Tips from travel photography workshops

IT’S SAID THAT travel broadens the mind, but for photographers it can do so much more than that. Travelling with your camera can enrich you...

IT’S SAID THAT travel broadens the mind, but for photographers it can do so much more than that. Travelling with your camera can enrich your portfolio, add variety to your photography and rejuvenate creativity, so if you’ve yet to take to foreign lands with your camera (or even embark on an adventure in your very own country), then hopefully this guide and tips from travel photography workshops will inform and inspire you to reach for that passport!

For many of us, holiday time is precious, and few have the luxury of travelling specifically with photography in mind. As a result, you’ll probably find that, much of the time, you’re juggling between finding time to take photographs and also relaxing, exploring, or keeping the family happy. Fear not with some preparation and planning you too can come away from your travels with stunning images, alongside a good tan!

However, if you are planning on taking a dedicated photography trip, then the world is your oyster planning is equally, if not more, important, but the ability to choose the most photogenic locations and set your timetable to coincide with the best conditions will show in the results. Of course, there is a third option, and one that’s increasingly popular nowadays overseas photo workshops and expeditions. This is undoubtedly the most pricey route to take, but you’re essentially handing over all organisation and research to a professional photographer, and relying on their expertise to deliver you locations, sights and scenes that facilitate you to take some of your best ever images. Of course they’ll be on hand to help you along the way!

However you travel, over this post there's advice, tips and tricks from leading professionals on how to make every frame count. Whether you’re looking to capture characterful portraits, incredible landscapes, astonishing architecture or exotic wildlife, there’s something for you here. Let’s pack light, grab your passport, and hit the road…

Plans from travel photography workshops

While there’s a romance associated with arriving at a new location and exploring with your camera, a bit of planning and preparation goes a long way. Unless you’re fortunate enough to be in a location for a long period of time, you’ll most likely want to see and capture as much as possible from each location, so being efficient is essential. thankfully, we all have a wealth of information, advice and guidance at our fingertips nowadays, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find out what there is to shoot, and the best times and conditions in which to do it. the internet is a gold mine for travel information, and message boards or forums are excellent for getting insider and local information prior to departure, however the information that’s out there isn’t always 100% reliable. Don’t discount established print publications; Lonely Planet, Eyewitness Travel and Rough Guides are invaluable, well researched and, most importantly, accurate resources for travel, too.

So, you’ve established what there is to shoot, but with time at a premium when travelling it’s often helpful to seek out visual inspiration for what is possible. this is where social media is useful networks such as instagram, 500px and Flickr are jam-packed with stunning travel images from every conceivable location, and are often easily navigated through location geotags or hashtags, allowing you to narrow down everything that’s been shared for a specific location. Want to know if that spot you found on Google Maps looks any good from a certain angle, or at a certain time of day? the chances are you can find someone who’s shot it before. there is, however, a caveat the danger in looking at what has been shot before can lead to you simply mimicking these compositions. While photographing certain famous views is a right of passage they’re classic compositions for a reason it’s also important to work creatively to find new or lesser-seen angles. Don’t be tempted to stick to the popular locations either getting off the beaten track and away from the tourist traps can often lead to opportunities that others will miss, which will ultimately help your images stand out from the rest.

In planning your photography when travelling, remember to take into account the light and weather too. the latter is something that’s often best left until closer to your travels, but the former can be allowed for in advance using tools such as the Photographer’s ephemeris or apps like PhotoPills. these allow you to plot the sun, or moon’s, angle at any time of day and any time of year, down to a specific date. this information, alongside reference of what’s been shot before at locations and how the light looks in those images, should give you an idea of the best time to visit to get the sort of image that you want.

Another consideration should be local events, traditions and festivals. You might want to intentionally coincide your travels with an annual event, such as Mexico’s vibrant Día de Muertos, Venice’s flamboyant Carnival, india’s colourful holi festival or the energetic la tomatina in Buñol, spain. alternatively you might luck upon an event that’s on during your visit it’s always worth checking to see if there’s the chance to capture a special event or cultural tradition while you’re visiting.

