Recently updated on January 17th, 2020 at 10:18 pm
Everyone likes showing off their holiday photos to friends and family. However it is hard to wow them with photos of your mum posing in front of Big Ben, a selfie at the Colosseum in Rome or a photo of the Eiffel Tower dangling from your fingertips. If you really want to wow your friends and family with your holiday pics, here are some tips.
COMPOSITION
Rule of 1/3s
Professional photographers use the rule of 1/3s to balance out their shots. It’s a very simple rule; just imagine breaking down a photo into thirds, horizontally and vertically, resulting in a grid of 9 squares. Rather than placing your object in the centre, try placing the object on one of the four intersections or along the lines. This will make your shot more balanced as people’s eyes are naturally more drawn to the intersection points.
Framing
When taking a photo of a point of interest, try framing it to make your shot more interesting. A landscape becomes more than just another landscape when seen through a window or a door opening. Shooting through a gape in a cluster of trees or a row of shrubs is also a good way to frame your object.
Angles
Taking pictures of buildings is tricky. They are usually a lot higher than you are, which makes them look like they’re toppling over in the photo. Tip: Make yourself bigger; the higher the spot you can position yourself, the less your object will look like the leaning tower of Pisa. Unless of course, it is the leaning tower of Pisa.
LIGHTING
Time of Day
The best time of day to take photos is in the morning when the light is clean and soft and in the evening when the light turns golden at sunset. The worst time is between 11 am and 2 pm when the sun light is really harsh and casts annoying shadows on people’s faces and creates unwanted reflections. Additionally, photos look better when taken on a cloudy day, so don’t get too excited when the sun’s out.
Reflections
A fun way to play with light is taking photos of reflections. Often these reflections are much clearer than the real object and a castle reflected in the surface of a lake or a café scene in a mirror reflection will add a bit of a wow-factor to your shot.
OBJECTS
People
Rather than you or your travel companion posing in front of a fountain, try capturing locals going about their daily routines. Shots of people chatting and having a coffee in cafes, children playing in the street or even animals doing what animals do, really capture the essence of a place.
Patterns and Contrasts
When walking around keep your eyes peeled for bold colours, bright colour contrasts, quirky patterns etc. Rows of pots lined up in a window shop, a pile of fiery red strawberries in a market stall or yellow flowers against a blue background can really make your shot pop.
