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10 Tips for Great Holiday Photos

Take your best photos of the year
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Already looking forward to your next holiday? Don’t forget to pack your camera and capture your beautiful moments. But you can’t just rush off and start taking the best photos of the year - nothing is worse than a photograph of a stunning subject that has been badly photographed! We’d like to give you ten great tips for successful holiday photos.
 

#1 Take Your Time

Time is precious. We all want more of it. But no matter how busy you are, don’t forget: your day only has 24 hours. You need to set priorities. If you want to take good photos take your time and familiarise yourself with the basic functions of your camera - before you go on holiday!

Landscape sunset with lake

Don’t just take snaps - prepare yourself and research the area

When you get there, you shouldn’t be in a rush. Relax. Let the city or landscape sink in before you photograph it. Walk around the building, explore the landscape to be able to choose the right perspective in peace. If you take your time, your creativity will know no limits! Maybe use a tripod - it forces you to carefully select your subject and the details in your photograph.

#2 The early bird catches the worm

You know it only too well: you’ve found the perfect subject to capture. But you’re in a high tourist area and someone is always walking through your picture. No chance of photographing the Spanish Steps in Rome by yourself, is there?

Most popular attractions all to yourself

Do you want the most popular attractions all to yourself? Then you’ll have to get up earlier...

It doesn’t have to be like this. Even if you would prefer to have a lie in on holiday, you should take advantage of the early morning hours to take the most beautiful holiday photos. Not only will you have the city or your dream beach to yourself in early morning, you will also benefit from the soft and even light of dawn.

#3 A Question of Perspective

Everything is a question of perspective, especially when it comes to the perfect holiday photo. You tend to take a snapshot of the perfect subject quickly in passing, and that’s ok? If you want to take a really great photo, you should take your time and work out the perspective. Walk around your subject and find carefully find the right position.

Details of your image

Selectively choose the details of your image and pay attention to the golden ratio

Don’t keep the horizon in the middle - this gets boring fast. It’s better to have it in the top or bottom third of the photo. Similarly, your subject should not be directly in the middle of the image area. A slight adjustment to the right or left can work wonders. Take advantage of the golden ratio and the golden spiral as a tool, and your photos will reflect your wonderful holiday memories.

#4 Show Size

You are stood before the impressive Niagara Falls and just can’t believe how big it really is. You’d love to show your friends and family back home just how breath-taking the view of the waterfall really is. Unfortunately, sizes in photos are not immediately apparent if you don’t use a few tricks. Put your subject to scale in relation to another object, or even a person. For example, if you can see a boat at the bottom of the waterfall, you should try and catch it in the picture. Or place your holiday companions in a deserted landscape to show the vastness of nature.

Make proportions visible - put size into scale

Make proportions visible - put size into scale

It’s the same for very tiny objects. Put something especially small in your hand to give the viewer an idea of just how tiny the subject really is. Be creative and you will discover endless possibilities to show scale at the first glance. Place your pen or a coin next to it - it will let you truly capture its impressive size.

#5 Put Your Subject in a Frame

Every image looks more exciting when it’s in the right frame. Naturally you can always frame your most beautiful holiday photos afterwards. But sometimes the location offers the opportunity to fit your subject of choice into a great frame when you photograph it. If you want to remember the Plaça Reial in Barcelona, or your favourite beach in Bali, take advantage of the surroundings.

Make your subject even more interesting by using a frame on location

Make your subject even more interesting by using a frame on location

Catch a snippet of the place by photographing it from an adjacent alley, and use the archway as a natural frame. If the surroundings don’t provide you with a frame, then use some help. On the beach you can photograph with palm leaves around the edges. This type of natural frame is especially effective if it forms a silhouette.

