Here’s How To Nail The Perfect Instagram Holiday Shot
Getting to your dream holiday destination takes a good amount of time and money, so you owe it to yourself (and your family and friends following along at home) to capture your trip in all its glory. And Instagram is the perfect way to show off your trip (duh).
[related_articles]62424,59553[/related_articles]If you aren’t too crash hot behind the lens, honing your photography skills before your next trip isn’t a bad idea. After all, your photos serve as your memories of the thoughts, emotions, sights and smells of trip. To capture an album full of travel photos you’re proud of on your next adventure, keep these few photography tips in mind.
Do your research on when is best to shoot
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Lighting makes all the difference to travel photography. Head out for a shoot midday and you will be battling with the harsh overhead light. Shoot with mellow light at sunrise or a golden glow at sunset, and you’re onto a winner.
But lighting is only part of the reason you need to nail your shoot timing. If you want a shot of your location with nobody in it, the early bird gets the worm, as they say. Shooting at sunrise means you’ll be dealing with far fewer people than during the day or at sunset. Do be sure to do your research though – this rule doesn’t apply everywhere you go.
[related_articles]54978[/related_articles]For example, one Google search of “Siem Reap temple tours” and you’re bombarded with sunrise tour options. Unless you want to be shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other people all trying to get the same shot, then avoid heading out at sunrise to get your shots. The quietest – and arguably the prettiest – time in a place like Angkor Wat is just before closing time (6pm).
Look for a different perspective on your subject
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If there was a dollar in the travel kitty for every photo of the Eiffel Tower taken from the plaza at Palais de Chaillot, you’d have enough to get there to see it yourself, ten times over. Sure, it is a great perspective of the structure, but originality and creativity goes a long way in capturing the perfect Insta-worthy shot.
Avoid adding to Insta clichés, and seek out a different viewpoint of your subject. And icon can look completely different if you play around with angles and distances. Finding a point of elevation for a birds-eye view, a view that frames it perfectly (eg, through the window or between two nearby trees). Even playing with the rule of thirds and your pose, will all help to create a unique shot.
Some of the best shots of the Eiffel Tower are taken from really low or really high angles, or nearby rooftops, balconies, streets.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help and give direction
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Nine times out of ten, friendly passersby are rubbish at taking photos. While the help is most appreciated, there is nothing worse than getting your camera handed back to you with a bunch of weirdly framed and unusable photos on it. How do you ask them to take more photos without offending their photo taking prowess?
The best way is to just avoid having to retake them in the first place. Tell your temporary photography assistant exactly what you had in mind before they assume their spot behind the lens, yes, give them your own photography tips.
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Frame your shot, get the light and the focus right, take a test shot and show them exactly what the photo should look like once you jump in. Don’t be afraid to direct from in front of the camera either – the more direction you can give, the better the result will be.
If all else fails, think about using a tripod and remote to do it yourself.
Play with props
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Experimenting with different objects in your photos can add so much to the story you are trying to get across through your images. You can take a pretty-but-generic landscape shot and change it into something completely different, just by adding a few props to the frame.
You don’t have to go overboard with the props either. A café shot at a table brimming with brunch dishes can be striking, but a simple, single prop can draw just as much attention. It is amazing what something as simple as an ice-cream or the old 4WD you are roadtripping in can do for your photos.
As soon as you add a melting, dripping cone to the foreground of your shot of Positano, or park your 4WD in the middle of a deserted country road in Tasmania, the whole photo is given different meaning.
Check out more of our profesh photography tips here.
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