I [heart] Travel & Photography @thestreamedperkins-blog - Tumblr Blog

Posts

This helped me go about securing my home in the right manner.

#secure homes

Before: Cramped and dull looking space

After: Simply luxurious and sleek looking cozy area

#home improvement

Before: Decades old design and style

After: Beautifully Bright Tones, improve lighting and minamilistic.

Reference: MKG

#decor

Promoting your photography business on the web

With all the amazing photographic talent on the web it can be quite a task to stay ahead of your competition. The best of work or talent can sometime get overshadowed and very often go unnoticed. We got Sam Wilkins of Track Digital an SEO services company in Exeter Devon to share a few pointers on how to get your business and work the visibility it needs to stay ahead of the competition. “Staying active on your website blog and prominent social media platforms are a must for photographers” say Sam. He further adds that if you are local business your website must rank for local search terms in your area of work.

Ideally specialize in an particular sub-niche or highlight a niche that you want to focus on. As photography has several branches focusing on all at a single point will dilute your efforts. Photographers have a huge advantage in getting their work showcased on the web due to presence of powerful social media platforms such as Flicker, Instagram, Stumbled Upon, Facebook and Twitter to promote your work. Staying active is the key here as the more active you are the followers you will gather when you promote your work. Constant engagement here often builds a buzz which leads to traffic being referred to your website.

Your website requires traffic or visitors to get clients to reach you. Often photographers have websites created with large files that are slow to load leading to visitors bouncing of the page. Keep a check on the time it takes to load your website which should be ideally under 2.00 seconds. To gain better visibility on the search engines your content has to be well structured to gain maximum benefits in the search results of Google, Yahoo and Bing. A well optimized website needs proper keyword research, an understanding of the competition, proper on page SEO, and visibility on local areas maps for business. As a Digital Marketing Agency we encourage clients in Devon to attract visitors in the local areas first when promoting your services. Businesses need to claim and verify their listings for search engines to make it easier for customers to locate your establishment. Getting reviews from your customers for local area listings seen on local maps search is a huge benefit. Keep in mind that plenty of search take place on smartphones which means that your website has to be mobile responsive.

The design of the website in terms of the structure and layout needs to be planned from not a user experience perspective but also from a marketing one. Traffic that visits your website needs to be driven to your sales funnel or needs to be engaged with after they leave the site. This can be achieved by signing up visitors to several offers or collecting the contact details as lead generation.

Building trust and highlighting your achievements with your audience is critical to establish yourself as an authority figure or an expert in your field. Showcasing your portfolio and client testimonials along with an active blog is recommended.

#photography business #SEO advice

Digital photography for newbies

Are you new to digital photography? If so, there is an incredible amount to learn in order to become proficient with a camera, you need to understand the settings and what they do. Of course anyone can pick up a camera and take snaps, but when you gain a real understanding of what you are doing, you will go from taking snaps to creating beautiful images.

Take a course and learn basics I recall finding my interest in photography through a couple of friends who had cameras and used to actively go out and shoot now and again. I joined them a few times whilst they were taking beach, sunset and nature shoots. They both owned top of the range professional equipment but had little idea how to use it, they were always shooting in auto mode. This is all good and well for taking happy snaps, but mid-range to high end equipment is not really designed to be used on auto mode, it’s a waste of the technology.

Before I first used my camera I had read completely through the manual, and read it a second time a few days later with camera at hand. Yes I know this may be incredibly boring and it’s not something I usually do, but there were so settings, from shooting modes, ISO, Aperture etc that I wanted a basic understanding of what they did. I’m glad I took the time as it made a huge difference, within a week I had experimented with most of the settings and knew how to use them, as least to some extent.

I cannot recommend enough how helpful online course and books were to me, not only will you quickly pick up and understand all the basics about photography, you will start to get an idea about the type of photography that appeals to you. I quickly found that Portrait, Landscape and Black and White photography were what interested me most.

