A picture is worth a thousand words; it documents memories.
Travelers like to capture special moments whenever they travel. But there are reasons some people don’t photo-document their travels. It could be because they feel uncomfortable doing it, may not know how to do it or may not have the time/professional camera needed to take great pictures of every minute of their trip. Not everyone has the money to buy a DSLR camera or an iPhone to get high-quality pictures.
There are still ways to go about ensuring your shots are great and capture what you loved about the trip.
Here are a few:
Dress to compliment the view
Researching the sites you would visit, makes it easy to wear colours that compliment the backdrop of your picture. If you don’t know where you’re visiting, find a spot that will make a great backdrop for your outfit and strike a pose. It will make your pictures pop even more.
Angles Matter
Avoid backing a source of light when taking a picture. If you are taking a landscape shot, like the mountainous regions of Abuja, have a person or two in the shot or snap from a distance to emphasize the scale of the vast backdrop. Portrait shots are usually good for social media apps like Instagram or when in a tunnel. You can place your camera on the roof of a car or at a height above the ground to take a long-range shot so it looks visually interesting. You may need to take from a ground level or any other the right angle to capture the complete heights of tall monuments.
Selfies
Sometimes, taking a selfie focused on your face to capture a scene in the background can get boring. You can use a camera with a timer or Bluetooth remote control to take full-length shots of yourself if you are in a place where interruptions are minimal. You can also use a selfie stick to take a picture with a group of fellow tourists.
Get Help
The best way to get other travellers to snap you is to help them take great shots of themselves. In return, they will want to help you take fantastic shots too. Make sure they take multiple snapshots; at least three shots are okay. That way, if one shot gets blurred, there may be others that are better. You can look out for people carrying professional cameras (DSLR) and ask them for a shot. Chances are they are more skilled at getting cool pictures than you are. To avoid giving your camera/camera phone to strangers who might steal them, look out for people with their families or a couple taking a selfie. They are less likely to run away with your stuff.
Be as authentic as possible
Hiking up a hill and it suddenly gets foggy and starts to rain? Fear not, take a picture. Bad weather can also add to the beauty of the picture. Laugh at the camera, don’t always smile. A forced laugh will relax your facial muscles and end with a genuine smile which might make the best shot of all. If a place makes you feel deep in thought, no harm in having a picture that reflects your sober mood. In a highly visited tourist town, look for unique shots that don’t feel cliché. Your picture could have the popular landmark blurred while the focus is on you doing something else or a happenstance nearby.
Tell a Story
When you go through your pictures, you should be able to tell the unique moments you never want to forget. You can start by taking a shot from the transport line/airport, one when you get to your hotel room, etc. You could take a picture per day of where you go or what you did. You can take the foods you ate, the sights you saw or the people you came across on your trip. Make sure you ask for permission when snapping people you don’t know. Some people don’t like being photographed by strangers and others see it as an invasion of their privacy. If they say yes, show them the picture and give them a copy if they are interested. That way looking through your pictures later will feel like you are reliving the experience all over.
Edit your pictures
Some pictures come out great without needing a touch-up but others can look professional once they are edited. To edit your pictures, you might need to use photo apps or tinker with the picture settings of your device. You can brighten shadows, darken highlights, add a vignette, warm hues, increase vibrancy, brighten the middle of the picture or add a little sharpness, to brighten dark pictures or darken bright pictures. When you are done, you can reduce your adjustments by 50% to make the pictures look more natural. Whatever you do, stay away from Clarity or Lux (as it is referred to on your Instagram app), because it makes the picture look photoshopped.
Once you’ve gotten pictures you are proud off, feel free to share them. You can put them on social media, frame them in your home or have an album to show friends who come over for a visit. If you are not into a public display of your tourism experience, make sure you have a travel journal where you can archive the pictures along with the names and places visited. Whatever you do, ensure you enjoy those treasured moments of your trip by going over the pictures every once in a while.
