Photography tips: 5 tips for better holiday pics

Dear tourist,

I am sorry I insulted you by calling your pictures crappy (last weeks’ article). That wasn’t very nice of me. Let me make it up to you by giving you five tips to improve your holiday pictures. You may already know one or two of them, but that still leaves the other ones to improve your shooting.

Un-center your composition
Whatever it is, you are photographing, try not to put it in the middle of the picture. It yields boring pictures. Instead, use the rule of thirds: put your main object @1/3 or 2/3 of the width or height of your picture. This gives a natural feel to your pictures. Act likewise with landscapes: the horizon should be at 1/3 (for spectacular skies) or 2/3 (if there is a lot to see in the landscape) of your picture, not exactly halfway.

Shallow dof for famous shapes
So, you’re visiting the Eiffel Tower / Acropolis / Coliseum / Golden Gate Bridge / whatever famous landmark you can think of. We’ve seen zillions of pictures of these landmarks, how will yours be better? Well, since you are going to photograph your fellow travelers in front of the landmark anyway (that’s what tourists do, they seem to need some proof that they were actually there), photograph them using a shallow depth of field (dof). How? Make sure you are fairly close to John / Mary / whoever you are photographing and set a large aperture (low f-number, or use the camera's portraiture mode). Then focus on John / Mary / whoever and shoot. The landmark will now be slightly vague in the background, but still recognizable because of its famous features.

Use a polarizer
If you are going anywhere sunny and want to capture those clear blue skies, invest in a polarizer. See the earlier article on how to use it and what to expect.


Avoid crowds
This one is a real challenge. Since you’re a tourist at a tourist attraction, you are part of the problem. If you’re at a top attraction during the top season, there will always be crowds. But you can limit the effect. Check for camera positions where crowds are less visible. Wait for big crowds to pass. If you just have a little patience, you’ll note that crowds tend to come in waves. Shoot between these waves. Zooming in on the subject may also help, and shooting at a slightly higher angle (especially for buildings) can be useful too. Don’t forget to picture the crowds as well, to show the folks at home just how packed the place was.

Time your visit
You may also avoid crowds by timing your visit at not-so-popular times, e.g. in the early morning or around dinner time (check the opening hours though). Timing will also help you get better light. Generally, and especially in sunny conditions, the light is much softer in the early morning or late afternoon. The hour before sunset provides the best light, and is therefore also known as ‘the golden hour’.

I sincerely hope you are not mad anymore and I wish you a great holiday.

Kind regards,


CamAbs

Photography tips: See your hometown through the eyes of a tourist

Ever wondered why most tourists take crappy pictures? There’s loads of reasons, like lack of experience, lack of photographic talent and so on. One reason in particular I would like to address here, and that is timing.

Tourists are bad timers. They arrive at a location in the holiday season, when the location is packed with tourists and the harsh light blows out the skies on many holiday pictures. Why can’t they just wait ‘till the light is better and all the tourists are gone? Simple, they are the tourists, and when the tourists go, they go. By definition. Period.

Sure, some tourists are lucky enough to catch a day with a nice sky, and some are even wise enough to visit hotspots on not-so-hot times of day. But most of them get there on a guided tour, and bring their own obstacles (i.e. their fellow travelers) with them.

You won’t do that, you’re a local, right? You will probably not even visit the hotspots. At least I didn’t. I visited all the hotspots in the cities I once lived in after or before I lived in that city. Not while I lived there. I even passed some of these hotspots dozens of times without even noticing them.

Silly isn’t it? People coming from over the planet to gaze at the beauty of your city, while you don’t even notice. Even sillier when you realize you take better pictures than they do. You probably feel where I’m going by now? Right, go out there, and be a tourist in your hometown. Shoot the pictures they would liked to have shot but couldn’t because of the light or the crowds. You can go there anytime, right? You can wait for months to get that landmark against the background of a spectacular sunset or with the moon behind it on a cloudless night. You can take your pictures when no one else is around. And you are a better photographer, remember? So you are the one to make (and sell?) the top shot of that hotspot.

All you need to do, is go out there. Go by foot or by bike. And see your hometown through different eyes. Don’t look at your place like a local heading for the shops. Be amazed by the beauty of it, like the tourists are. And picture the beauty. With your better skills and better conditions, you will very likely end up with gorgeous pictures.

Landmark @ Somewhere

Suppose you’re visiting the famous place Somewhere. Obviously, since you’re there, you will visit the equally famous Landmark, as it is conveniently located just outside somewhere. And when you visit Landmark, you would be a silly photographer to go home without a picture of it, right? So, there you stand, at a pretty spot, just near Landmark, aiming your camera. Around you, you see about a zillion tourists doing exactly that, from about the same viewpoint. Now you know, you are not going to take a very original picture.

Nothing wrong with standard pics, I am not saying that. You are not only a photographer, you are also a tourist. And you want something to remind you of the famous places you visit. But still. You also want a more or less special picture of Landmark, a picture that is really yours. Take a good look around you, the solution is probably closer than you think.


Free high res version of this picture