Put Some Life into Your Vacation Photos! Every picture can tell its own story.

 

 

Have you ever looked at someone's vacation photos and found them to be a bit boring? Think about it: what made them dull? And more importantly, how can you make sure your vacation photos don't bore others? With a little creativity and planning, your photos can tell the entire story of your vacation.

 

Explore the Location: Walk up the road a little, walk to the other side of that castle or look for a higher vantage point. It is amazing what can be achieved even in just a few minutes by searching for a vantage point with a little difference. Taking pictures from a slightly different angle will help reveal the personality of the picture.

 

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom: Being able to get a tightly cropped shot of the racecar driver or being able to photograph the dancers at a show the villagers put on for you can be the ‘wow’ shots in your album. Fill the frame, get big close-ups and focus on the big elements of a scene.

 

Focus on People: While a great landscape shot tells a lot, it’s often the shots of the local people in a location that can really give a good feel for the places that you visit. People pictures illustrate how hot the day was, how exciting the event was, and how different the culture was. Keep in mind it’s worth asking for permission when photographing strangers.

 

Go Vertical: Most people take a lot of images in the horizontal (or landscape) format. Horizontal framing seems to be more ‘natural’ but when you try something different—like a vertical shot—the results are stunning.

 

Signs: One type of subject that can say so much about your location and which adds interest to any travel album are signs. No matter where you are in the world you’ll find signs telling people where they are, how to behave or pointing out some aspect of a location. Photographing them can be fun, inject humor and give context to the shots you take while traveling.

 

Check Out the Post Cards:  A good way to scope out the scenic sights is to check out postcard stands for the sites. Postcards can sometimes give good examples of composition and vantage points and they can also suggest places to investigate. Let post cards inspire you, but please, don't copy them. You want a personal photo, not a mass-produced one.