How to get good photos on Vacation

You know that feeling when you take 500 pictures and only like maybe one or two? Or maybe you’re a solo traveler and you have hundreds of your destination, your food, your hotel… but almost no pictures of you?

Getting good travel pictures doesn't have to mean spending your entire vacation posing in front of landmarks or asking different strangers to take the same picture because you didn’t like the first batch. Some planning ahead can truly go a long way, and you can get the pictures you want without missing out on the actual trip!

Here are a few of our favorite tips for getting better travel pics:

1. Plan a Few Photos Ahead of Time

Before your trip, think about a few pictures you might want to recreate. Checking out the destinations you’ll be visiting are helpful in terms of seeing where people have taken photos previously. Pinterest and Instagram are great platforms for finding inspiration. You can also create an album in your camera roll specifically for your trip. This is handy in case you don’t have service or can’t access the photos you saved in the app. It can be helpful to have a handful of poses, angles, or ideas that you like and use them as a reference once you're there.

It is also important to know what kind of photos you like of yourself. Do you have a certain side of your face you prefer? Do you like when photos are taken from a higher or lower angle? If these are questions you don’t know the answer to, spend an hour or so getting comfortable with the camera prior to the trip!

2. Bring a Mini Tripod

If you want to get pictures of yourself without relying on someone else, a mini tripod is your best friend. They're small enough to throw in your suitcase or day bag, and they make it so much easier to get the exact picture you're envisioning. You can use an auto-timer app like LensBuddy to take a series of pictures. You can move around, change your pose, and get multiple options without having to run back and forth to your phone after every photo.

3. Turn Your Photo Grid On

This is one of the easiest ways to get the pictures you want because your grid gives you a clearer sense of the photo’s composition. Turn the grid on in your camera settings so you can establish where you are in the frame. The more you understand the structure of your photo, the more you can point out what you like about your inspo photos, and better replicate them.

4. Ask Someone to Take Your Picture

This seems like a no-brainer, but it can be awkward to ask for a photo, especially if you have a specific vision for what you want. If you’re in a touristy location, look for a group who is already taking pictures. If they're standing around taking photos of their friends, there's a pretty good chance they'll understand the assignment when you ask them to take a few of you. If there’s a sparse amount of people around, find the nearest 20-to-30-something year old. They’ll probably do you well.

You can always show whoever you ask, the photo you're trying to recreate so they know exactly what you're looking for. This goes in hand with having your grid on, as well. Instead of trying to explain exactly how you want the picture taken, you can give the person behind the camera simple directions. You can say, “Am I in the center box?” or “Can you put X in the upper left?”, and so on. And don't be afraid to take a look at the photo and ask them to take another. You don't have to accept the first picture just because you feel bad asking for another one!

5. Don't Spend Your Whole Trip Creating Content

This might be our biggest piece of advice: you really don't need to post everything while you're still on the trip!

It's easy to get caught up in trying to keep up with all your different social media platforms while you're traveling, but if you're constantly thinking about what you're going to post next, you're going to miss out on the actual experience. Take your pictures, enjoy the trip, post later. Personally, I love using the flight home as editing and content-planning time.

You've got hours to go through your camera roll, pick your favorites, edit a few photos, and start putting together your posts. And during the trip, you can use the downtime for a quick scroll through your camera roll and an initial keep-or-delete session–but you don't need to spend your entire night editing. Just get rid of the initial no’s to save your storage!

6. Take Pictures of the Little Things

Some of the best pictures are in the details. Yes, you should obviously take a picture in front of the famous landmarks and hot spots, but also take pictures of the little things. It could be your morning latte, your hotel room, a shop with a cool display, a building with interesting architecture, the dinner you had, literally anything memorable from the destination. These little details are what help you remember what the trip actually felt like. And when you put them all together in a photo-dump later, they make the whole thing feel much more curated than 20 pictures of the same famous spot.

7. Don't Forget to Actually Enjoy the Trip

At the end of the day, the best travel pictures aren't worth much if you spent the entire trip behind your phone. Take the pictures you want, then put your phone away. Some of the best travel memories are the ones you don't photograph at all!

8. Traveling With Shade & Travel?

One of the best parts about traveling with Shade & Travel? You don't have to worry about finding someone to take your picture. You're traveling with a whole group of people who also want the cute vacation photos, so there’s always someone around to get the shot.

Every destination we travel to is photo-worthy, and we're all about getting the good pics. We're also pretty fun to travel with, so you'll have people to explore, laugh, eat, and make memories with along the way.

Here are some pictures from our most recent trip to Greece that we think are swoon-worthy ;)