The final, but potentially less-exciting side of planning a photo adventure is safety considerations. alongside making sure that your own personal health and safety is taken care of by arranging travel insurance, obtaining visas, getting the appropriate inoculations and making sure that someone knows where you’ll be and when, you should also make provisions to protect your kit too. turn the page for more on this topic.

Travel photography workshops: GEARING UP FOR TRAVEL

TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY IS all about getting great results whilst staying light and mobile you need the right kit to be able to capture the images that you want, whilst cutting down the clutter so you don’t get bogged down by carrying kit around that you might not use! Again, planning is important when it comes to kit before you pack, you need to think hard about what types of images you’re likely to capture whilst away, and bring only the kit needed to do so. This will free you up and keep you mobile, and you’ll also have less stress and worry associated with the rigmaroles of modern-day travel, such as airport security, airline luggage allowances, and safety and security when away.

The idiom ‘the best camera is the one that you have with you’ springs to mind here. Pro full-frame bodies that pack 10+fps are great for sports and action, but do you need that bulk? Smaller DSLRs often pack similar specs and image quality, without the all-singing AF and burst speeds, so are often better suited to travel. Newer mirrorless cameras, and their lenses and accessories, are even smaller and lighter than their DSLR equivalents, so can save you space and weight for little to no drop in image quality. If you want to really cut down on kit, maybe a premium compact, or even your mobile phone will work in the right situation?

If you find yourself travelling with your camera more and more, then it might be worth upgrading your tripod for a travel-friendly option. Travel tripods might not be as sturdy on a blustery day, or extend as high as dedicated studio or landscape tripods, but their lighter weight and svelte design means they’re often infinitely more convenient to transport. Look for carbon-fibre for its weight-saving properties, if you can stomach the added cost. Alternatively, accessories such as Joby GorillaPods or bean bags are ideal for travel they don’t take up much

space and are ideal for situations where a tripod isn’t possible or permitted.

Your choice of bag is important too. The first step in buying a camera bag for travel is making sure it meets airline size restrictions, and fits in the kit you need! It also needs to be comfortable and padded to protect your kit from knocks and bumps. Whether backpack, messenger, roller or sling-style, bags which offer different interior configurations are ideal. They allow you to decant unneeded kit at the hotel, and re-configure them as day bags, with space for non-photo items, such as water, clothing or guides.

Would you put all your eggs in one basket? If you’re using one or two large-capacity memory cards when away then that’s what you’re doing! It’s a bit more faff, but it’s often better to take several smaller-sizes cards with you than one big one. If your card is corrupt, damaged, lost or stolen then at least you don’t lose everything. Also consider portable media back-up devices, or taking your laptop and a hard-drive for longer trips this way you can back up your images or upload them to the cloud for safe keeping.

Travel landscapes

Bored of the same old landscapes? Why not change your scenery? travelling abroad to shoot landscapes can act as the perfect jolt of inspiration you need to rejuvenate your photography and kick-start creativity, especially if you feel you’ve run out of ideas on your regular jaunts. the saying ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ applies here far away landscapes appeal because they’re often vastly different to what we’re used to seeing and capturing back home the terrain is different, as is the foliage and environment. 

Even the light is different atmospheric and environmental conditions, as well as the sun’s position in the sky depending on where you are in the world results in very different looking images. Not only does this make overseas landscapes very inviting, but it can help you gain a new-found appreciation for what you have back home, too.

So, what’s the difference between photographing landscapes back home and shooting them overseas or on your travels? In all honesty, not much! the same approaches, techniques and skills apply to both, so once you’re on location you’ll be relying on your existing landscape skills to bring the scene, light and composition together. however, the key difference in shooting travel landscapes is that you need to make the most of your visit, as you’re unlikely to be able to come back time and time again until you get the right conditions. Sometimes this involves simply making the best of what you’re presented with, however you’re not going into this blind, and with a little research, planning and preparation, you can help to stack the odds in your favour.

