15 top tips for great photos

Maheshwar, India

Want friends to love your holiday photos? try these tips

Travel sharpens awareness of our surroundings; the different, the unusual and it’s these things, the view of a new eye that makes great photos.

As a travel writer I take many photos during my first few days in another country, a different culture. (www.kiwitravelwriter.com)

If you want your photos to be more than a mere record of your travels try these tips.

1. Keep your camera with you : some of my ‘best photos’ are the ones I missed by not having my camera read
2. Filling the whole frame adds impact to many pictures
3. Eliminate the unessential, cut the clutter. Don’t try to grab it all.
4. Early morning and late afternoon have the most favourable light.
5. Avoid midday as overhead sun drains the colour.
6. Simple blocks of bright colour make bold statements look at other people’s photos to see what works, what catches your eye.
7. Vertical shots are great for height and portraits, while horizontal ones are good for getting some background.
8. Hold your camera at an angle for some fun shots: I won a photo-of-the-month prize because my angled shot stood out.
9. If possible, leave the subject lean on something, or put their weight on one leg for natural pose.
10. Take photos when the person is unaware of you.
11. Use a background that enhances the subject: don’t have poles, trees, or the Eiffel tower growing out of your subjects’ head
12. Balance the picture; rarely does the subject look great right in the centre.
13. Take a series of photos: signs, doors, sunsets, fountains, or faces.
14. Use something to frame the subject, a tree trunk and branch, a door, a window – but not with all your photos.
15. Finally, be considerate and don’t take photos of people who don’t want to be photographed – eg the hill-tribes of Laos. If I believe I will publish a photo of people, I get permission to do so (when possible) and pay them in an appropriate way.

Takahe - a colourful native

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