Summer Travel Photo Tips – Part 1

If you are traveling this summer, you’ll want to bring your camera with you. Here are some quick tips to help make your summer travel photo experience trouble-free:

• BRING EXTRA PHOTO CARDS. If you are traveling by plane, take your camera with you on the plane. Carry at least two photo cards, or whatever you feel you will need based on the number of pictures you expect to take. Buying additional cards may be difficult, inconvenient or expensive, depending on where you are traveling.
• TO SAVE SPACE, review your photos in your camera along the way and delete any you won’t want, or bring a portable storage device so you can offload the cards and free up space.
• FOR A BACKUP in case your camera and photo cards get lost or stolen—if you have Internet access—upload your photos to a photo sharing/storage site (it’s free, you just need to sign up for a free account). You can even e-mail images to your friends and family back home.
• BRING AT LEAST ONE EXTRA BATTERY, so one battery can be charging while you are using the other one. If you are traveling overseas, try to get a dual voltage charger to avoid needing a separate voltage transformer. It is not fun to be caught with insufficient or the wrong power and miss photo ops.
• KEEP YOUR CAMERA EQUIPMENT ORGANIZED. Band the charger cords and cables with Velcro or elastic bands so they are not a jumbled mess and put them in a plastic bag with your charger and other essentials.
• BRING YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. You never know when a great photo op may arise.
• READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. If you just bought a new camera, familiarize yourself with the features before your trip. If you don’t want to drag the manual with you, you can probably look it up on line in a pinch. Since many camera manufacturers put manuals on their web site, it can’t hurt to take note of the web address so if you get stuck you can look up your camera’s features online at a cyber café.
• OUTDOOR SHOTS. When traveling you are likely to be taking a lot of outdoor shots. When taking photos in the shade or bright sunlight, use your camera’s fill flash. This will help fix contrast and dark shadows. Read your camera’s manual to learn how to use this feature on your camera.
• GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN. You begin traveling the moment you step out that door. So start snapping away your journey to the airport; touching down at your destination and being utterly confused; being tightly packed on a bumpy bus ride; the disappointment when your hotel doesn’t look like the picture on the brochure. Don’t forget to document the journey – the destination is only half the fun!