The internet is your biggest ally when it comes to preparing to shoot landscapes in a foreign land. there’s a huge amount of information out there on blogs and Youtube, as well as in dedicated print titles, which allow you to find out the right locations to visit and what to shoot  even down to which way to point your camera! If you’ve already planned your trip then you can use this information, photography tools such as the Photographer's ephemeris and PhotoPills to work out when to visit to shoot the land under the best light and conditions. this will often be around the hours of sunrise and sunset, which gives you the added bonus of not being surrounded by lots of tourists wielding tablets and selfie-sticks! It’s worth cross-checking this information against image-sharing platforms like flickr, Instagram or 500px, if only to see if the light really does fall on the land as forecasted.

If you’re yet to decide on a destination, then consider what affect the seasons will have on the types of images you’d like to create. Certain destinations look best at specific times of year, while others are rendered inaccessible, impractical to shoot, or troublesome to visit at others. If, for example, you want to capture the stunning rolling hills of tuscany then you’re best off booking to visit in spring lush green countryside and misty mornings await. On the other hand, if you’re planning a trip to Namibia then you might want to avoid the peak of summer, when temperatures soar and shooting out of the shade becomes unbearable. Keen on capturing the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle? then you need to visit in winter for sufficiently dark nights. other destinations, such as the Alps, can look fantastic all-year round, but do you want to capture the snowy mountains and golden light of winter, or the lush green valleys set against snow-capped rocky mountains in spring and summer? There is a lot to consider if you want the best results.

Depending on your destination, you might also want to do a spot of astrophotography too. The world is full of remote locations that have significantly less light pollution than even the most rural places in the UK, opening up a whole galaxy of possibilities after the sun sets.

The level of success that you enjoy while shooting landscapes overseas all comes down to the work that you put in, both in planning your trip and in getting out there to capture images. Although it may seem like the opportunities for amazing images when travelling are vast and perhaps greater that the UK, when you're unable to make multiple visits, and you're under time constraints, you need to work hard to ensure that you come home with memory cards full of keepers. That means getting up early, plenty of hiking, and getting every last slither of light out of each day. Good luck!

People and Places

Without people, places are just spaces that give little insight into the nuances of a culture, so taking portraits of local people is an interesting way of documenting your adventure. it’s not an approach that suits everyone, though, and the prospect of approaching strangers in a foreign land might put you off the idea immediately. however, if you can get over this mental hurdle then travel portraits will boost your portfolio, and you’ll come away from your destination with personable images that the average tourist won’t.

Travel portraits give a glimpse into the people and culture of a location. how they look, the environment they live or work in, the clothes that they wear and their natural expressions all play a part in creating an authentic portrait of that person and the place you're visiting. When looking for subjects, approach with caution, care and consideration. Make sure they’re representative of the destination do they wear culturally-specific clothing, for instance, and are their surroundings conducive to an authentic portrait? in other words, can you photograph them where they are or do you need to ask them to move? always be on the look out for character-rich faces we’re not saying that everyone doesn’t deserve to be photographed, but when you see a face that grabs your attention it’s likely that a good photograph of them will do the same.

Take time to educate yourself about the cultural and/or religious beliefs and customs of the place you're visiting to ensure photography is not offensive, restricted or even forbidden. people aren’t tourist attractions, so establish whether your subject is happy to have their portrait taken before doing so, either by asking verbally or signalling to your camera. if you approach with your camera in-hand and a smile, many people will oblige, although depending on where in the world you are, some may expect cash in return whether you choose to do so is at your discretion. Most importantly, if they decline then be respectful and thank them you are a visitor in their country after all.

Once they’ve agreed then it’s up to you to work quickly. You’re probably going to be confined to using natural light, unless you’ve packed an assistant and portable studio set-up with you in which case, you probably already know what you’re doing! the standard rules of portraiture apply avoid direct overhead sunlight, if possible, seeking out open shade or reflected light for a more flattering image. if that’s not possible, then turning your subject so that the sun is behind them, and their face is in shade is another alternative. if the sun is low in the sky, then side-lighting can work well too just take care to avoid clipped highlights and contrasty shadows on the face. if you’re out purposefully hunting portraits then carrying a collapsible reflector is a good move although they can be tricky to handle when working alone not only can you use them to bounce light back onto your subject, but they can also be used to create shade, and 5-in-1 kits contain a diffuser disc too, allowing you to soften direct light.

