Summer is here (ahem) and now is your opportunity to dust off your camera for your summer holidays. Read on for hints and tips to make the best of your holiday photos.
Be Prepared
Start your trip with your batteries fully charged and a clear memory card, giving you the chance to get the maximum number of photos. If you have a spare battery for your camera, have that charged and ready too. Even better if you can take your charger along and alternate two batteries.
Practice Seeing
Of course get photographs of the local landmarks, but look out for something different as well. This could mean turning around and taking a photo behind you, or capturing fine detail of the local architecture. People may think you are crazy taking a photo of a plant they consider to be a weed, but they are your photos!
Don’t Forget People
Keen photographers risk coming home with wonderful scenic photos, and none that prove they were actually there (I am very guilty of this). If you are on a family holiday, take photos of the family! Think about how you frame the photo when doing this. Resist the urge to put your subjects in the front and centre of the frame if the aim is to get them AND the view.
If you offset the family group to one side you get the best of both worlds. Don’t forget to set your focus on the people (with most point and shoot cameras you temporarily point the camera with them in the middle, and half depress the button to fix the focus. With the button still half de-pressed recompose the shot with them to one side, then press the button down fully to take the photo).
Family holidays are a great opportunity to get photos of kids being kids, so don’t forget to get some natural photos too.
Depending where you are, you may wish to take photos of the local people as well. Take care to be respectful and not make people uncomfortable, but it is surprising how effective a smile and a thank you can be.
Set yourself a challenge
If your camera only comes out on holiday and at Christmas this could be a chance to improve your camera skills. Use a little more care than normal when composing your landscape shots and see if you can improve on last year’s photos. Or maybe set yourself a challenge to capture textures or colours to best effect.
Put the camera down
Some things cannot be captured with the very best camera, you have to be there. Don’t forget to put the camera down from time to time and enjoy yourself.
If you are not going away
If you are not lucky enough to be getting away this year, how about playing tourist in your home town? You can see things in a different light and might surprise yourself. Look out for local events and country shows where you can really flex your photography muscles.
Whatever you are up to, have fun and make the best of the sunshine!
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