Tips From TRAVELER’s Photographers

TRAVELER’s photographers blaze trails across the globe in search of inspired images that capture a sense of place. What if you could ask for a few pointers to improve your own photographs? Well, we did it for you!

• Pay attention to quality of light and not just the subject.
• Shoot in warm light, around dawn or dusk.
• Always take a look at the edges of the view field.
• Shoot plenty of film.
• Compositionally, amateur photographers can improve their images by trying to include a dominant element in the image.
• Always carry a polarizing filter and tripod with you.

• Be as basic as you can in your equipment. Try to use just a camera, a couple of lenses, and not much more. It keeps you thinking about what you’re shooting.
• Try to include people in every picture you shoot.
• Make sure you’ve got film in the camera, set the ISO dial, and don’t shoot into the sun.
• When shooting horses, Luster finds that putting pebbles in an empty film canister and shaking it really gets the animals’ attention. “They think it’s food so they respond to it.”
• Luster always has a sturdy tripod handy and would never leave home without duct tape in his camera bag. “I use it to tape around the camera to keep out dust and water.” He also writes notes on the tape so he can organize the caption information at the end of each day.

• Be an observer. Be patient and watch life as it happens—then be ready to capture the right moments as they present themselves.
• Don’t bog yourself down with all the latest in techno-gadgets or equipment. The real art is being able to communicate and to understand what the message is.
• A lot of amateurs make the same mistakes: not thinking about what you’re shooting; not seeing (thinking about) the light, staying on the outside and not getting in where the action is, using a flash in a big interior where it won’t do any good.
• A lot of amateurs ask professionals if their cameras take good pictures; the cameras don’t take the pictures, the photographer does.
• Mooney never leaves home without lots of extra batteries, a small flashlight, a compass, a magnifier, and (when she’s shooting domestically) a weather radio.

• Shoot more pictures and throw away the bad ones. You’ll try more things: angles, exposures, and so on. The one way to get the photo right is to try lots of different approaches.
• Don’t think like a camera. The human eye sees differently than a camera, so try to imagine how that image will look in a photograph.
• Don’t just point the camera at the scene. Try to create a sense of depth and put things in the image for scale.
• Get up early and stay out late.
• Force yourself to “think little” and to “think big” by doing close-ups and long shots. You’ll gain a lot in the process of looking for details and grand-scale images.
• Try carrying a right-angle viewfinder and put the camera on the ground or up high on a ledge and experiment. You’ll get some pictures that look different than other people’s film.
• Meet the people you are going to photograph and establish a rapport before you begin shooting.
• Use wide-angles for close-ups, because it’s easier to create a sense of perspective.
• Carry a compact folding reflector to illuminate objects in the foreground.
• When you are traveling, go to a souvenir shop and pick up a bunch of postcards for the place you’re visiting. It will let you see how others see each place so you can try to approach it more creatively. Invariably, you will also find something that you didn’t know was there!

• Try to get close enough to your subject to capture the important details.
• Try to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon when the quality of light is best.
• Experiment with different types of film in different lighting conditions. For example, try using tungsten film outdoors, perhaps using a fill-flash with a daylight-to-tungsten gel taped over the head.
• Try using a fanny pack rather than a camera bag. It is not only lighter but safer while traveling in foreign countries.
• Take a tripod, which allows you to use slower speeds and longer lenses during twilight.

You can also learn more by peering into our Camera Bag in the Photography section.