Contrary to popular belief, good vacation photographs are difficult to shoot. It is wrong to believe that snapping 500 digital images on a two-week vacation will produce a National Geographic documentary. Rich travel photography includes the nuance of portraits, the grandeur of landscape, the speed of photojournalism and the eye and wonder of a child.
One well-framed 11 x 14 photo speaks louder than scores of “How I Spent My Vacation” snapshots. A professional photographer thinks a 10% shooting average is terrific. Those are not great shots, they are acceptable images. If I get five outstanding shots out of 500 images, I am overwhelmed.
To come back from a trip with photos more interesting than Aunt Jewel pointing to the Wailing Wall, you must learn some basic rules. Follow these guidelines on your next vacation, and I guarantee you will return from your next holiday with better images than you ever thought possible.
Have a Theme – Give Yourself a Direction
What kind of photos do you want to bring home? Do landscapes give you a thrill? Are cathedrals your passion? When I travel for pleasure, I get an idea of what I want to document before I leave. This trip I want to return with the faces of France or the Moorish mosques of Spain or the food stalls of Hong Kong. If you focus on one subject, your shooting will be very structured, less scattered – time and energy will not be wasted.
In the United States, whether on assignment or vacationing, my passion is rural post offices. There is a post office in every town and hunting to find that one jewel has given me much joy over the years. Even on days when I have not felt like shooting, I know that if I do not stop at that next small town, I may miss the best rural post office in the United States. Find something that you like and seek it out whenever you travel: synagogues, old schools, police stations and cemeteries are just a few examples. Give yourself a photo goal while on vacation.
It’s Not the Camera, It’s the Photographer
Even today’s simplest point-and-shoot digital cameras are more sophisticated than professional cameras were 20 years ago. The competition is so great in photography that all manufacturers are wooing customers with low prices and amazing quality. Do not be intimidated by your lack of equipment or other form of abundance! You are the creator.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the finest photojournalists in history, was known to use only one lens when he shot, and it was not a zoom lens!
Know Your Equipment
The only way to become a good photographer is to know your equipment intimately. Do not bring new equipment on your vacation unless you are completely familiar with it. Let me repeat that: Do not bring new equipment on your vacation! Your manuals are your bibles, so take them with you.
They will be a great comfort. Read them on the plane to familiarize yourself with those little buttons that do what? There is nothing worse than missing a great shot, because you didn’t know what each button did. Bring extra batteries! Today’s mega-function cameras eat batteries because of all the internal electronics (zoom, flash, autofocus, etc.).
It’s Digital – Shoot Wildly
The old mantra was “Film is your cheapest commodity.” Well digital is even cheaper. I’m still using the same card I bought five years ago. The old rule of thumb was to shoot one roll of film a day (36 exposures) while on vacation – now, how about 100 images? This is a very simple premise. The more you shoot, the better you get – and the greater your odds are of returning with outstanding images. The more you practice the piano, the better you become – the same with photography.
I have yet to meet anyone who felt he or she took too many photos. There was always that one missed shot or one captured at the wrong angle. You may never be in that location again, so shoot a lot. Think black and white while shooting. There are some scenes that are more dramatic without color. Never shoot in the b/w mode, but rather convert them in an editing program when you return home.
The Garbage Pail (OK, the Delete Button ) Is Your Best Friend
Photos are not sacrosanct. If an image is rotten, delete it. As simple as this may sound, it is the most difficult thing for most people to do. Dump the garbage! At least 30% of your photos should be tossed on the first edit, and that’s not including the shots you delete on the spot. You always want to improve your skills, and if you keep only the best, you have a basis of comparison for your next trip. I don’t care if you think they are not taking up any physical room on your computer, they are still junk.
Six months after your vacation, go over your photos and edit them again. The novelty of the trip has worn off, and you can be very objective. On a two-week vacation, shooting 100 images a day totals 1,400 shots. It would not be unheard of to have only 200 photos of that vacation after two years of editing. Remember, pros consider 10% a great shooting average. That 10% is not great photos but acceptable ones. Your friends and relatives would rather see 50 great shots instead of 250 mediocre ones. Also, they will not dread coming over to your house after a vacation if they know they will
be seeing some quality work. “Oh no, not Bob and Emily’s vacation photos again … I’m getting a migraine!”
Organize Your Images Promptly
One of the more painful processes after returning home is organizing your photo files. Do this immediately: set up folders, change the names of your images and so forth. Remember years past when that drawer you had in the kitchen or den was overflowing with hundreds of photos with no labels or negatives. Well folks, that’s what some of your computer desktops are now! You should be able to pull any image from four years ago in less than five minutes if you’ve organized them correctly from the start. There are scores of great programs that help organize shots.
Be Unique in Your Shooting
The great scenic and historic shots have been done by everyone. We cannot possibly take photos as beautiful as the postcard shots. The photographers who take those photos live there and can wait and wait and wait for the perfect lighting or sky or weather. Don’t be too proud to buy those postcards for your album. Tell your friends you took them. It’s not that you should not photograph the same subjects, just look for a new perspective. You have seen the postcards. Ask yourself, “Where was the photographer standing?” Go for a different angle; try to capture an interesting mood.
Do not let the weather hamper your shooting. Each condition can add something to your pictures. Grey days give a different feeling than sunny ones, and wind creates a different aura than stillness. Some wonderful – actually astonishing – photos have been created when the photographer’s mood or the weather seems dismal. Use it … remember all your emotions are compressed on a vacation. When you’re happy, it is euphoric, when you’re down … watch out! Continue to shoot if you feel down; you will bring a different slant to that day and don’t assume the photos will be dreadful.
Rewarding travel photography takes effort. Reread this a few times, find the things that grab you and use them. Start to get an idea of what you want to capture on film on your next trip. Follow the rules. Photography is a combination of technology (camera) and art. Watch for those moments that say something and most of all … have fun!
