I'm a firm believer that the best souvenirs of your summer vacation won't be found in the gift shops (a.k.a., tourist traps). If you really want to capture sentimental memories of your travels, look no further than your own camera. After all, you're the one who knows what made your vacation special--the experiences that moved you, the places that made you smile. If you frame your favorite shots when you get home, you'll have the best souvenirs ever!
But how can you capture your vacation memories in pictures that are beautiful and unique enough to frame? I've got you covered with the following quick tips, illustrated with photos that I took last weekend, when good friends from New York City invited us to their "country house"--a summer rental near Rhinebeck, New York, built in the late 1700's, with gorgeous, untamed gardens all over the property.
Here are a few tips to make your vacation photos the best they can be:
1. Get closer. A LOT closer. Take your shots as close as you can get to the pretty things you see. It helps if you have a macro lens, but as with the flower shot at the top of this post, I didn't have a macro lens with me so I just moved in very near to the flowers and focused on them, not on the background. Creating a shallow depth of field like this will really make your subjects "pop."
2. Use natural light, even indoors. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know that I'm practically allergic to flash photography, and that applies to vacation shots, too. Nothing ruins the mood faster than an artificially lit scene. You won't always be able to avoid the flash at nighttime, when low light can make your shots blurry without the flash (although you can compensate for low light if you know how to shoot in manual mode). But in the daytime, shoot during the Golden Hours (about one hour after the sun rises and one hour before it sets) for the softest, prettiest light.
3. Get a view from the doorway. This is one of my favorite ways to remember the places I've visited. Capture the rooms as you saw them the moment you entered them. I don't mean that as soon as you enter the room, you should start clicking away. (Besides, you've probably got luggage to plunk down!) I just mean it's good to go back to the same view you originally saw and capture it, and a great way to do that is to take photos right on the threshold of rooms.
4. Get a view through the window. When I was inside chatting with my friend in the kitchen, I saw her sweet daughter outside, having a chat of her own with her Barbie doll. What did you see when looking outdoors?
5. Capture the quiet moments, not just the big events. While the amusement park trips and birthday bashes definitely should be on your roster of photos, be mindful of the downtime, too--those quiet, little moments in between the action. Often, those are the things we forget the fastest, so pictures will save the day--literally.
6. Get a close-up shot of the most delicious foods you ate while you were there. (And again, turn off the flash!)
7. Take a "solo photo walk." If you like to take a lot of snapshots--as in hundreds of snapshots (I'm with ya!)--set aside some time to do it on your own, when you won't be rushed along by the others in your group and you won't be inconveniencing them by stopping to compose all the shots. You'll be able to find more of those quiet moments (see #5), and I think it's always nice to get a little fresh air and time to yourself to explore.
Here's one more BIG thing to remember: Pack those extra batteries, chargers, and memory cards before you pack anything else. You never know when that little red light will pop up on your camera, telling you that your perfect shot isn't going to happen.
I hope your next vacation is picture-perfect in every way!
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Pssssssst! Early Bird enrollment for the next session of my online photography course, The Art of Photography: How to Take Your Pictures to the Next Level, ends on Friday, 7/31/15 (12:00 midnight EST). Save $15 by enrolling early and join me in August to create some inspiring pictures of your own!
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© 2015 by Joy Sussman/JoyfullyGreen.com LLC. All rights reserved. All photos and text digitally fingerprinted and watermarked. Please do not use any of my photographs without asking me first for permission at [email protected] and then clearly linking back to this site with photo credits. Site licensed by Creative Commons.
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