Welcome to the internet age, where you can geo-tag, check in and like your way to being the Mayor of Starbucks. But going abroad is a prime opportunity to take your selfies to the next level. Here’s how.
BEFORE YOU EVEN START:
Quick tips on getting the most out of your phone
1. Put it on airplane mode and use local WiFi spots to upload pics. You do NOT want to see a bill with roaming charges.
2. Do your research. Find a travel photographer you really admire and try to emulate his or her style. It will give a clearer idea of what your goals are, which makes it that much easier to reach them.
3. Download a real photo-taking app. The camera app pre-installed on your phone is for bluy ebay photos of your old history textbook, not you!
We recommend SnappyCam Pro ($0.99), which lets you take a bunch of photos at the same time just by holding down the button. With a dozen choices, there’s got to be one with perfect hair.
The Rule of Thirds
This is the magic rule you learn in Photography 101. Imagine there are three even lines going horizontally and vertically. Try to get the subject of the photograph on those lines or the intersections.
Natalia Deriabina/Shutterstock
Not JUST a monument
There’s hundreds of photos of the Eiffel Tower. And even more of person X standing in front of it. Do something different like photographing children playing on the grounds of the Palais de Versailles with the palace strategically placed in the background. Or instead of leaning on the Tower of Pisa, kick it over! Don’t go for the tropes of travel photography.
Matt Gibson/Shutterstock
Depth
Have a lot of things going on close to you and far away. Taking a photo of your friend close up? Find a crowd to put in the background. Photographing the bull runs? Have something close up so that you can get a feel for the speed of the runners in the back.
Andrekart Photography/Shutterstock
Take Photos EVERYWHERE
Think a guy’s cute? Snap a pic. The color of a random building catch your eye? Bam, picture. The best thing about modern travel photography is not just that the camera in your phone is getting better. It’s that your phone is often with you 24/7, so there’s no excuse to not document all the beautiful images in your life.
Humannet/Shutterstock
Light
The “golden hour” of photography is just when the sun comes up and when the sun goes down. The diffuse light makes everything (and one) look good, so make sure you take note of when it happens! Plus if you get up super early it just means you have the rest of the day to explore (and take more pictures).
[Lead image via Anna Demjanenko/Shutterstock]
