If your holiday pictures are always selfies made with a smartphone at the end of a stick, it’s time for a change. No, you should not change the phone, but your style. Holiday is about you and your family and friends, but pictures taken on holiday are meant to become memories. Be sure they are as good as possible. Here are some simple rules to follow when you want holiday pictures that will make you proud.
Learn how you gear works before going on holiday
It doesn’t matter if you have a DSLR, a compact camera, or just a phone. For most of the pictures, you’ll be taken, a simple and fast camera is enough. But you need to learn how it works. Especially if you don’t go on holiday by yourself, time will be important. Nobody likes to wait until you figure out how the camera works. And people won’t stay forever in one position. So you, the photographer, have to be fast and precise. Settings must be done in a second. Snapshots are usually taken on the go. Use a camera which has some sort of movement stabilizer and use a fast shutter speed to avoid blurred pictures (especially on poor lighting conditions).
Travel and explore
If you want good holiday pictures you have to look for them. Travel and try new places or new activities. Take part in street festivals, go visit local markets, and enjoy concerts and special events. Make an effort and wake up early to see (and photograph) the sunrise. Stay up late and watch (and photograph) the stars.
Rules of composition
There are some simple rules that every photographer needs to know. How to frame a portrait, the rule of thirds, frame within a frame, and working with geometry are just a few of them. Any beginners’ photography course will lead you through them. And if you really want some exquisite holiday pictures you should at least go through a beginner class.
Quality versus Quantity
There is a popular belief that taking more pictures is better. You can observe it in your travels. Tourists pouring out of buses see the world only through the viewfinder. They come back with thousands of similar pictures and with no personal experience or opinions. A good photographer first observes and then does the pictures. Look for interesting subjects, colors, and textures. Observe the light, the natural features of the place, the activities happening around. Take all in, analyze, and then use wisely your camera. It is indeed better to take more pictures in the same spot, but this doesn’t mean you don’t have to think your picture first.
Taking holiday pictures seems easy. All you have to do is have fun and press the shutter button once in a while. But if you want more than that, you should do your homework, learn to use your camera, and explore the world of photography.