Travel Photography 101 - Advice from a Fellow Traveller

There’s no doubt that memories gained from traveling last a lifetime. One of best ways to capture those moments is through the creative use of your camera. The goal of this article is to highlight my personal approach when it comes to travel photography.

Quality over Quantity
I often see travelers solely concerned with capturing that next great picture while forgetting to take-in the experience and ambiance of an exotic locale. I tend to find my best shots develop as I take time experiencing my surroundings before reaching for my camera. The initial perspectives you gain might hinder you from a truly extraordinaire picture. Take the following snapshot as an example. This picture was taken in Washington, DC while commuting through the metro. If I hadn’t taken time to study my surroundings and caught the metro as soon as it arrived, I would have missed out on this shot.

DuPont Circle Metro Station, Washington, DC.

Taking that great landscape shot
Landscape photography is an excellent way to capture the diversity of this world. The best results for me usually involved a wide depth of field; lower the aperture (higher f-stop) to get an endlessness feeling transcended through the photograph to the person viewing it. Take the picture below as an example. It was taken on the Salinas Salt Flats in Northwestern Argentina. I used a low aperture so that the viewer would immediately notice the crusted ground in the foreground and then follow the pattern into the distance to get a felling of infinity. I also made use of the rule of thirds when it came to the sky and mountain background, which added significantly to the composition of the shot.

Salinas Salt Flats, Argentina

Tailor your shot to the time of day
Sometimes it’s impossible to wait till dusk to get opportune lighting conditions for photography. You have to be able to adjust to your surroundings and pay particular addition to the light available. This can often be a blessing in disguise, switch things up and try to suit shots for the time of day. An example I have for this is this picture I took immediately after sunset in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Tripods make a world of difference
There are some highly practical travel sized tripods available on the market that severely cuts down on storage space in your pack. One that comes to mind is the gorillapod manufactured by Joby. I had one with me on my recent trip through SE Asia and it came in handy for a number of shots that turned out to be keepers. I wouldn’t have been able to take this shot at “The Peak” in Hong Kong without it.

View of Central and Kowloon from “The Peak”, Hong Kong.”

Work for that “wow” shot
Everyone wants that breathtaking shots from their vacations. The standout shots don’t come easy and often come by inadvertently stumbling upon a sight. Take this picture from a long weekend trip to New York City. Originally, I intended to walk through Central Park to midtown and I happened to pass by the reservoir at a perfect time of day to take this reflection shot. What you don’t see is the fence I’m propped up against trying to avoid countless New Yorkers taking their morning run directly behind me.

Central Park Reservoir Reflections

- Suranga Samarakoon


This tutorial was provided by Suranga Samarakoon. I met Suranga at work about a year ago and was blown away by his photography. Suranga is what I call a man of the world. After showing me his latest photos from his travels through SE Asia this past year, I had to ask Suranga to write a tutorial on Travel Photography.

- Frank L.