Tip- When looking to buy books, ensure the book you purchase illustrates the same brand of camera that you use, as this will make following lessons and learning far easier. Generally you will find most books will be for Cannon or Nikon, as they are two of the most popular brands.

Buying your first DSLR It can be very exciting and also quite a daunting prospect when it comes to buying a camera. It helps to start buy having a good idea of what type of photography interests you, and how serious you plan to take it, part time hobby or as an enthusiast. Most enthusiasts will likely won a number of separate lenses, which can be changed, from prime lenses, to zoom, wide angle, macro etc. Here is a very basic quick guide to lenses for different types of photography Portraits- Prime lenses 50-100mm Wildlife- Zoom lenses 200-600mm Close up (macro)- Macro lenses Landscape- 8-30mm

Lenses can be the most expensive part of your camera equipment from £50 to literally thousands of pounds. A great starter lens which will come as part of the basic camera kit is a 18-135mm lens, which is a fabulous all round starter lens. It provides you wide enough angles for landscape, zoom for portraits and basic wildlife, once you find your specific interests, you can then purchase specialist lenses.

Light is your friend You will quickly learn that the quality of your images is reflected in the quality of the light available. This does not mean the brightest part of the day is best, in fact quite the opposite. If you go out and shoot during the middle of the day during the summer months on sunny days, the light from 9am-3pm can be too bright and a little harsh. The best time for shooting outside say for landscapes or seascapes is either early in the morning, or late afternoon/early evening when the sun a much softer and warmer glow which provide wonderful colours, making for fabulous images.

Experiment and have fun! Photography is a wonderful hobby you get to view life from a totally different perspective and tend to appreciate the little things more. You will find yourself off exploring places that you usually may not, due to looking for opportunities to shoot idyllic locations. It’s very rewarding, like everything you will get out what you put in, if you take the time to properly learn how your camera works, you will be able be rewarded with better quality images.

Buy a tripod One of the most important pieces of equipment you will require is a tripod. Not only will you be able to shoot sharper images due to less camera shake, but it will open up a world of opportunities which include: • Sun rises and sunsets • Motion blur • Fireworks • Nightscapes • Waterfalls and ocean waves • Light trails (motor vehicle lights) • Star trails

We all require hobbies and interests in life and photography is a very popular one. With the boom or social media in recent years, sharing your photographic images has never been easier, you will feel amazing pride at getting your first complimentary message!

Handy Black and White Photography tips

I’m not quite old enough, but when I speak to people who were around during the days when they only had black and white, they always speak of it by way of being a romantic format, and I have to agree. If you enjoy watching some of the fantastic old classic movies, be it a 1950’s epic war film, a western or even an old comedy, can you imagine enjoying them as much in colour? Think of some of the iconic stars from the middle of the last century, there is something extremely appealing about black and white images.

With black and white as popular as ever, here are some helpful tips to improving your monochrome images.

1. Shoot in RAW I realise it may not be possible for some and other’s simply may not like to, but shooting in RAW format provides far more control and depth for the post production phase of editing your images. There is nothing wrong in shooting in JPEG, as it’s in fact easier to convert to black and white, it’s just you are missing out on so much more available detail. It will depend on the type of camera you use, but as an example you may shoot a jpeg and capture 2mb worth of detail, yet the same image shot in RAW could well contain 24mb of detail to work with.

2. Look for contrast It’s not so important whilst shooting in colour, in fact large amounts of contrast are somewhat discouraged, yet to make a B & W images pop and stand out, you need contrast within the frame. Look for a variation of tones and textures; otherwise your image may end up looking a little bland.

3. When to shoot When shooting colour images outside, you will often first check to see the quality of light available. The light may not result in you not shooting, but it will likely be a consideration, whereas for black and white dark, misty, gloomy and overcast days can prove ideal for gaining a little mood and drama in your shots. When conditions don’t favour shooting in colour, try your hand to black and white for the day.

4. Look for patterns Patterns become far more compelling in black and white, due to their ordered repetition, whereas colour merely distracts our attention from the pattern. Start looking for patterns which provide interesting lines, from walls, to parking lots, trees, buildings etc. It will take time and practise although you will quickly learn to spot a pattern which results in a pleasant image.

5. Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 This is by far my favourite piece of editing software and something that had enhanced my passion for black and white photography. Silver Efex Pro comes as one part of the Nik’s collection plug-in software. With simple slider controls it’s so easy to use, and takes no time to get to grips with. This is literally the only piece of black and white editing software you will need. It provide you so much control, that you can literally transform a very average looking colour image into something far more appealing in black and white.

Have a look at the difference between the two images below, the first in regular colour, the second in B&W touched up with Silver Efex Pro 2.

Tips for taking great pictures of your baby

Over the past few years, maternity and newborn photography have really grown in popularity in the UK, where the trend started across the Atlantic in the US. You will find there are a number of baby photographers covering every square inch of the UK, demand is now that high for professional services. With the overall cost of newborn and baby photography costing anything from £300 upwards and that would only include a few finished images; it’s not for everyone as can work out quite expensive. So we spoke to professional maternity and newborn photographer Natasha Hanna who is a leading photographer in Surrey UK.

Here are some of her practical tips to help guide you through taking your own baby photos.

Equipment People can be a little overwhelmed taking their own photos initially, as they see what a professional photographer produces and it can sometimes make their own shots feel inadequate. What they have to remember is that we have all the professional equipment from camera’s, lighting, props etc and having a studio makes it easier for us. Basically any modern mid-range digital camera will suffice, if you own a digital SLR then so much the better. It’s not so much about the equipment but more about the composition, lighting, colours and most importantly capturing beautiful images of your little bundle of joy.

Documenting When you get home with your baby, you may find yourself wanting to document new experiences, like first bath time, first weigh-in, or meeting the grand parents for the first time. At this stage I would take lots of shots, although I would keep a separate note on paper as to the corresponding photos and what the occasion was. With so much going on it can be easy to lose track.

Work the angles It can sometimes prove a little tricky finding the perfect angle to capture great shots, as often babies have little marks, bumps, rashes, scratches or other minor skin blemishes. I have seen some excellent amateur photographer baby photos, which are usually created through experimentation of trying different angles. We are all too familiar of images where the camera is pointing down upon the baby, so try out different angles, getting down low and below the babies view level. I’m often asked which lens is best for baby photography, ideally a portrait lens of between 50-100mm for the best shots, although a zoom lens will work perfectly fine.

Be creative Instead of filling your memory card with a zillion images which after a while will start looking extremely similar, try and get a little creative. New-born babies are incredibly small, but it’s not easy to see this unless put into perspective. I like to get other people into the shot to give perspective, like being held in her father’s hands, with a baby’s hand gripping an adult finger, or with older brothers and sisters. Note: Taking photographs of your baby can be incredibly fun and rewarding, but first and foremost always ensure your baby’s safety and make sure they are being properly held and are secure at all times. Most specialist baby photographers are specifically trained in safely posing baby’s.

Capture the memorable fun moments Babies may take a few weeks before they start smiling, so it may be difficult initially to gauge their mood. So you will need to use a little perception to see when they are happy and content, although when they are asleep is often a perfect time, as you can gently position them for a shot. Try not to overly disturb your baby just to get the perfect shot, you will have plenty of opportunities.

Don’t miss the action By keeping your camera within easy reach, you’ll be less likely to miss some of the fabulous action shots, or cute and funny faces. I suggest keeping the camera in the room where you spend most time with your baby. Take lots pictures and regularly back them up With camera being digital you don’t need to worry about how many images you take, although be sure to regularly back them up onto a computer or drive, as memory cards can become corrupted. So be sure to take lots of shots, and just save the ones you want to keep, although I do suggest not reviewing them after each shot, take a number first, then edit them later.

Digital editing I have little doubt you have seen tons of flawless baby images, without marks or wrinkles, although if you look closely you may spot they have been edited. Most professional digital imagery you see has been edited in one way or another, so don’t feel like you are cheating if you make a few minor changes. Editing is there to remove unwanted marks and blemishes from your photos, although be careful not to over edit, as you want to keep the images as natural as possible.

