Terrific Travel Tips

No matter what part of the globe you’re from, you’re probably counting down the weeks until your next vacation. Can you remember how your last vacation pictures turned out?

The irony is that it usually doesn’t take any more time to shoot outstanding vacation pictures as it does mediocre ones.

So, what is required for better vacation photographs?

It’s pretty simple, really. Here’s how to take phenomenal vacation photographs in ten steps: Take a few seconds before immediately snapping off 5 pictures and ask yourself these questions:

1. Are all my settings correct (at a minimum, consider: ISO, metering mode, fill flash, and white balance).
2. Could this photograph improve if a circular polarizing filter was used?
3. Would this picture be much more spectacular if taken at another time of day or night (assuming of course, that you could return then)?
4. If I re-position myself, could I include something in the foreground (or background) that would improve the shot?
5. Would the photo be more effective if taken using a portrait (vertical) perspective rather than a typical landscape (horizontal) perspective?
6. 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.
7. Am I about to be bitten by a wild animal? (It may not be photo-related, but if the camera is also eaten, then…)
8. Do I want to be in this shot? If so, use a tripod or ask a stranger to take the shot.
9. Would the photo be better if I had people (or no people) in the shot?
10. Is there a better angle?

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 shots and be proud of your vacation pictures? Otherwise, the same old mediocre alternatives are still available.