by Audrey Kerchner

Created on: January 30, 2010

Great vacation pictures are the ones that when you get home your photos reflect what you felt when you were there. Often times people are disappointed because the photo quality may not look good; too bright or too dark, or it may look flat or worse, something in the scene was cut out. Here are some tips to getting the best photos while on vacation.

We see in dimensions, our camera does not. Before you take a photo look at the scene with one eye shut for a moment to see what your end result will look like. If it isn’t as fantastic as it was with both eyes open then you may not want to take the shot.  Consider looking for a different angle where the single eye dimension does look appealing to you.

When you are thinking about taking a picture decide whether you are trying to illustrate a scene or if you are trying to isolate a moment. Go nice and wide if you are trying to illustrate so your lens takes in all the details. Zoom in nice and tight if you are trying to isolate a moment.  The viewer of the photo should know exactly what the focus of the picture is when you isolate the moment.

Take a crash course in photographing the location you will be vacationing. Will it be sunny the whole time? Will you want to get some evening or night shots? Is there a particular event that you want to get photos of?  Google is a great resource for researching not only the location you are going but also the type of scenes you will be shooting.  Depending on the answers to the above questions do searches for shooting photos at Midday, events photography, night photography or any other phrases that come to mind.  In about 10 minutes you will have some great tips on how to shoot in the type of place you are going to.

Finally if you are looking for a great family shot, when possible take it either between dawn and 10am or 4pm to dusk. This is when the light is best for photography and the majority of scenes look the best.

There is nothing worse that not being happy with your vacation photography’s especially if it was a once in a lifetime trip. Simple techniques like these can make a big difference in the quality of your photos which will help you remember your vacation the way you want to and allow you to share those memories with those who were not there.

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