I wanna give you a broad overview of the ingredients that help you to produce good travel photography. It’s gonna be about the different kinds of light, the effective use of color as well as the basics on composition.
Light and Color in Travel Photograph
weather and light conditions
Obviously it’s not always possible to hit every photo location at the perfect time. And especially in travel photography there are factors beyond your control. Weather is one of those. So here are some tips for shooting in different weather conditions:
harsh daylight:
lots of available light – easy to capture motion
high dynamic range – hard to create interest and ‘pop’
glare and lens flare can ruin your shot
TIP: Try some black and white shots or play around with long exposures (ND Filter)
bright sunlight and clear blue sky:
lots of available light
no interest in the sky
lens flare can be a problem
TIP: Try to put the sun right at the edge of a building or a person and stop down your aperture to get that starburst effect
overcast sky:
very even light situation
little contrast
TIP: Try to fill the whole frame with your subject and avoid too much sky in the shot. The soft and even light is good for shooting forests and flowers (less contrast) or portraits
- heavy rain:
- be very cautious with your gear
- rain can make for some very atmospheric photographs
- lots of reflections especially in cities
- low light situation
TIP: Safe some inside spots for really bad weather. Rewarding locations are: market halls, museums, exhibitions, churches, train stations
Directions of light
There are three main directions the naturally available light might come from. Each one of them has pros and cons and is more or less suitable to shoot certain subjects.
- Front-lit: most common, most direct, classic ‘portrait-look’, best overall definition
- Side-lit: more dramatic, accentuates textures
- Back-lit: defines shapes, great to shoot silhouettes
Color
Next to light, color is probably the most crucial ingredient to make your travel photography interesting. Understanding the basics of science of colors can help you to improve your travel photography big time. You can use color contrast between the background and your subject to make your main subject really ‘pop’. Also a little color can go a long way and really help to make your image more interesting.
Framing / Composition in Travel Photography
be clear about your subject
Before pressing the shutter release, ask yourself the following questions:
- What attracts me to the scene?
- Why do I want to photograph it?
- What is my main subject?
- How can I compose my shot to show your subject in the best possible way?
- Which lighting would be best?
- Where’s the best position?
- Which foreground element could help to compliment my main subject?
- Which are the right camera setting to intensify the desired result?
Rule of thirds
To achieve a pleasing composition, the ‘rule of thirds’ can be a helpful guideline to follow. Imagine breaking your photo down into thirds, using two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. You should now try to frame your shot in a way where your main subject is placed on one of the four points where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect. For example, if you take a photo of a person, placing that person along the left or right gridline will result in a composition that is way more pleasing to the human eye, than placing your subject dead center. Keeping the horizon congruent with one of the horizontal lines (lower or upper third) instead of right in the middle is also a good idea. Always remember to keep the horizon line perfectly straight.
There is absolutely no excuse for a crooked horizon. Most digital cameras have a ‘grid mode’ that displays the ‘rule of thirds’ grid on your screen or even in the viewfinder. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. If you use any kind of frame in your composition (an open door for example), having your main subject in the center of your photograph might enhance the effect of the overall composition. Reflections are another example where differing from the ‘rule of thirds’ can result in a way better image.
Try a different angle
Most people take a photo by just raising their camera to eye-level, pressing the shutter button and moving on. No question that the result can be a good photograph. But probably it’s the same photo taken by countless other people before and you want your travel photography to be as unique as possible.
Find an interesting foreground
In terms of landscape photography, including an interesting foreground in your composition can make the difference between a good photo and a stunning photo. Don’t just treat the foreground as a necessary evil. Give it enough thought and make it a compelling part of your photograph that leads the viewer’s eye into the depth of the picture.
Frame your subject
If you discover a cool frame like an open door or window, or an archway, then all you need is patience. Wait for the right moment till someone appears in that frame to complete your visualized composition.
Use leading lines
A leading line can be a river, a road, the ridge of a sand dune or a crack in a stone. Leading lines help to guide the viewer’s eye through the entire image. In this way foreground, middle ground and background get connected to each other. The viewer starts on a visual journey that leads him, in the ideal case, to every part and aspect of the photograph.
Look for reflections
A mirror, the glass façade of a building, the mirror of a parked car, a lake and even a water puddle. Interesting reflections can be found almost everywhere. Keep your eyes open, cause reflections are a good way to enhance the overall quality of your composition and help to show your main subject in an unusual manner.
Get closer
Fill the frame with your subject and eliminate everything that doesn’t support your subject. Maybe that’s a bunch of tourists gathering in front of a landmark, a blue sky without any definition, or trash cans and satellite dishes. You want the viewer to focus his attention on the subject and nothing else. So focus on that, and get rid of everything that could distract the viewer.
Simplify and exaggerate
Try to be very clear about what your subject is and then try to enhance it. This can be achieved by:
- Contrasting colors
- Using the available light (the human eye always travels to the brightest part of a photograph)
- Adjusting the aperture and the depth of field
- Framing your subject
- Using leading lines to lead the viewer’s eye to your subject
Add a sense of scale
Including a familiar object like a person, a tree or car as a reference in your composition helps the viewer to get a sense of scale. You have been there and you’ve seen this impressive mountain range or this huge volcano. Ideally your travel photography should evoke the same emotion in the viewer as the actual scenery did in you.
Create depth
Good and well-balanced landscape photos often consist of three layers: foreground, middle ground and background. People often underestimate the foreground element’s importance. But this is what it needs to drag the viewer into the photo. Take the photo below as an example: Foreground: rocks and water Middle Ground: palm-fringed beach and volcano Background: sunset, sky and clouds. You can get close and use a wide-angle lens or play with the f-stop and the depth of field to carve out the quality of each layer of your composition.
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