Tips for Perfecting your Vacation Pictures

Taking a vacation, whether it’s on your own or with family and friends, is a happy and exciting time. There is always a memorable, funny or majestic moment to capture as you relax and unwind. Taking great photos is not a skill that comes naturally to everyone but there are a few things you can do to ensure that you have plenty of wonderful images to remember your vacation by.
Simple Photography Tips for the Traveler

• The moments are what matters on a vacation so try not to get the people you’re with to pose too often. Instead, focus on capturing special moments between your children or between friends. You also never know when a unique moment might present itself in your surroundings so always have your camera ready. It doesn't need to be perfect, And you don't need a fancy camera!  Just remember it's the memories - but be sure to be involved in making those memories and not sitting on the sidelines.  I often take my waterproof point and shoot to the beach so I can be right there with my kids in the water and not worry about damaging my phone or DSLR. 
• If you are looking to get some great shots of the scenery around you, it’s always best to get up early if you can. The lighting will be better earlier in the day and hopefully there won’t be as many people around. Not a morning person?  Head out an hour before sunset for that beautiful golden hour light!  This is great for mountains and beach pictures and if taking pictures of people, there’s less squinting and less likely for dark under-eye shadows!
• Before you pack up your belongings and head out the door, become familiar with the settings on your camera. Take out your camera’s manual and have a quick read through the settings and features to ensure that you’re up to speed with what your camera is capable of.
• If you have the ability to select the focal point (some phones have this as a setting or you tap the phone that you want to have in focus and properly lit) do this!  However doing this will lose focus and lighting on other parts of the image so you do not necessarily want to do this for scenic views.  Play around and have fun, you can always delete the ones that don’t come out the way you want!
• Get in the images!  Even if it means a selfie or that the whole family is not in the image, be sure you exist in this vacation!  Many parents tend to hide behind the camera, your kids don’t care what you are wearing or what your hair looks like or if you are waiting to lose those last few pounds, just get in the picture.  Your kids will be thankful to have those picture to look at one day.
• Don’t forget to take some detailed shots too. While you want to capture the scenery and be able to show others what you experienced on vacation, taking the time to zoom in on the smaller details can make for some amazing photos too.  Whether it’s a great meal that you had or the beautiful detail on a building, try not to discount those shots.  Going somewhere tropical?  Get close on those beautiful flowers, just not too close or you might not be able to focus!
• Last of all, go home and PRINT the images!  They might not end up on the walls of your home, but we are so caught up in the digital era that we forget to print.  Think about how much fun it is to open a box and look through old pictures.  Do this for your children!  Print books or some cheap 4x6s just print!
• Bonus Tip: Take short movies if you can!  This is a great way to capture action shots if your camera is not fast enough to capture the image without blur or taking in a huge scenic view of mountains, volcanos, beaches and more!

If you are looking to take your photography to the next level and/or learn more about your camera, please be sure to contact me!  I offer group classes several times a year and offer 1:1 or 1:2 classes as well customized to what you are looking to learn!  Find out more here.


Safe travels.​

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