Buddhist prayer flags flutter in the wind, Ladakh, India
An iconic travel image should communicate the very essence of a place to your viewers. When shooting travel pictures it helps to have some idea of what you want to shoot before you go on your trip. The last thing you need on a trip is to be overwhelmed by your surroundings when arriving at your location.
One way to approach shooting travel photos is to identify some of the ideas that you have in your own mind about the place you’ll be visiting. If you’ve been there before, then you might already have some ideas that you can draw from memory. If not, then you might want to research the landscape, architecture and the culture before you go. That’s not hard in this day and age; a simple Google search can give you some great starting info.
Using what you already know, try to identify the specific elements that excite you about the place. These can be anything, such as the natural or man made features for which the place is famous, certain dramatic aspects of the culture or colorful clothing styles.
As these ideas come to you, make some notes of what you’re hoping to see and photograph when you get there. Think simple concepts like prayer flags in front of a monastery, or a dramatic mountain backdrop set against the city, or the age and mystery of the architecture. Let your mind wander and come up with as many ideas as you can.
When you arrive at your destination, start searching for scenes that match the ideas that you’ve written down. This might involve looking at maps, talking with the locals or simply letting yourself wander. However, don’t be so involved in your own ideas that you ignore great opportunities right in front of you. These ideas should be a base to support you, not an anchor to weigh you down.
When you come across a possible subject, work on translating it into a compelling image. This is where it all counts, so apply all the techniques that you’ve learned over the years. Pay attention to all the different qualities of the scene and look for elements that you can play off of each other in your composition. You might decide to wait for more optimum light or weather conditions and return at a different time.
Even if the elements come together for a particular shot, keep that idea in your mind, because you might very well come across another scene later in your trip that illustrates your idea even better. There have been plenty of times when I’ve shot what I thought was a great iconic and conceptual travel photograph, only to watch an even better representation of my creative ideas unfold later in a completely different location.
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Dan Bailey is a professional adventure, outdoor and travel photographer based in Anchorage, Alaska. You can follow his own blog at danbaileyphoto.com/blog and see his daily Facebook updates at facebook.com/danbaileyphoto
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