Take time during your travels to look for unexpected bee-autiful photos-in-the-making while on site. (Kevin Kaiser | Travel Beat Magazine)
Vacations can be full of exciting new sights, sounds and smells.
Don’t get so caught up in the hub-bub that you don’t take time to notice the details, the beauty of nature, the moments.
And to take photos of them.
You might just find that you’ll love these photos most of all.
Here are 3 easy steps to capture (even the small) moments:
1. Be watchful.
What’s going on around you? Step to the side and watch people, animals, the trees as they sway in the breeze.
Doonagore Castle is Doolin’s iconic tower house castle, built around 1500 on the western shore of Ireland. To get a unique vantage point of this castle, one must find a spot of color on a cloudy day. This time the color is found in a field of wildflowers. (Kevin Kaiser | Travel Beat Magazine)
What captures your eye? What’s the spot of color? What will you think about as you try to fall asleep that night?
Take time to frame your photos to focus attention on that which captures your eye and imagination.
Or, consider using some of these spots of color as foreground interest in your landscape or portrait photos.
Sea grass at a beach? Yes, please. Flowers in front of a castle? Oh, yes.
2. Anticipate the moments
You’ve long studied human and animal nature. You know when someone’s about to deliver a punch line on a joke. You know when someone’s about to do something devious or marvelous. You can see it in their eyes and see it in their motion.
Be there to capture the moment. How? Watch for it, anticipate it, then position yourself in the best spot to capture it.
This takes a whole lot of trial and error. And error, and error, and error … and success. But the times you DO capture that moment are the photos you’ll treasure.
3. Picture the picture
Before you even arrive on location or to your destination, research.
While the sun’s angle didn’t cooperate with capturing a photo of the front of Bunratty Castle, another angle did work. Always remain open to possibilities and, for instance, reflections that work to your advantage. (Kevin Kaiser | Travel Beat Magazine)
Check out Flicker or photo blogs to see what other photographers have done in these locations.
Check out photo spheres through Google Maps to explore potential (photo) shooting sites for the best angle at a certain time of day.
All of this you’ll want to do well in advance to plan your perfect photo opportunities.
When you do arrive, look for those spots, those photos and those angles you’d previously decided to capture. But remain open to new possibilities that come up. While on the ground, you may see something you couldn’t virtually.
Make the picture you pictured.
Note to all aspiring photographers: Don’t shoot into the sun unless you’re looking for a silhouette shot. I see this all too often, and the photos are almost always disappointing. So if you’re looking to take a photo of a lighthouse, for instance, looking west, don’t plan to shoot the photo at midday until sunset. Aim instead for sunrise, early morning or sunset.