Pics Can Talk

Traveling is one word that excites many. The core reason of traveling on vacation is to enjoy and see unique sights away from home, and most of us can’t get enough of it even when we have to come back to our real life. And so, what do we do? We record our memorable trips on our cameras. Indeed travel photography is where we use our cameras the most.

Planning for your next holiday? Read on to see how you can bring back more memories and interesting shots within a travel album which you would be proud to show to all your friends.

Recording Images

When we are on a trip, our eyes record every interesting element, storing it in a special area of our brain. When you see something interesting, be aware of how it makes you feel and then remember to take a picture at the same point. It’s good to make a strong impression of the feeling as when you look back at the pictures from your trip, your mind will instantly bring up the same feeling. It’s is as if you are revisiting the place.

Don't Spare on Your Shots

One point I always tell friends is not to be stingy with taking shots while traveling. Remember, that you may be taking a once in a lifetime trip, so for goodness sake, take as many shots as you feel you need. If you can spend on souvenirs, surely a few extra roll of films or larger capacity memory cards would be worth buying.

With digital cameras nowadays, you can delete and retake shots right at the very same spot. If you are unsure whether to take or not, just take the shot.

Sometimes bad shots or candid ones make excellent pictures and are worth a laugh. Not every shot in your travel album need to be posed or perfect. Otherwise you may just end up with a boring set of “normal” pictures.

Use Your Still Camera Like a Video Camera

Yes, you may have a video camera handy when you are taking pictures of your family having fun. However, do realize that you would most probably be showing off your photographs more than your video camera after your trip. With this in mind, use your still camera like a video camera. Take a sequence of pictures of the activities. Switch on the “multi-shot” function on your camera if you have one. Then when you put these pictures into your album, place them side by side to show “movements” rather than just a still shot.

Tell A Story

It is widely known that Japanese tourists take their cameras with them almost everywhere they go and they can’t help but take pictures of almost everything. Perhaps they may have the right idea.

Make your trip into a story. Start every point of your journey with a title. This means when you arrive at a tourist destination, find the name of the location on any signboard and take a picture of it. This will be the first picture in the picture collection. Then, as you proceed with your visit, take pictures along the way at “checkpoints” (ie entrances, ticket counters, refreshment counter, getting onto a tourist tram).

Your tour pictures will almost be like a comic strip storyboard and making it even more interesting and meaningful for friend and family flipping through your album.

Shooting Reality

Don’t just take shots of tourists’ spots. In between these, look around you and discover “real-life”. Tourists’ spots would most probably have been “made-up” for tourists but more interesting shots can be had if you look around you. Take pictures of the locals and what they are doing. It is interesting to see and think about how different the foreign culture is to your own as well as the lifestyle of the people.

Vary Your Shots

Mix your shots. In addition to taking scenery shots, take shots from up-close when there is an interesting design or object. This allows you not just to have pictures from a distance but also near to highlight the details of the design or object.

Some Do's & Don'ts for your Trip

1) Don’t rush when you pack your equipments (you might forget something)

2) Bring along your battery charger and camera tripod

3) If possible pack a backup camera (better safe than sorry)

4) Never leave your camera unattended

5) Be wary of passing your camera to a stranger to take a photograph

6) Keep your camera dry in a weatherproof bag

So, enjoy your next trip and make sure your memories and pictures will be things that you will cherish and be proud of!