How to take travel envy photographs

There’s nothing like travelling to a dream destination to inspire your photography or reignite your passion for the art. The bright blues of Chefchaouen, warm yellows of India’s Golden City, the icy whites of Iceland’s jaw-dropping landscapes is enough to turn even the most casual happy-snapper into a wannabe pro. When it comes to capturing your dream trip in a series of great photos, you want to be prepared.

Travel-enthusiast, freelance writer and blogger, Natalie Roos, says her essential travel setup consists of a mirror less camera with an 18mm-35mm kit lens and a 35mm fixed lens. 

“It’s light and easy enough to carry around everywhere, from a food market to a mountain trail,” she said. Roos also carries a hard drive to store her images. 

Here are some of her tips: 

Tripod is everything: When Roos travels alone, she takes along a lightweight tripod. She says its fairly simple. 
“I  take time to set up my shot before stepping in and using my phone to shoot. If you’re too shy to do this, I recommend looking around for a couple of travellers who are taking pictures of each other, offering to get a shot of them together, then asking them to just press the shutter release 10 times while you’re moving around in front of the camera. It takes several shots to eventually get to one great picture,” she advises. 

Ask for permission: Roos says one need to ask for permission before they shoot one or in a place that has strict photo policies.
“Before I shoot any pictures of people, I’ll ask if the subject minds being photographed. It can feel intimidating, but offering a quick smile and a “Do you mind taking a photograph?” while pointing at the camera is easy to understand in any language,” she says. 
Roos says it's important to get permission from adults when shooting images of their children.

Night shots: Night shots require a tripod. “Use whichever of your lenses that have the lowest aperture.  Here’s how: take your aperture down to the lowest possible setting, and set your ISO up to between 800 and 1600, depending on how dark it is.Then, set your shutter to stay open for 10 seconds. Set a 2-second timer so that pressing the shutter release doesn’t cause your image to blur,” says Roos. 

Shoot at the golden hour: For those who do not know, the golden hour is the hour just after sunrise and just before sunset. Roos says the light creates ideal shooting conditions with soft golden hues that are great for both landscapes and portraiture. 

Edit, edit and edit: Let’s face it, great editing can turn a basic picture to something out of this world. 
“Great editing can really take your photography to the next level,” she says. Roos uses apps like Lightroom that is available on desktop and mobile to create a uniform grading aesthetic across all her images.