It should be relatively easy to capture a variety of portraits very quickly don’t just shoot one composition, thank them and scutter off! Make the most of the time you have with your subject. alternate between eye contact and having your subject look ‘past’ you. if your subject is uneasy about being photographed, and it’s showing, see if you can get them to laugh or look pensive by interacting with them, and then capture this apparently candid moment. sitting subjects down, and giving them something to do with their hands for example, holding or interacting with a prop or object that adds context to who they are or what they do can also help create a more natural moment. shoot a tight crop, but also go wider and include some of their environment in the frame; this is important to establish a sense of place in your portraits. You don’t need to show much, the combination of subject, their clothing and some of their immediate environment should give enough visual clues as to your location or culture.

As you shoot, check the lcD preview and adjust using exposure compensation, as required. Remember to talk to your subject as you go, and show them your favourite images too it lets them know that they’re doing something right and may help them feel at ease seeing your fantastic results!

Take a walk on The wild side

If you’re travelling specifically to photograph wildlife then this is one discipline that we’d recommend getting a guide for, or signing up for an organised workshop or safari. if you’ve photographed wildlife before you’ll know that it’s not only heavily dependent on location, terrain and subject knowledge, but you’re at the mercy of nature too, quite literally. you wouldn’t want to take an expensive trip around the world only to not be able to locate your quarry, would you? alongside this, there are the safety aspects to consider, especially when dealing with potentially dangerous species in foreign lands. organised trips are almost always planned so that your visit takes place at the optimum time of year to see and photograph your chosen species, taking some of the planning out of the process. Having said that, wildlife can be found all over the world, and if you’re willing to put in the legwork, then you can still go it alone and come away from your trip with some fantastic images.

The first thing that springs to mind when you think overseas wildlife photography is a big game safari. Who can resist the allure of seeing and photographing some of nature’s most majestic and impressive wild beasts? from herds of elephants bathing in a watering hole to ferocious big cats hunting down prey, striped zebras calmly grazing, wildebeest migrating en mass and rare and exotic birds circling overhead a big game safari can offer some of the most amazing sights in the animal kingdom. Be prepared for early, pre-sunrise starts and long days the good news is that you’ll often be in a position to take photos during the best light at both ends of the day. the huge pull of a big game safari is that you’ll be accompanied by a guide throughout the duration of your trip, giving you access to unparalleled knowledge of the species in the area, which hugely increases your chances of encountering these creatures.

Don’t be disillusioned, however, there’s still an element of luck involved, especially when looking for rare or elusive species at times you might drive around for an entire day and not catch a glimpse of your quarry. you need to come prepared too an enthusiast or pro body with good autofocus and burst speed will ensure you don’t miss a moment, and you’ll often be shooting from a distance, so a telephoto lens reaching 300mm to 400mm will give you plenty of reach. Pack a 1.4x teleconverter too to boost this even further, while a monopod will help you steady your shot at range. that doesn’t mean that wider focal lengths don’t have a place too. think creatively rather than just capturing zoomed-in documentary shots a family of giraffe silhouetted against a deep orange sunset or a wider scenic image of a herd of elephants bathing in a river will add interest and variety to your images. experiment with exposure length too to show motion and speed by panning a big cat chasing down prey with a slow shutter speed, for example.

Safaris aren’t the only option, however, with photographers and travel companies now offering all sorts of wildlife photography experiences around the world. Where a big game safari focuses on putting you in the best position to see a variety of species, often with no photographic guidance, wildlife workshops usually concentrate on just one or two specific species, and are focused solely on photography. for example, tour companies like tatra Photography arrange group trips to see wild brown bears in Slovakia, eagles in Poland or jaguars in Brazil, and you benefit from having an expert photographer on hand to assist you too, both in elements of tracking down and finding the creatures, but also in the technical aspects of how to best photograph them. these dedicated workshops are often on the pricey side, but they usually include everything from the point that you arrive at the outbound airport to when you land back on uK soil, so you’ve nothing to worry about except getting the shots that you want!

Whichever approach you take, travelling abroad to photograph wildlife is rewarding and can open the door to breathtaking moments and experiences. you’ll bring back images of creatures you won’t see outside of the zoo at home. What are you waiting for?