Black and White Personally I adore black and white portrait photography; I love the tones and feel many of the distractions from colour are removed leaving a purer image. Obviously it all comes down to personal choice, but you will have no end of colour photographs, so try your hand at taking some black and white images. Unlike colour so much, you have to pay more attention to contrasting tones, so try and ensure you don’t have all light, neutral or dark colours in an image, try to have a mixture for the best results.

Look for natural lighting Unless you can control the brightness of your flash, you may find the flash light is too harsh and could ruin a number of images. Wherever possible I would suggest using natural light. I have seen some amazing shots where curtains have been partially open, letting in streams of sunlight which have gently and pleasantly illuminated a baby in relatively dark rooms, to excellent effect. If you do have to use flash, I would advise trying to diffuse the light, but bouncing the light of the ceiling or a wall., which can be done using a credit card or driving license, although may take a little practise initially.

Most importantly have lots of fun with your little one, they sure grow up quickly, but please make sure they are safe as you would not wish to accidently risk injuring your baby just for a photograph. If you are confident of creating your own wonderful images, check out the websites of professional photographers in your area, take a peek at their baby sessions and go through their reviews.

#baby #kids #photography

Tips for sunset photography

Most photographers at some stage or another have been drawn to shooting sunsets. With its warm golden glow lighting up the evening sky, there is little more rewarding for a photography enthusiast then capturing a wonderful sunset. Here are a few tips and tricks to help improve your sunset photography and take it to another level.

Equipment The most important piece of kit for being able to capture a great sunset is without doubt a sturdy tripod. You’ll likely require longer exposures to properly capture the light with a small aperture setting, so if you want clear and sharp images then a tripod is a must. You needn’t spend a great deal of money; you can pick up a sturdy and decent tripod from around £30-£50. I find amazon is the perfect place to look, as there is an abundance of equipment, plus there is always plenty of reviews. I will generally pack both a zoom lens usually my 24mm-105mm and also a wide angle lens. Filters enhance your images and always keep a ND graduated filter in my kit bag, as these help balance the brighter sky with the darker surrounding land.

A little research will save you time I used to just go out and travel to various locations looking for the ideal settings to capture some great images. What I often found was I either missed the perfect photography opportunity for that location or had arrived far too early. As I always keep a notebook in my camera bag, I would make notes of my findings so could plan a trip to come back at a more suitable time. A photographer friend of mine provided a very handy tip when looking to go and shoot landscapes an sunsets. He suggested I search for areas of interest I wished to photograph on the internet, specifically looking for images. Once I found locations and shots I liked, I would see if there were any notes relating to the photograph, like specific location shot or time of day/year. With the help of google maps and various apps for locating the sun at certain times of day, I was able to find not only great places to shoot, but also know the best time of day to be there to shoot.

Plan in advance With the UK having highly unpredictable weather, it pays to check the weather a few days in advance to get a general idea what the conditions will be like. It’s not much fun arriving at the perfect location to shoot a glorious sunset, only to find a completely overcast sky blocking out all signs of the sun. Now don’t get me wrong, I am never looking for clear skies, as I love the effect of wispy cloud backlit by the sun, it adds some much needed mood to the images. Time permitting I would always generally turn up at least an hour before I’m likely to shoot. I like time to take in the surroundings and get a feel for the location, plus I like to know whether the location I plan to shoot from is the best for that particular setting. I don’t like to rush setting my equipment up, and will always be ready well in advance of the sunset, so I can take a number of test shots, to make sure I’m using the correct camera settings for the image im looking to capture.

Your cameras metering It’s best not to rely on your cameras auto settings when shooting bright objects on a dark surrounding, as you may end up with over or under exposed images. This is the result of your camera’s metering system being slightly fooled by what it sees. I find one the best way of overcoming this is to take a reading with the sun slightly out of shot, taking the reading of the sky and manually locking the exposure setting. Give this a try during your next sunset shoot and see if you notice the added detail around the shadowed areas.

