I remember the first time I visited the Himalayas way back in 2014, I was overwhelmed and excited to be in front of these majestic mountains and vivid landscapes. Luckily, I had just bought my first DSLR camera and I was excited to click away and capture the massive mountains. I thoroughly enjoyed this process and within a couple of years I published a Coffee Table book capturing the scenic Himalayan landscapes with a sprinkle of poetry!
Well, all I am trying to say is if you have the passion to Travel and Photography is something you like or love doing then you can become a Travel Photographer.
Let’s look closely into what Travel Photography is.
What is Travel Photography?
Travel Photography is the art of capturing images of places you travel to, it could be; Landscapes, Hotels, Home-stays, Resorts, Beaches, Monuments, Desert, Spiritual places, Villages, Cities, People, Culture, Customs, Iconic places etc.
One could then display or showcase these photos at galleries or sell as a magazine cover, online stock photos, merchandise, postcards, in books etc.
Whom is Travel Photography for?
As mentioned earlier, one needs to be passionate about Travel and Photography. Being an ardent traveler is one thing but one must also have the acumen to capture the essence of the place through images.
Pre-requisites for being a Travel Photographer–
- Passion for Travel
- Passion for Photography
- A strong will to put across an authentic story through images to the person at the other end.
You must be wondering what are the essentials for a Travel Photographer. Let’s look into right away!
5 Essentials for a Travel Photographer-
Before I get into the Tips, Plan, Strategies, detailed information on Gears, I would like to talk about what are the essential items required to start Travel Photography.
1. Gear / Equipment-
You need not have the best equipment for Travel Photography, a mobile phone with good specifications would do. With that being said, you can start with a mobile phone or a basic DSLR and upgrade your Photography equipments as you gain experience as a Travel Photographer.
Having the equipment is one thing and having a creative perspective is another. At the beginning, you will probably end up clicking a lot of photos just because it happens to be in the frame. With experience, you hone your creativity skills. It is only by learning and experimenting you would learn how to capture the essence of a place or an object. That takes time and lot of effort from your end.
2. Make time–
When you are out Traveling, keep some time out especially for Photography. Going as a Tourist with a defined itinerary may not allow you to get sufficient time for Photography. You can plan your travel with a group of friends or travel Solo so that you can make the best use of the free time you have at a particular place. It is always best to get up early to catch the sunrise or early mornings or post noon times to capture the place with natural light. Lighting matters a lot in Photography. Getting shots during certain times of the day as I mentioned earlier, brings out the beauty of the place.
3. Plan your travel–
Research on the place you want to take photographs of. Plan your travel keeping in mind the weather, the accessibility of places and the opportune time to capture photos of a particular village / hotels / valleys, beaches, monuments etc.
4. Capture the essence–
Anyone can click random photos. But as a Photographer, you need to capture the essence of the place. You need to answer, “Are your pictures talking about a story?” , “Does this angle invoke curiosity in the reader’s mind as to what the place is about?”, “Does your photos tell something interesting about the place at a particular time of the day?”, ” Is your photo building a memory of a place?”
Well the essence can be anything but it has to capture the soul of the perceiver.
5. The Shots–
Every angle, every elevation, every corner, every ray of light, every prop matters!
As a Travel Photographer, you need to play around with the gears, the light, the angles to capture the right frame. You would learn or get better as you experiment taking photos in different places, with different gears, with different light setups.
Never stop exploring and experimenting!
Well, if you are wondering Why Travel is Important, click here!
We shall explore more on gears, lighting, angles in the upcoming posts. Till then research on which places you want to visit and experiment on Photography.
