10 Quick Questions To Improve Your Vacation Photographs
Filed Under Travel
No matter what part of the globe you’re from, you’re probably going to be taking a vacation soon. Can you recall how well your last vacation pictures turned out?
The irony is that it usually takes just as much time to capture outstanding vacation pictures as it does mediocre ones.
So, what’s the secret to capturing better vacation photos?
It’s pretty simple, really. Here’s how to take phenomenal vacation photographs in 10 steps: Take a few seconds before immediately snapping off 5 pictures and think about these questions:
- Would the photo be more effective if taken using a portrait (vertical) perspective rather than a typical landscape (horizontal) perspective?
- Is there a better angle?
- If I re-position myself, could I include something in the foreground (or background) that would improve the picture?
- Do I want to be in this picture? If so, use a tripod or ask a stranger to take the shot.
- Would this photograph be much more spectacular if taken at another time of day or night (assuming of course, that you could return then)?
- Would the picture be better if I had people (or no people) in the shot?
- Do I have the right image in my viewfinder? Think of the view as though you were about to crop the final image. Is there way too much extraneous material in the image (or far too little)? Having up to 20% more in an un-cropped photograph is a good idea, but much more than that could begin to degrade the resolution after the photo is cropped.
- Could this photograph improve if a circular polarizing filter was used?
- Am I about to be eaten by a wild animal? (It may not be photo-related, but if the camera is also eaten, then…)
- Are all my settings correct (at a minimum, consider: ISO, metering mode, fill flash, and white balance).
Realize that you probably don’t go on that many vacations per year. Therefore, doesn’t it make a lot more sense to take a few extra seconds before taking your pictures and be happy of your vacation pictures? Otherwise, the same old mediocre alternatives are still available.