early in the morning to avoid crowds. I am a sunrise queen when I am traveling and it is always worth it.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laugh, smile, and twirl for the best results!

Like what you read about the best poses for photos? Make sure to pin it for later:

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