10 Tips for Unforgettable Holiday Photos
Capture the Best Moments of Your Trip
Photos are the very best souvenirs: they take us back to the best of our holidays long afterwards. When travelling, you’ll want to capture the stunning contrasts, amazing atmosphere, and one-of-a-kind views. Discover our creative ideas and practical tips for taking beautiful holiday photos to last a lifetime. Your pictures will fascinate and bring joy to those you left at home.
1. Motifs and compositions – Take pictures of the essentials
Whether you are traveling or staying home – your summer photos should tell a story. Arrange your photos, for example, chronologically (arrival, stay, highlights, departure) or thematically (nature, culture, people, food, colours). Look for symmetry, recurring motifs and harmonious structures, such as in architecture, clothing or landscapes.
Vast landscapes and endless horizons sometimes do not look as breath-taking on photos as they did when they were taken. Therefore, use the golden ratio or simplified the rule of thirds as a guideline for your composition. In doing so, you can obtain a better depth effect and a more harmonious image distribution for the viewer.
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Many cameras have an auxiliary grid that helps you to align your motif according to the third rule. Place your main motif on one of the four points of intersection. This will almost automatically create a harmonious picture.
2. Perspectives – Find new points of view
Every day countless tourists take pictures of world-famous sights. To give your holiday photos that certain something, take an unusual perspective: Kneel or lie down or climb (cautiously) to a raised position. Your pictures will also be particularly impressive when you include other objects – for example, you can create a frame or show a direct size comparison to your main motif. Even if you capture your holiday activities, you can play with the perspective: Be around romping children at eye level or capture fast movements with the continuous shooting function of your camera.
3. Use the Best Lighting Available
Using natural lighting—that is, “available light” —you can make the most of what’s available to create impressive travel shots. The best travel photos are taken during the golden hour, the first and last periods of daylight in which the sun is extremely low in the sky. Red sunrises and sunsets intensify the colours and enrich shadows and contours. The sky also appears especially beautiful in the end light of day, making for amazing shots. The blue hour follows the golden hour, turning the sky a royal blue before total nightfall.
4. Show Off the Family Like a Pro
Holidays are also time for children for many families. For authentic shots of your tots, take their photos when they’re not looking and without flash. Because kids change their facial expressions so quickly. Use the continuous-advance mode of your camera to take many snapshots in a row. You can also use a few tricks to harmonise photos, selfies, and portraits. Obviously what is most important is to be in the right place at the right time. Really it’s fun that makes for the most natural, beautiful photos.
5. Photographing to Scale
Natural details and everyday objects are wonderfully suited for close-ups. With macro photography you can allow yourself to be fascinated by small details almost impossible to see with your own eyes. As you might say: it’s the small things in life. When focusing on the main subject, the background will blur and your subject comes into greater focus. To get a better picture, get as close to your subject as possible. When shooting with the smart phone or a compact camera, be sure to use the macro setting. There is also a special macro lens for single-lens reflex camera, although you can get sharp close-ups from a certain range with a telephoto lens. This type of photography is particularly suitable for nature shots: flowers, insects or a river bed can be captured in an impressive way.
6. Unusual Landscapes
Let yourself be taken over by unusual scenery and dive into the world of natural beauty. With the right picture composition and contrasting colours, you’ll bring an aesthetic and harmonious atmosphere to all your photos of the landscape. The Rule of Thirds will aid you in achieving the correct orientation of your subject. Using lines, this divides the picture in nine equal squares. The horizon often serves in photography as an orienting line, on which the top or bottom line should be positioned. This allows for a deliberate variance of the object. However, a combination of light and shadows also allows for amazing shots of the landscape. Play with the different formats for even more variety. Landscapes such as mountain ranges or lakes are particularly effective on panoramic shots.
7. A Night Under the Stars
There’s nothing lovelier than to lie under the stars and relax. With the right settings and preparation you can light up a starry sky to perfection. A smart combination of exposure time and aperture is crucial for great night shots. We recommend a lower ISO and open aperture, although the exact combination will depend on the situation. The autofocus should also be turned off—manual focus allows sharper capture of stars. With patience and practice, you’ll soon be taking impressive photos of the Milky Way.
8. Use reflections for impressive shots
Use reflections in the water, in windows or other reflective surfaces to create mysterious shots. For the eye, a reflection is like looking into another dimension. For example, mountain peaks can be reflected on the water surface of an opposite lake, or a church tower can be reflected in a window pane. There are many ways to use a reflective surface.
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9. Optimise the Organization of Your Photos
When travelling, you take countless photos. Many are duplicate or blurred, but some are decent shots, or even real treasure. To keep perspective and spare valuable memory card space, take some time in the evenings to get rid of duplicate or blurry photos. This prevents you from having to wade through a chaotic mess of photos when you get home and maintains the absolute best memories. With the help of the right picture organization and management, you can use the time you saved to take more photos. Memorialise your holiday, for example, in a trip yearbook: in our eBook, we show you how to organise your pictures and create a photo yearbook.
10. Don’t Forget to Enjoy Your Holiday!
Don’t spend your entire holiday peering through the lens of a camera! Take time to relax and enjoy your surroundings. One good picture of an exciting experience is worth more than a thousand duplicates. So enjoy your trip and try to strike a balance between photography and relaxation, and discover something interesting while you’re at it.
And when you get home, don’t forget: create a photo book of your trip, or decorate your wall with your favourite shots. With the practical ifolor app you can print your best memories directly in a photo book, practical booklet or wall decoration.