Tips on Making Good Vacation Photos

Going on a vacation is something that everyone needs to do once a year. It recharges our batteries, it creates great memories, and the food, the drinks, and the sites (not necessarily in that order) are an excellent experience. You, of course, want to document all of this, so you take plenty of pictures. However, there seems to be something wrong with them. Here are a few tips on taking good vacation photos.

Capture the Place

Yes, you want to show your family and friends where you went and how great a time you had. The perfect way not to do it would be to take a bathroom selfie. There is nothing wrong with including yourself in the picture, just as long as you are not the only thing worth seeing on it. The picture needs to convey at least a fragment of the emotions the scenery awakens in you. Therefore, regardless of whether it is a mountaintop, a beach, a temple, or a street, try to capture the spirit of the place. If you succeed, the emotions from your vacation will be displayed on the picture.

Use the Light Well

If you’ve taken a picture with a camera before, then you know a little bit about how bad lighting can completely ruin the photo. You can also get creative if you have the talent for it. Show contrast between the light and the shadow to tell a story about a place or the mood. Keep in mind that the weather and the time of day play a huge roll on the brightness, exposure, and contrast in your pictures. A bad picture might need some heavy-duty photo editing before it becomes decent. If you don’t want your friends to see a shadow in a pale background, don’t take a picture of your subject with the light behind them. Also, we are pretty sure few people will enjoy the photos of people squinting because the sun is too bright.

Candid Photos

No, we are not saying you should take photos of other people without them knowing. That is just creepy and potentially illegal. What we’re saying is that you should take pictures of yourself and your friends without posing. Taking a picture when people don’t expect it is what makes it more real. Smiles are great, but they are simply awesome when they are unplanned. Having a spontaneous photo shows you the true feelings of the people you are taking pictures of. Just clear the pictures by them before keeping or deleting them.

Tell a Story with a Theme

Pictures that are taken randomly are really in the spirit of tourism and vacationing. However, the pictures would be much more powerful if they had something that would separate them from the arbitrary clicking mess. What you need is a theme. It doesn’t have to be anything exotic. All you need is a pattern that follows pictures in your new e-album. “James and the Local Hats”, “Jane Versus the Mosquitoes and Spiders”, or “Local Specialties” are all valid options. Not only will you get good photos, but you will also start traditions.