White balance Many people are prone to leaving their white balance settings on auto, and there is nothing overly wrong with this, although I find using the shade or cloudy setting helps provide a little boost to the colours.

Using flash Sometimes adding a just a small amount of flash can add a different perspective to your images. I have found dialling down your flash just to add a little pop to the foreground detail, can add an interesting element to the standard sunsets you may be more familiar with seeing. This can work really well with adding some spark to portraits, as the sun is most often positioned in the background.

Positioning the horizon In order to make your composition look a little more interesting, it helps not to centre your horizon in the frame. Depending on what holds greater interest in your frame, which could be a feature in the foreground, or brightly lit clouds in the background, position the horizon either in the top or bottom third of the frame. You need not follow the rule of thirds exactly here, but offsetting the horizon will generally look more pleasing on the eye. Try it and see what you which suit your composition.

Positioning the sun You can often quickly spot whether a sunset has been shot by a more experienced photographer, as opposed to someone taking a pleasant snapshot, generally by where the sun is positioned in the frame. The more experienced photographer will position the sun off centre to either side, which allows space for another object to share the frame with the sun not necessarily being the main attraction. We will all too often shoot sunsets in landscape format, which is by far the most common way, but by shooting in portrait you can really change the look and feel of the composition. This is especially true if using a telephoto lens, here you can crop particular objects of interest, and example being a tree or lighthouse you wish to include.

Overall I found learning through experimentation is the best way to improve, as eventually you will work out which settings work best for the images you plan to capture. Once you load the images onto your computer, you will be in a far better position to gauge what works and maybe what does not.

#sunset #sunsetphotos #sunsetphototips

9 tips for travel photographers

Travel photography is the most popular form of photography due to everyone travelling somewhere or the other, whether it’s o the countryside, to the seaside or on foreign trips abroad. With the vast majority of individuals now owning a smart phone, with shots you can instantly share through social media, more and more people now share their travel pics. This guide is aimed a little more towards the next level of photographer, who perhaps take their photography a little more seriously, and has moved on to their first SLR. Here is our list of basic tips to help when planning your next trip somewhere. 1. Choose a destination that is ideal for photography This may seem like common sense, but I’ve friends who had travelled to places specifically with photography in mind, only to find when they got there they had limited settings and locations ideal for great shots. A few reasons had been not ideal light, not having access to certain areas, locations too busy with people etc. There is little doubt that certain locations offer better photography opportunities than others. I would suggest maybe using google maps to look at potential areas of interest. I also use photoephemeris.com so I can see where the sun will be at certain times, which helps to plan my trip in advance, knowing where the sun will be.

2. Plan trips to locations in advance where possible Over the years I don’t know how many hours even days I had wasted at a location waiting for ideal light conditions. If you like seascapes then the best time will be early morning (sunrise) or in the late afternoon/evening as the sun is setting. So try to plan ahead in order not to spend too much time sitting around waiting for the ideal shot. Depending on how much time you have at a location, it can pay to spend time visiting the locations you wish to shoot, so you can see when would be the best time of day, and then you can plan where to be at which time.

3. Find a local tour guide You may know the locations and places of interest where you want to shoot some shots, but there is nothing like having a bit local knowledge to help you out. Befriending a local is probably one of the best methods of finding the best spots, not only will you learn a little about the history and culture, but locals usually know all the best spots off the beaten track. It helps to learn a little of the local lingo and be relaxed and genuine in your approach. 4. Try to travel light I know from experience that it can get tiring out all day travelling around on foot especially out in the sun. I tend to only carry what I will need to keep my bag as light as possible, although I always make sure I carry spare plenty of water as often you may find yourself in remote places, or may have long walks to access the best spots. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and carry a hat as it not only provides protection from the sun, but helps keeps the sun out of your eyes whilst shooting.

