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How to take the perfect travel photograph

Our tips will help your holiday snaps look like this
Our tips will help your holiday snaps look like this

We asked award-winning photographer and tutor Charlie Waite for tips on snapping pictures that’ll make you proud.

Choosing your subject

Avoid photography cliches like the plague – you want to capture an image that nobody has ever seen before. "Whenever you can, take a moment or two to consider the photograph to be made," says Charlie. "It really pays to investigate what lies in front of you and to attempt to 'see' what is there rather than merely looking." Take the time to research your destination thoroughly. 

"Perception is the key to good photography; owning a really good and expensive camera is not. Driving a Bentley does not make you a better driver." 

Composition

Trust your instinct – aim for an image that makes you tick. "A photograph can 'work' in the same way as a piece of music, a sculpture, a poem or any artistic form of self-expression," says Charlie. "Creative composition in any artistic discipline will often be the most tantalisingly difficult element to tie down: more often than not, it is simply an instinctive feel that the image 'works'." 

Beijing's Temple of Heaven - Credit: AP
Beijing's Temple of Heaven Credit: AP

Try out new perspectives: get up high or down low, or try framing your subject through a natural frame – like a window, doorway or the boughs of a tree. 

Colour and angles

Digital photography offers limitless opportunity to modify and enhance the image, but our sense of what 'looks right' prevails. Even untrained eyes would question a once-blue sky that has become indigo or violet, or grass that appears fluorescent.

"Maintain your photographic integrity and try to produce an image where the colour is as you have seen it," says Charlie. "But do take advantage of factors such as weather conditions: with clearing skies after rain, for example, the atmosphere has been cleansed and colours will appear more vivid." 

Portraits and perspective

"When photographing a landscape, the exchange is between you and what you see in front of you; tension is rare and you can often wait for conditions to comply with your artistic wishes. Portraiture is trickier, particularly when you are abroad and unfamiliar not only with language but also with customs. It is not just the Masai who feel that you are stealing their soul; the camera is an invasive, sinister-looking box and it’s no wonder that people are suspicious of its probing.

"But what is the meaning of photogenic? Someone thought to be photogenic does not necessarily have to be handsome or beautiful; on the contrary, surely it is about resistance and defence. Some may welcome the camera, some not. The eyes will show the difference." 

Editing and presentation

Don't let your images languish on your hard drive or iCloud – there are all kinds of websites to help you turn them into photobooks, mugs or even cushion covers. Many even have their own image editing functions, so you can intensify colours, crop and brighten without dabbling in Photoshop.

"For our Victorian predecessors, film was an expensive and precious commodity," says Charlie. "The presentation was equally important and the resulting albums were grand affairs, meticulously constructed, with every image accurately captioned, each album a work of art in itself..." – and now, there's no excuse not to create a work of art too. 

The 25 most clichéd and embarrassing holiday photos
The 25 most clichéd and embarrassing holiday photos

Want to gorge on some great photography? 

Feast your eyes on these galleries…

Incredible photos of India by Steve McCurry
Incredible photos of India by Steve McCurry
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The funniest animal photos of 2016
Incredible photos of Ethiopia's vanishing tribes
Incredible photos of Ethiopia's vanishing tribes
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USA most epic
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19 photos that prove the Peak District is Britain's best national park
10 trips that will make you a better photographer
10 trips that will make you a better photographer

Win a camera in our Big Picture competition

Each week we offer you the chance to win a Nikon camera - simply by sending us your best holiday snaps. Click here for more details and to browse some of the best entries from previous rounds.

  

A recent winning image, by Tony Cowburn - Credit: (c) Tony Cowburn 2016/Tony Cowburn. T:07801 949492 E:arcowburn@gmail.com
A recent winning image, by Tony Cowburn Credit: (c) Tony Cowburn 2016/Tony Cowburn. T:07801 949492 E:arcowburn@gmail.com