How to Take Vacation Photos

You're excited to be on vacation, maybe to a place you've never been before and you want to capture the scenery and your adventures with photos to share with your family and friends. How can you capture exciting vacation photos that won't totally bore the folks back home? Try a few of these following tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Try not to take all photos out of the front window of the car. There are only so many photos of the windshield wiper that a person can see before their eyes glaze over. If possible, take the time to stop along the side of the road, get out of the car and compose a great landscape shot.

2. 
   These prarie dogs were found from a scenic parking lot at Devils Towner National Park.

   Stop at the scenic overlooks along the road. These areas were created because they are the best areas spots to view and photograph the landscape.

3. Slow down if you can't stop the car, roll down a side window and take a clear photo.

4. Know the limits of your equipment. Don't expect to capture the beauty of a dark cathedral ceiling with the small flash of a disposable camera.

5. Fill the frame with something besides sky. By getting as close to an object as possible, the photo will show more detail and be more interesting.

6. Change the angle of the photograph, instead of shooting straight ahead. By looking up at something, or down on something, it adds interest and variety to your photographs.

7. 
   Without the person in this photo you wouldn't be able to tell how big these formations are at Badlands National Park.

   Use people to show scale. Sometimes it is hard to tell the actual size of a statue, mountain or even an insect. By placing traveling companions in your photos it will help the folks back home to comprehend size.

8. Try to take candid or action shots of those on vacation with you. One way to put the folks back home to sleep is with 100 photos of your kids just standing next to every building, tree or rock that you see on vacation. Shots of the family walking along a trail tell a story and are more interesting than the kids standing next to a tree and smiling.

9. 
   Sunrise at Bethany Beach, Delaware

   Get up a little early to capture a sunrise as sunrises create unique lighting situations.

10. Be selective in the photos you show to friends and family. Although you might have taken 10 photos of a special mountain, choose the best one to share. Or if you just have to show more than one, show different views/angles of the mountain.

11. Choose a scenic place to capture the sunset. A colored sky with a mountain or tree's silhouette creates a dramatic image that excites viewers rather than boring them.

Tips & Warnings

• Before starting your vacation look at travel brochures and other literature and photographs to see how and where professional photographers photographed your vacation location. Use these ideas while you are on vacation for your special photos.
• Only stop along the side of the road when there is a shoulder.
• Stay on trails and marked paths.
• Stay behind fences and away from areas marked as dangerous. No photo is work risking injury and/or ruining your vacation.
• Do not approach wild animals.