5. Double check your gear before leaving I recall some years ago when I got a new camera I did something rather stupid. I was in Goa at the time and we had planned a photography trip to a fort about an hour’s drive away. I was so excited about the trip and testing my new camera, that I made the most basic of errors, I forgot to check the battery was in my camera, yup you probably guessed, it was still at home in the charger! After that I made a point of always double checking all my gear before leaving. I actually keep a small notebook in my camera bag which has a checklist on it, which I go through before each trip. So I’m now never without a spare battery, spare memory cards, lenses and filters etc.

6. Carry your tripod Practically all landscape photographers will tell you after their camera the most important piece of kit is their tripod. To be able to shoot well in low light conditions say a sunrise or sunset, where you may require a longer exposure then you will definitely require a tripod. For capturing motion blur of a waterfall or sea waves, it is imperative that you have your camera on a tripod. Using a tripod opens up a whole range of photographic opportunities from including fireworks, brightly lit night time cities, car headlight blurs etc. Tripods are relatively cheap to buy from as low as £10 although I would suggest spending a little more in the range of £30-£50 which will get you something which will last and be sturdy. I tend to use amazon for buying things like this, as you can check the numerous reviews for the pros and cons of each piece of equipment.

7. Use cloud storage There little more annoying after spending lots of time taking some fantastic shots and finding you have a corrupted memory card and lose all the shots. Cloud storage offers a fast and simple way of backing up all your images. Here are 3 popular cloud storage websites to check out and try: dropbox.com, google.co.uk/drive and onedrive.live.com 8. Choose a decent bag This should go without saying, but if you have expensive camera equipment you will certainly want to keep it safe and as well protected as possible. If you are on foot and having to climb or walk up steep hills or areas that are not overly accessible, it’s important that your camera gear is not rattling around in your back, as it can easily lead to damaged gear. You ideally want a bag which can carry your photography gear including lenses, filters, flash and other accessories like water and small light articles of clothing. There is little need on spending big money on a camera bag, although if you have lots of expensive kit, you will certainly want to protect it as well as possible. Again I would check out amazon where you should find a bag good enough for the job between £30-£50.

9. Start a photography blog There is little more rewarding than having captured some wonderful images and receiving great feedback from people who appreciate them. There are now tons of blogging websites which are mainly free and very easy to set up. Blogging is a fantastic way of finding likeminded individuals who share similar interests to you. There are a lot of very experienced photographers on the blog forum, who can be very helpful in providing useful tips. If you can befriend a few photographers by being genuine and friendly, you may pick up some invaluable tips and critique to help improve your shots.

#travel #photography #photographytips

Wonderful trip to Manali India

It’s seldom I get to combine business with pleasure, yet a perfect opportunity arose in April 2015. I was due to be in Mumbai for 4 days towards the end of April, and felt I needed a break, so would take an hours flight south to Goa, a place I know well from previous trips. Before Leaving London I was in touch with a few friends, who purely by chance were heading to India a few days after me to visit some of India’s northern states. They mentioned after spending a few days in the hustle and bustle in the capital Delhi, they would be heading then be heading to the peace and tranquillity of the mountains (Himalayas) for a week in a place I had seen pictures of called Manali. I was brought up watching and listening to the wonderful narration of David Attenborough, plus loved Michael Palins series of his travels through the Himalayas. It seemed everyone who visited the region spoke of the Himalayas in mystical and magical tones, so I had long wanted to view the mountains and their magnificence in the flesh. It took me a week to persuade my boss to let me take leave whilst still in India straight after my business trip, and boy did she make me work for it, I lost count of the cups of tea I made every day that week!! 

