Plan Your Next Photography Trip With These Simple Tips
- Get Into the Habit of Taking More Photos With These Easy Tips
- This is the Sling Camera Bag You’ve Been Waiting For
photo by vgajic via iStock
One of the first questions I ask a lot of photographers I meet is where they took their favorite photography trip. I think it tells me a lot about them. Plus, it means I constantly get lots of tips about where I should take my next photography trip. If I wasn’t asking other photographers about where they’ve enjoyed going, I likely wouldn’t have ever taken a photography trip to some of my favorite locations, like Peru or Morocco.
I know that a lot of people are desperate to get back into travel photography after a very long couple of years with the pandemic. So, I figured I should share some of the travel photography tips I’ve collected over the years, especially since so many people have so much riding on their next photography trip.
In this article, I have a few tips about how to plan a photography trip and a few more tips about how to stay organized when you’re on the go.
Plan Your Route
photo by pixdeluxe via iStock
If you’ve ever gone on a photography trip before, then you know how important planning is. One of the best tips for planning a photography trip I’ve ever received was to plan out my route on a good, old-fashioned paper map.
I prefer to use a paper map when I’m routing out my photography trip because I’m usually not stationed in one small part of a city. For instance, when I took a photography trip to Mexico City a few years ago, I had to map out all of the points I wanted to hit within Mexico City (which is huge all by itself) and I also had to map out some points I wanted to hit outside of Mexico City, like the pyramids at Teotihuacán and the canals of Xochimilco.
If I had to do this without a paper map, I likely would have crafted a route that wasn’t as efficient.
However, if you are totally set on staying digital, then I recommend that you plan your route using the Waze app. Waze works through crowdsourced information, which means that you can use it internationally and, so long as you are in a populated area, it is usually pretty effective.
Make Sure You Have Easy Access to Your Photography Gear
photo by ugurhan via iStock
It would be a cardinal sin to go on your next photography trip without easy access to your gear. I’ve been in a bind before and had to put some of my cheaper photography gear in cargo and I’ve also been dumb enough to leave my photography gear in the trunk of my rental car. Don’t make these mistakes.
Travelling, especially travelling abroad, is so exciting and when you have easy access to your photography gear, you can capture all of those little moments you don’t see coming.
For instance, when I got off the train platform in Aguas Calientes, Peru, which is at the base of the mountain where Machu Picchu is located, there was a water festival going on. I pretty much immediately started watching little kids throwing water balloons at each other. If I didn’t have my camera out already, I likely would have missed some incredible shots.
If you don’t currently have a good way to carry your essential photography gear, then I recommend you get the Hex Ranger DSLR Sling before your next photography trip.
This bag can be worn across your chest so that you have immediate access to your camera at all times. It is just big enough, at 14.5” x 7.5” x 4.75” to carry your DSLR camera, a tripod, your phone, and some lenses, yet it’s small enough that it isn’t obtrusive as you work or navigate busy areas full of tourists.
Plus, it’s pretty cheap at $100.
But don’t let the small price tag fool you - this bag is impeccably designed and built.
It has features like a hideaway rain fly, a front access organizer for small items, a faux fur-lined pocket for your phone or sunglasses, and a faux fur-line tablet pocket.
There’s also adjustable bottom carry straps for your tripod, a double buckle strap to give you plenty of sizing options, and a water-resistant Cordura covering with antimicrobial technology.
Like I said, don’t let the small price tag fool you! This bag is loaded for bear for your next trip!
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Bring Your Own Power
photo by richardnazaretyan via iStock
Another photography trip cardinal sin is to run out of battery. One really easy way to prevent yourself from making this mistake is by buying a power bank and a USB charger. While most hotel rooms, no matter how small, usually have power in even the smallest cities all across the globe, you should never count on this. Power outages happen. By having a backup at all times, you can save yourself a lot of regret.
Use Instagram for Research
photo by grinvalds via iStock
While I talked about planning your route with a more traditional method, I don’t believe your entire planning process should be this traditional.
Instagram is an excellent resource for helping to plan your photography trip, especially if you’re visiting a city that is overrun with tourism, or one that has very little tourism. When there are so many articles online about places you absolutely have to photograph in Paris or in London, it can be really frustrating reading the same advice over and over again. Photographers who are actually on the ground in Paris or London will give you far better spots to photograph.
Conversely, if you are going to a city that isn’t as well known, you may have trouble finding any information online at all. Instagram can also help you in this scenario because you can go see the spots that locals are photographing.
Create Your Own Brief
photo by Rossella De Berti via iStock
If you’ve ever worked as a travel photographer before, then you know that an agency will give you a brief before you head out on your trip. This brief will include specific shots that the agency wants you to get, specific types of shots that they want you to get, and the general mood that they’re looking for.
However, if you’re heading out on a photography trip by yourself, it can still be helpful to create a brief for yourself. Try and figure out what types of shots you want to get and why. You can create a mood board before your trip, if that’s something you’re into.
The important thing is that you do enough planning for your photography trip. If you show up without a route, or if you show up without a shot list, the images you do get could end up being all over the place and this won’t look good on your portfolio.
