Everyone’s annual highlight of their Instagram is their holiday photos. We’ve moved on from gathering in the living room to put the family through flicking through them or even streaming them on the TV, to outright posting them for the world to see.
We’ve also gotten a lot better at taking photos. Filters make the colour pop and subject and framing are becoming more innate, but it does result in a lot of photos looking the same. How do you distinguish yourself from the travel influencers out there? We have some tips.
The fly-on-the-wall approach
The most underrated way to take photos is with the fly-on-the-wall approach. You don’t need to take a photo every time the two of you sit down to dinner, instead, just always be ready. This is a lot easier nowadays and while you’re on holiday especially because we are already carrying a camera in our pockets. And on holiday we’re usually carrying an additional camera for good shots.
So, practice being ready at any moment. The best holiday snaps are the ones you aren’t expecting when one or both of you are too busy having fun to remember the existence of a camera. Jumping off a cliff or a boat, taking a particularly large bite of dinner, lounging by the pool, or a smile at a nice moment. All of these examples offer up a more authentic photo than the posed, standing-in-front-of-a-famous-landmark-or-good-view, an example that graces most Instagram reels.
Appreciate the spontaneity and put it all in the best photo book maker so you can share the stories between each photo with your friends in person.
Consider perspective
But the big landmarks are big for a reason. If you go to Paris you want to see the Eiffel Tower – and it would be hard not to. However, a lot of these landmarks have five tourists a minute taking a photo, so consider ways that you can make your photo stand out.
One is perspective. Tilt your camera right up to see the impressive majesty of the tower, arch, church, fountain, mountain, or anything else that takes your fancy. Alternatively, a shot of the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, just as an example, gives a new perspective that few take advantage of.
Consider Trevi Fountain, which is always full of tourists by the way. It’s hard to get a full-scale photo of the entire thing without a sea of heads swarming the bottom, so don’t. Instead, focus on an element you particularly like. Triton stands at the centre, but he is surrounded by hippocampi (half mermaid, half horse mythical creatures), and there is the papal coat of arms above it on the Palazzo Poli.
This is a good trick for trying to avoid too many tourists. It’s almost impossible in a lot of places, but if the Leaning Tower of Pisa teaches us anything, it’s that people who have never lifted a camera before can get really creative with perspective.
Find hidden gems
Alternatively, skip the Eiffel Tower and Trevi Fountain entirely. They have so many tourists and so many photos, you don’t need to bother. These major cities are in fact asking tourists to please calm down since they tend to cause chaos.
Instead, venture into more rural areas. Find a piece of art down an alley. Find a restaurant that serves the best [insert food here] you’ve ever tasted. Wander off the path and into the trees to find a waterfall with no heads around it. Talk to the locals to find out what they would recommend and find some character in your travels while you’re at it.
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