Packing was a little problematic, as I required a couple of suits and business attire for 4 days, beach wear and light cottons for Goa, plus light cottons for the day and warm clothing for the nights in Manali. It meant I had no option but to go light on my camera gear, as I had a laptop and other work related stuff to carry on, so I opted for one lens my cannon 24-105mm F/4L and the body of my backup 600D After 4 days in the sweltering heat, fumes and craziness in the wonderful city of Mumbai, I had 3 days relaxing on the beaches of Goa before my trip to the Himalayas. Manali is located in the state of Himanchal Pradesh, which is one of the most northern states of India. It is a favoured destination for backpackers, honeymooners, and a great location for trekking, white water rafting, skiing, mountaineering and paragliding. After a 2 and half hour flight to Delhi, I was about to experience my first Indian coach journey, which was to take about 15 hours. I had heard a lot about Manali, yet I was still blown away by its beauty once we arrived. Six of stayed in a very quaint guest house on the outskirts of town, right on the Beas river which was barely 50m away, with the backdrop of snow-capped on three sides. One of the first things that hit us was how clean, crisp and clear the air was up at about 6,500ft. On a four hour trek to Solang valley, where we reached an altitude of 8,500ft it felt like we were sat on the top of the world, it was an awesome feeling. We took a short stop and all sat in complete silence as we took in the view, it was impossible not to smile and feel at total peace with the world.

Here are some of my shots, which look for like holiday snaps as we were never anywhere long enough to plan the perfect shot, that’s my excuse anyway!! 

#manali #travel #travel+photography

Tips for taking better holiday photos

Today it is difficult to stay away from some form of social media; as it’s a convenient way of staying in touch and keeping up with what friends are up to. So what is the most popular thing your friends share, yup photos right? We tend to love sharing pictures of what we are doing and some of the best pictures are seeing friends on their travels. You don’t have to be a professional photographer or own the best equipment to shoot some amazing images that wow your friends.

In this guide we will provide you some easy and useful tips to improving your travel images.

Capturing what the eye sees Whilst travelling you often come across breath taking scenery, which you no doubt want to capture just as your eye sees it. I find this is often where my wide angle lens comes into its own, as it will generally capture everything in view that my eye can see. If you don’t have a wide angle zoom lens like a 10-22mm then you could opt for using a relatively inexpensive 35mm prime lens, or a 18-105mm zoom. If you cannot fit all that you want into the frame, I have found taking panoramic shots also work really well, although you will likely require a tripod for the best results.

A panoramic view of Sidmouth beach in Devon Don’t forget to capture people I’ve found that I have got back from an excursion whilst on holiday and are reviewing the shots I had taken, that I returned without capturing a single fellow human. Now whilst I really enjoy landscape photography, and scenic shots are fabulous, but there is little as rewarding as capturing the mood and expressions of another human. Also in in years to come, the scenery will often remain somewhat similar and not evoke the same emotions as a smiling or funny facial expression. You don’t require an expensive lens to shoot great people shots, I find cannon’s 50mm (nifty fifty) is a super lens for the jobs, and at approx. £50 it’s a very inexpensive tool for the job.

I like the effect of cleanly capturing the main subject and blurring out the background, which is easy to achieve by setting your aperture wide open. Although the lens can shoot at f1.8 I tend not to shoot at extremes and will use f2.2 or f2.5. You will find you can capture professional looking shots with this lens, and I highly recommend giving one a try if you don’t already own one.

Look out for the smaller details It can be easy to get a little carried away creating wide scene images taking in vast land or seascapes that you can be proud of showing your friends on your return. The only minor problem with this, is you can end up with large amounts of images that look quite similar. We’re often told variety is the spice of life, and the same can be said for your photography. Unless you’re a niche specific photography and only focus on one aspect of photography, your holiday albums will appeal to more if you mix it up a little. One way of doing this is by focusing the smaller details, maybe framing plants, flowers, insects or anything else which may capture your imagination and create an interesting shot. You may likely not own a dedicated macro lens, but chances are you may have a macro setting on your camera.

Keep an eye out for wildlife With the advancement in digital photography equipment over recent years with everything now in high definition, it’s hard not to sometimes be blown away by some of the super sharp images captured by specialist wildlife photographers. Now im not suggesting we all sit patiently for weeks on end to capture the perfect shot like the good people at National Geographic, but we should certainly not ignore wildlife. I cannot confess to ever having taken a perfect wildlife shot, but it can feel quite rewarding when you capture something that is pleasing on the eye and makes for an interesting shot. As you cannot generally pose an animal, bird or insect, you are quite likely to gain an original shot. Obviously it helps if you have a telephoto lens, although not everyone owns a 300mm, but you can still capture great images with a regular zoom and a little imagination.

