5 TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE
Welcome to the start of my INSTAGRAM SERIES where you'll find blog posts with FREE advice to help you improve your photography, build your blog following and navigate your way around instagram.
I'm kick starting my INSTAGRAM SERIES with today's blog post packed full of key tips for beginners to help your travel images perform better on instagram. I know it's a bit cheeky of me to give you advice about travel photography seeing I'm a total novice myself BUT I'm hoping that my inexperience will allow me to put myself in your shoes; I've had a lot of struggles on the way but have discovered some key solutions that have made my travel pictures stronger. I'd love to share these little photography tips with you. Here goes...
THE PERFECT LIGHT FOR TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Just as in food photography, light is everything in travel photography. Personally, I feel that I captured my best images on my current trip to Latin America during the Golden Hour, which is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. It meant waking up very early, but the reward was priceless - soft, romantic light that made everything look dreamy and beautiful.
For photography shots in cities and busy towns - like the one I took of an alley in Cartagena above - it also means having the street all to yourself, without needing to wait for that unsightly bus or those grumpy pedestrians to move out of your frame.
HAVE A FOCAL POINT
It's nice to give the eye something specific to focus on so it doesn't get lost or worse, bored. In the image above the focal point is the white tower. The greenery draws the eye toward the tower and the bell and other metal details add some interest too. Beth Kirby from Local Milk often uses herself, friends or family members as a focal point. This image is a great example of using a person as a focal point in travel photography.
INSTAGRAM LOVES FLOWERS
If you partook in my FREE 10-day instagram photography challenge you already know that pictures that contain flowers tend to do particularly well on instagram. Travel photography is no exception! Hence when I spotted this gorgeous door covered by those lovely flowers in Cartagena I HAD to photograph it! So dreamy....
USE THE RIGHT TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY HASHTAGS!
I always tell my instagram mentoring clients that it's crucial they use the right hashtags! There's no point in posting your travel snaps unless you can be sure you're sharing it with the right audience.
Some of the hashtags I've found helpful when sharing my travel photography on instagram include the ones below. But the list is endless, so make sure you discover your own favourites and apply them!
#iamatraveler #guardiantravelsnaps #wanderlust #mytinyatlas #fromwhereistand #momentsofmine #darlingtravels #liveauthentic #theprettycities #modernvoyage #culturetrip #beautifuldestination #iamtraveler #suitcasetravels #bestplacestogo #verilymoment #darlingescapes #welltravelled #openmyworld
STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF
If you listened to my interview on THE MINDFUL CREATIVE PODCAST you'll know that I love instagram, I love photography and I love getting positive comments BUT I don't want to be a slave to approval either. In short I believe it's all about balance - your creative integrity versus the popular vote ;).
With that in mind, there are images like the one above of fishermen in Cartagena that are subtle and quiet and unlikely to get heaps of attention on a busy, overcrowded platform such as instagram. Nonetheless, I love it and it makes me happy. Therefore I'm gonna show it off to the world. FULL STOP! I invite you to do the same.
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