{"id":101132,"date":"2017-06-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelstartblg.wpenginepowered.com\/tips-pro-photographers-take-better-travel-photos\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:54:17","slug":"tips-pro-photographers-take-better-travel-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/tips-pro-photographers-take-better-travel-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Pro Photographers On How To Take Better Travel Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 <\/b>of <\/b>South Africa’s pro photographers and top Instagrammers share photography tips on how to take the best travel photos possible. Because hello holiday!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/b>Photographer Elisha Bax Dibakoane @dudefromsa<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on <\/span>what makes a good photograph<\/span><\/h2>\n

Location:<\/strong> most breathtaking pictures are not stumbled upon, but are planned. The best picture is the one that you imagine before you execute. Take the time to do location scouting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perspective:<\/strong> You will see millions of pictures of the same location on Instagram, so find an interesting angle to frame your unique picture. Consider if you need a low, level or high angle. Decide on the story you want to tell and the emotions you want to evoke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technique:<\/strong> I prefer layering the foreground, middle and background. Don\u2019t center the subject unless it’s necessary and use the rule of thirds. Leading lines add depth to a picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Settings:<\/strong> manual mode, ISO at 100, aperture 7.1 or 8 (most lenses are sharp at this aperture) and select the shutter speed depending on light (try experimenting with 1\/500). Use auto white balance or your built-in light meter to get the correct exposure. For travel pictures keep the frame on everything in focus. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of @dudefromsa via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Landscape photographer Liesel Kershoff @LieselKershoff<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on how to take landscape photographs<\/span><\/h2>\n

Photographers are visual creatures. We look, feel and touch with our eyes and the wish to capture that feeling is what drives us to take photographs. For that reason landscape photographers prefer to capture photos with wide-angle lenses. But a wide-angle photograph can often seem flat or one dimensional, unless it’s printed 2 metres wide where all the details come to life.<\/span><\/p>\n

For this reason my favourite lens is my 70-200mm zoom lens. This lens forces me to look deeper into a landscape, it brings emotions and depth to a landscape, which a wide angle can never convey. It tells a different story to the wide angle photograph.\u00a0Next time you see a beautiful scene, look closer, deeper and whip out that big zoom lens you were saving for your safari.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of @lieselkershoff via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Urban geography lecturer @jayjay_gregory<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on how to photograph architecture<\/span><\/h2>\n

When taking photographs of buildings, it’s always important for me to portray the broader context of where the building is situated and how it interacts with the urban landscape. I always try to capture the street life and people in my photographs of buildings. When photographing buildings it is also important to capture symmetry or leading lines, as it will make the image much more striking. To add a touch of drama, you can shoot or edit the image in black and white. This will naturally bring out the contrast and architectural details of the building.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of @jayjay_gregory via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Travel Blogger Heather Mason @2summers<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on taking portraits<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Image courtesy of @2summers via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

When photographing people, my favourite strategy is to spend a few minutes building a relationship with the person before snapping any pictures. Start up a chat, ask the person a few questions about what they do, then ask for permission to take a photo. Find a good background \u2013 something that tells a story about the surroundings. Shoot a couple of test shots to make sure you have your settings right, then say something to make the person laugh. My favourite line is: “Say Budweiser!” This is almost guaranteed to bring on a big smile. Snap a few frames in quick succession; one of them is bound to be good.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photographer Andile @buka_andile<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on what makes a compelling black and white photograph<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Image courtesy of @buka_andile via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Shooting black and white allows one to look at the image in its entirety. You are not drawn into it by colours and I feel like there are fewer distractions within black and white photographs. I like playing with shadows, light and having hard contrasts in my images. When it comes to my subjects and what are photograph on a daily basis, I gravitate towards portraits. People’s gaze, gesture and the way they position their hands. I’m interested in those lines, details and what it has revealed to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Travel, food and culture journalist Ishay Govender-Ypma\u00a0@ishaygovender<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on photographing food<\/span><\/h2>\n

There are two types of shots I share \u2013 the styled photo (very rarely) and the on-the-go photo shot with a DSLR or smartphone which is unobtrusive. There’s no time to plate and consider props in the latter set up, but lighting is vital. In the dim light of a restaurant at night, use the torch function on another smartphone, diffuse it with a white napkin and hold it at a distance away. Better yet, get your dining partner to help. I prefer to be quick so as not to disturb patrons or let the food go cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wipe up obvious spills, consider wood and natural textures as backgrounds, or ask the vendor or cook to hold the bowl or platter. The person who prepared the food helps to tell a story\u00a0and ultimately makes it more interesting. Include the background to add context to the image. Stand-alone cappuccinos are pretty boring.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of @ishaygovender via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Photographer Heinrich Knoetze\u00a0@instacptguy<\/a><\/span>\u00a0on shooting in low light<\/span><\/h2>\n

When shooting in low light it’s always best to mount you camera on a sturdy tripod, as generally you will be shooting longer exposures and the slightest movement can ruin your photograph.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are shooting landscapes, first turn your shutter release to timer mode, then turn on your camera’s live view. Manual focus and zoom into an object in the\u00a0foreground to ensure that it is in focus. Turn live view off before you hit the shutter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your exposure should be\u00a0correct, your aperture, shutter speed and ISO should all be considered. See how the three interact with one another if you raise the one and drop the other. I often play with adding a colour gel to a flash. This is called painting with light. It’s great fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

When shooting portraits at night always use a flash, but experiment with taking the mounted flash off your camera and\u00a0control it with a trigger. Look at how the light interacts with your subject from various angles. This is\u00a0easier than it looks and practice makes perfect. It’s not\u00a0necessary\u00a0to have your camera on a tripod for\u00a0portraiture as the flash\u00a0freezes the subject, it all depends on the look you have in mind. Most importantly have fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image courtesy of @instacptguy via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Time-lapse photographer Brendon Wainwright @brendon_wainwright<\/a> on Astrophotography<\/span><\/h2>\n

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Image courtesy of @brendon_wainwright via Instagram<\/a><\/h6>\n

Astrophotography is my new favourite photography genre, there’s so much to learn about our night sky. Everything I’ve learned about how to capture the night sky, is from Tanja<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and Cory<\/a><\/span>, when they first invited me to Sutherland for #EveryNewMoon\u00a0in February 2016. Since then, each month I go somewhere dark, far away from light pollution in search of capturing the night sky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Astrophotography tips:<\/span><\/h3>\n