Have fun shooting in the dark If you own even a basic DSLR camera, then night time photography is something you should explore, as you have the equipment to capture fantastic images. There are settings on camera phones and point and shoot cameras which will provide some lovely shots no doubt, although you will often notice shots where the flash has produced a harsh light which has ruined the image. One quick tips here, is if you cannot reduce the power of the flash, you can use a credit card or driving license to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling to diffuse if. This may take a little practise as can be a little fiddly at first. Shooting at night with a DSLR opens up a whole load of photography opportunities, from shooting brightly lit cityscapes, illuminated bridges, fireworks, sunsets, motion blurs and a many other artistic looking effects. To create the clear and crisp images im sure you will want, for shooting at slower speeds you will definitely want a tripod. Once you see the results of using a tripod and the types of photography that they open to you, it will be a very worthwhile investment, which will set you back no more than £30-£50.

Fireworks on a beach in Goa

Finding a frame within the frame Sometimes if you look hard enough and from different perspectives you will come across opportunities where you will be able to find a frame within the frame. Using a natural frame which could be through trees, an open window or doorway, an archway or anything else which creates a natural frame of your subject, you can produce an interesting composition above and beyond the subject.

Try shooting black and white Generally most photos you view will be full of rich colour which looks great, although occasionally you will take shots that appeal more to a black and white finish. This can be of anything, whether a portrait or just a view that has an old feel to it and lends itself to being an image with the colour removed. You can try this out for yourself within whichever photo editing software you use. There are a number of specific black and white editing software tools available, if you decide you would like to focus a little more with black and white photography. You will have to put a little extra thought into your composition when creating an image, as you will require taking contrast into account, due the image being made up of a multiple number of grey shades. If you check amazon you will find a large number of books available for shooting in black and white, many of which you’ll find extremely helpful and full of useful tips.

Invest in a decent camera bag If you own a DSLR and plan to take more than one lens, a flash, filters, memory cards, cleaning equipment etc. then maybe it’s time your kept everything together in a camera bag, if you don’t already own one. I have often literally chucked my camera in my rucksack whilst going out where I have just taken my camera with the lens attached. This is okay now and again, and I do make sure the camera is well protected, often wrapping a towel or something cushioning around it. Once you start acquiring more and more bits of kit, you will not only want to keep it altogether but you’ll want to keep it well protected. Depending on the amount of kit you have or plan to have will likely dictate the kind of bag you require, whether a shoulder bag or the rucksack type. Again bags these days are not overly expensive; you should be able to find a quality bag in the £30-£50 range. One small piece of advice, whilst travelling you don’t want a bag which shouts ‘I’m carrying an expensive camera’, as you don’t really want to attract the wrong attention, especially in foreign countries.

There are so numerous tips for the newbie photographer, which no doubt you will pick up over time, although here are a few absolute basics which I had to learn the hard way. Always double check your gear before leaving, I once left for a day trip with my camera whilst the charger was still at home in the charger. I only ever made that mistake the once! Don’t keep your images on a single memory card. If for some reason you cannot back up or save your images to another device whilst away, do not opt for a single large memory card, as they can end up corrupted and you lose the lot. Thankfully it seldom happens, but would you want to risk losing all images from a trip? Be sure to carry a couple of clean soft lens cloths. You may visit some dusty and sandy locations which will not be overly kind to your lenses, try to blow off any excess before very gently wiping the lens with a clean cloth. I have in some cases resorted to buying clear filters to help protect the lens, especially if in sandy and windy locations for prolonged periods. Hopefully a few of these tips will help you create some great shots, which you can share with pride with your friends!

#vacation #photos #travel #holiday #summerholiday

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

I [heart] Travel & Photography