The Camera does not make the photograph. We've all been there: you picked your journey, packed your bags, along with your camera, made all the reservations and the photos you've captured pale in comparison to those you saw in the travel brochure. It's not because you need a better camera.
Today the camera brands: Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Pentax and several others, are all very good and I'd be hard pressed to try to sway you one way over the other when it comes to reputable camera brands. Three things in the digital world separate most photos from the other.
The first, and arguably the most important aspect is composition. Where you decide to point the camera, what do you leave in, what do you want to 'remove' from the image. There are a few general 'rules' to composition. I'll touch on these later. There are other elements that we want to avoid such as overhead wires and trees that seem to grow out of the top of someone's head. Being aware of the whole frame of the photograph is a key point to keep in mind when you are deciding how to compose the image. Composition is your first "edit"
The second item is your understanding of light and exposure and how it affects the image you want to create. Photography can be broken down into two words. Photo from Photos which is the Greek word for Light, and Graph, also from the Greek, which means to write. Putting them together the word photography translates to Light Writing. Which is why light is the key element of a photograph. The way the sunlight refracts through the atmosphere at dawn and dusk provides warm colors or reds, orange and yellows. Referred to as the Golden Hour, many photographs taken at these times have dramatic soft shadows and warm tones. Before dawn, and after sunset the light takes on a cooler 'blue' color as the light is further refracted and the blue light is filtered through the atmosphere. Midday sun is extremely bright casting deeply defined shadows that often do not appeal to the human eye. Dark shadows under the eyes and nose, a distracting silhouette against the wall.
The third important consideration for improved photos is the edit. In the world of digital software and computer manipulation a quote from Ansel Adams, arguably the father of modern photography, once said: "The negative is the equivalent of the composer's score, and the print the performance". Today we develop our images from digital files with software rather than by chemical processes. However, the statement is still true. If you compose a horrible score, even the best musicians cannot perform it beautifully.
We don't need to master these three elements; we do need a strong understanding regarding how they act together and how they affect the final image.
Tips for Better Travel Photos:
Research cannot be overstated. Knowing what you want to photograph goes beyond the location. When you want to photograph it is even more important. The light available changes throughout the day and varies by season, sometimes dramatically depending on your latitude. Many photographers photograph in the hour prior and hour after dawn, known as the blue and gold hours. They will also shoot one hour before sunset to one hour after sunset for the same reason and to avoid photographing during the midday and the 'harsh' light and hard shadows caused by the sun being nearly directly overhead (depending on latitude and season)
Use leading lines and the rule of thirds to draw attention to what you want to show the viewer in your photograph. A busy freeway leading into the city, a commercial plane landing at the airport or a long desolate highway that seems endless as it crosses a hot barren desert. Vanishing points are also good to use.
Slow your shutter speed down to capture motion, Speed it up to freeze the action. Something that dedicated cameras still excel at is their ability to manipulate the exposure triangle of ISO, Shutter speed, and Aperture, compared to cellular phone-based cameras.
Take your time, think about what you want to convey in your photography. Pay attention to the details, avoid distractions. Ask yourself what are you photographing? How does it make you feel? Let the photograph tell your visual story.
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