Our smartphones are changing the nature of travel photography. Unlike before, you don’t need to bring fancy cameras and lenses when capturing good photos. Nowadays, you just need to grab your smartphone camera and you’re good to go. Photos can also be edited in smartphones through specialized mobile applications. In just a few minutes, you can make any dull photo look like it’s shot by a pro.
In this age of spontaneous mobile advancements, it seems like anyone can now be a superb photographer. But having a mobile camera isn’t enough to post that insta-worthy shot. You need to develop some skills to actually use the mobile tools smartly. Here’s a simple guide to develop these skills:
Establish your ‘photographic eye’
Whether it be a DSLR or a smartphone, the secret to having perfect travel photos is measured through your eyes and creativity.
When traveling, look around and pay attention to details as you’re exploring. Batanes, for instance, has a lot of vibrant colors, breathtaking sceneries, and curious silhouettes that you can capture. You can try visiting there to develop your photographic eye.
Capture a sense of place
If you want a great travel photo, stop the selfie madness! Use your smartphone camera to catch Mother Nature’s natural beauty!
Travel photos become more precious when it pictures a certain culture. Spend your time capturing local landmarks and interesting architecture. They will make a good subject for your photos.
Not to mention, most of smartphone users globally use their phone to share pictures and videos online. So there are higher chances your travel photos can be the ultimate to-go-places.
Include people in your photos
Before doing this, ask permission if you could take a picture of them first. As traveler, it’s best to capture people in their own environment with interesting elements in the background, as if it’s telling a story.
Capturing candid moments of local life is one way of taking photos with substance. Plus, landscapes are better with people in them, right?
Look for pattern
Most of the time, we are addicted to patterns–shapes in the clouds, symmetry in buildings, different colors of skies–as it pleases our eyes. Before taking a photo, notice these patterns around you, then capture it!
The art of subtle editing
If you want a great travel photo, you should learn to edit like a pro. There are a lot of famous free editing mobile applications like VSCO,Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Snapseed, and Picsart that offers basic editing: adjusting contrast, exposure, shadow and saturation–all of which adds up to a good travel photo.
Sometimes #nofilter is not enough. Go beyond the filters, start experimenting with your photography skills, and fall in love with the different local tourist destinations. Learn the rules and you’ll start traveling more to capture photos beyond your expectations.
If ever you want to explore of Batanes, you can check out Sky Pasada for affordable seats to see breathtaking views that are definitely off for bucket list.