#6 Attention to Detail

Often you are so overcome by the beauty of your holiday destination that you want to photograph everything and cram it all into a single photograph to keep the overall impression. Unfortunately this only works in very rare instances, and even if you could, you would need a wide-angle lens. There are so many beautiful details in everything that are worth a look and a photo. For example, if you want to take a picture of an imposing building, you do not have to fit the entire object into the photo.

Less is more - photograph large things in multiple detail photos

Less is more - photograph large things in multiple detail photos

Pick a beautiful display detail, perhaps with a window, a nice sgraffito or a sculpture. You can find spices, fruit and vegetables in the brightest colours at the bazaar or the market. Photograph these details but make sure you are paying attention to the background!

#7 Bad weather, bad photos? Not at all!

Of course you’re disappointed if it rains during your beach holiday. But actually, a rainy day is perfectly suited to photography. When you’re not able to relax on the beach, grab your camera instead and search out some great subjects. The advantage of rainy weather is that the grey sky, in contrast to a sunny day, doesn’t cause your photos to have any stark contrasts or dark shadows, and instead gives you a soft and even light.

Don’t let the rain get you down - make the most of it!

Don’t let the rain get you down - make the most of it!

Rain also offers you plenty of new possibilities. Raindrops, rainbows and the reflections of people, nature and buildings in puddles on the street are excellent subjects for great holiday photos. And the best of it is if you are on the lookout for subjects like this, you are open to beauty. You’re thinking positive and won’t let the rain spoil your mood!

#8 Work With Props and Accessories

Naturally, you also want to take pictures of yourself during your vacation - but do you find the typical pictures of the most famous spots in your holiday paradise a bit boring? Then you should work with props and accessories. At the moment, pictures where the holiday-goer is laying on a cool air mattress shaped like a donut, flamingo or swan are especially trendy. A delicious and colourful ice cream is a wonderful prop to let fun and good times radiate from your photo.

Take a picture of yourself living life like a local - these are the photos you’ll love!

Take a picture of yourself living life like a local - these are the photos you’ll love!

Use local items or products such as a flamenco fan in Spain, a banana plant in Asia or a huge burger in the USA to show where you spent your holiday - snap more than just the landmark photos that everyone else does.

#9 The Night Awaits

You don’t have to pack away your camera once the sun goes down. Nighttime in cities offers great opportunities for beautiful holiday photos. Light up your nicely decorated table with a candle light dinner or photograph the starry sky. You only need to make sure that you use a longer exposure and a higher light sensitivity for a successful photo.

Tip: you don’t need to limit yourself to photos during daylight hours

Tip: you don’t need to limit yourself to photos during daylight hours

Use a tripod when possible so that the images aren’t blurry. If you don’t have one with you, you can lean on your holiday companion or support yourself with a column. Or put the camera down and use the self-timer. By the way, these tips also apply to photography in closed rooms where you can’t or don’t want to use a flash.

#10 Portraits on Holiday

Being on holiday is the best chance to finally take gorgeous portraits of you and your loved one. You are happy and relaxed, have even enjoyed a bit of sun, and just look great. Look for the a nice background, and choose the right perspective. It’s best to take portraits after sunset or at night when the light is most advantageous. You don’t have to pick a typical portrait shot - after all, you don’t need a new photo for your passport, but one that shows how you feel when you’re on holiday. Choose an interesting photo detail and decide on a facial part, such as the eyes.

Holiday memories stay stronger when they are caught in portraits

Tip: you don’t need to limit yourself to photos during daylight hours

Photograph against a detailed background and decide if you want to shoot with an open aperture to bring the face further into focus. If you live with a nice family and get along well with the vegetable dealer around the corner, you can also ask their permission to take their photograph. Ultimately, it is the people that you meet who will make your holiday an unforgettable experience!

Bring your Holiday Feeling into your Home

These tips will let you document your holiday so well that you will want to see these pictures again and again, and dream of them. In our shop you can print stunning framed photo prints with mounts or have your favourite photo as a printed canvas - so you can bring your holiday directly into your four walls!

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