Tips for Capturing Alluring Travel Photos

Expeditions on the other side of the world tend to be…well…otherworldly.  When immersed in these landscapes full of cultural splendor, you’ll want to have the technique down for capturing them in all their enigmatic grandeur.  Here are some tips for getting these types of shots.

• First, you’ll need to find the right scene. You want to look for the right combination of foreground (the dragon) and an interesting background (the golden spire on the right side of the photo).  Although the sky can be beautiful, try to minimize open space in the photo, as it detracts from the message of your photo, which is to capture the cultural grandeur.  In this particular case, the message is that “golden sculptures are everywhere”.
• You’ll also want to pay particular attention to the curves, lines and textures in the photo. Here, the scaly skin, curving crest, and dramatic white grimace of the dragon all have unique textures, colors, and leading lines.  Fill the frame with as many of these elements as possible to make it look “larger than life”.
• Once you identify the various elements that you want to include in the photo, you have to find a way to fit it all into the frame. This can be the challenging thing.  However, the fantastic thing about photographing temples, sculptures, and the like, is that you can angle your camera pretty much however you’d like. The horizon is somewhat irrelevant. For example, if you are trying to keep the camera flat and level like you normally do, but can’t quite fit in the feathered eyebrows or tip of the background pagoda, go ahead and angle your camera.  Tilt it 45 degrees, or really in any way you can to fill the frame with all the elements.  Remember, when a) you don’t have the horizon in your shot and b) the photo is filled with crazy curves and leading lines all over the place, you can create your own “most pleasing” angles.
• Now that you have the flexibility to use your camera’s viewfinder as a box in which you fit as many cool things as possible, get creative and go wild! Think of it as a game, where you have to angle yourself and the camera in a way that you get it all in one box.
• Finally, you’ll have to decide on how much depth of field you want. This translates into how much definition there will be in the background.  For example, do you want the pointed golden pagoda in the background to be merely a fuzzy pattern and texture?  Or, do you want it to be crisp as if it were right in front of you?  There are times when one or the other tends to be better.  In this case, I chose to blur the background a bit to create depth.  One of my main goals of this photo is to portray the fact that “amazing golden sculptures are everywhere”.  Thus, I set the aperture at f/4 (a somewhat narrow depth of field).  For more on depth of field, check out our aperture & f-stops section.

Photographing architectural and cultural elements is spectacular in so many places on our planet.  Between gilded temples, exquisite sculptures, and centuries old history throughout the nation, Myanmar is one of the very best places for this type of photography.  However, these tips can be applied in a variety of ways – not just in the many temples of Myanmar.  On your next adventure, think about how to take your photography to another level and get creative with your camera angle such that you can fit in a mélange of cultural wonder.

Go forth and give it a shot,