Cities & Architecture

There’s no denying that cities and architecture offer endless creative possibilities for photographers, but they aren't without their challenges. For example, shooting in the confines of a built-up environment often means that you struggle to get everything in one frame. rather than relying on your ultra wide-angle, try switching to a standard lens or telezoom to take in some close-ups and details too. Another great approach is shooting stitched panoramas, as above, as these allow you to take in a wider view without too much unrealistic distortion. Using a tripod is the ideal way to do this, but it’s perfectly achievable handheld as long as you allow enough overlap between frames remember to shoot in manual mode, and ditch any filters for seamless stitching too.

At busy destinations and tourist traps you may find that you struggle to capture clean images because of the number of people present, however there are a couple of approaches you can take. The first, and obvious option, is to visit early or stay late to avoid peak times. Another approach is to use a tripod and nd filter to blur the movement, turning people into dynamic streaks and colours a shutter speed of between 0.5sec to two seconds will achieve this, or you could use an extreme nd to turn all but the most static of people to ghosts.

Another option is to embrace the crowd, and use gaps between people to frame parts of the architecture, or include them in the foreground as a representation of how busy the place was. Certain destinations lend themselves to some incredible street photography opportunities, too. Busy destinations are perfect for people watching, with everyone so busy and distracted by their day-to-day lives that you can often operate completely unnoticed. The results will be noticeably different from what you’d capture back home too, with the people, their attire and the surrounding environment telling the story of the location.

When the sun goes down many tourists will forgo their cameras and smartphones in favour of an evening at the bar or in a restaurant. But, whilst that’s understandable, in doing so too you’re missing out on the transformation that takes place at night. once the sun disappears there’s a short time window during the ‘blue hour’ in which you can capture the warm artificial lights and attractions illuminated, whilst there’s still a contrasting colour in the sky so if you’ve made it to a picturesque vantage point for sunset, hang around a bit longer and observe what happens. Buildings and attractions will probably be illuminated by flood lights after dark, adding interest that you wouldn’t find in regular daytime tourist images. Add in creative approaches like traffic trails and you’ll soon see why a new city can be a photographer’s playground after dark!

Culture

So far in this guide we’ve covered landscapes, wildlife, people and places, but recording culture with your camera is a combination of all of these things, and so much more too. Comprehensive travel photography tips involves taking in all the smaller details associated with a destination the clothing, the food, the colours and textures, local architecture, art, customs and pastimes. it’s these smaller details that many tourists often overlook in favour of more grandiose scenes that can help build a complete picture of your travels. What’s more, you’ll often find that, as a visitor, it’s easier for you to spot the unique cultural clues than it would be for a local photographer, as they might take them for granted. sadly, as the world becomes smaller and more homogenous, these special cultural differences are being watered down and eroded, making recording them even more important.

So, what are we looking for exactly? Well, we’re not just taking snapshots of anything and everything, but rather picking out elements that help build a portrait of a place. Local festivities and pastimes are an excellent source of cultural images too, and timing your travels to coincide with these events can give you plenty to focus attention on. it could be vibrant art and buildings in Barcelona, or weathered murals in Cuba, an abstract composition of a gondola in Venice or colourful fabrics in new Delhi. these details, which contain colour and texture that represent that location, need capturing with consideration given to composition and light to avoid them looking like snapshots.

Culture also encompasses the people and their traditions, for example the stilt fishermen of sri Lanka, Buddhist monks in prayer in asia, decorated tribes people in africa or a bullfighter in spain not only can you photograph these people in a traditional portrait manner to give a sense of place and culture, but you can hone in on details on their person, clothing or tools too. food plays an important part in local culture as well, so don’t discount the idea of spending a day in a local market they’re a veritable hotbed for finding interesting produce, people and local customs to photograph. Do it right, and from one image of a small detail someone will be able to tell roughly where in the world you are, or will gain an insight into local culture and customs.

Some of these examples might sound like clichés but, with practice and experience, there will be less obvious cultural clues that you’ll start to pick up on. the idea with images like this is that, when put alongside your landscapes, portraits and other images, they help to bring together a cohesive set of travel images packed with variety.