How to Take Good Travel Photos

There is a very subtle art on how to take good travel photos, and I'm giving you all my biggest tips for swoon-worthy shots that will make your friends envious. 

I already had an interest in photography when I started traveling, and curating beautiful photos on my travels was always something I was passionate about. However, I never actually thought that I would make a career in travel photography. I mean, part of my job is taking people on group trips around the world and being their personal photographer. Talk about a dream job! Pinch me. 

After a decade of traveling & curating content, I decided to create a list of my biggest tips for taking good travel photos.

1.  Lighting Matters 

The best time to shoot travel photos is typically the hour surrounding both sunrise and sunset. ‘Golden Hour’ is what photographers refer to as the golden light that normally comes when the sun is closer to the horizon.  ‘Blue Hour,’ just before sunrise or just after sunset, is also a favorable time for photos. 

Mid-day is the worst time to take photos, as lighting is direct and harsh.

And if there are cloudy days scheduled on your trip, that’s actually great news for photos! Clouds filter light, making it better to shoot good travel photos all day without worrying about the direct sun. 

2. Early Birds Get Better Photos 

Set that alarm! Most people want to sleep in on their vacation, making sunrise and morning the best time to grab photos. A good sunrise is always the best way to start a good travel day. 

3.  Invest in Good Equipment 

Sure, phones can take decent photos these days, but they still do not compare to cameras. I have a wide range of equipment that I rely on for good travel photos. 

Canon Mark II R6 - This is my go-to camera, which I bring on almost all of my international trips. It takes incredible photos, has good battery life, and is a high-quality professional camera. If you have a goal of being a travel photographer or blogger, it’s worth the higher price tag and investment. However, if you do not plan to make a career out of taking travel photos, there are cheaper cameras that will work just fine. 

Canon M50 - There are tons of pros about the camera. It is small, lightweight, and is less than $1000. It’s also a great camera for videos. If you want a high quality point-and-shoot camera that doesn’t have a huge learning curve and is compact, this is my biggest recommendation. 

Canon 90D - This is a good in-between camera between the M50 and the R6. It’s a larger, more professional camera, but it has a good price point. I shot an older model of the 80D for my first five years as a travel photographer. It’s a great professional camera that is also budget-friendly! 

4. Learn Lightroom 

When you see one of those draw-dropping travel photos online, there is a 99% chance that it is not the original photo. The best way to edit travel photos is to use the Lightroom Mobile App. All of the cameras I listed above have Bluetooth, meaning that you can take photos on the camera, immediately transfer them to your phone, and edit them with Lightroom, all within just a few minutes. 

Watch a few helpful YouTube videos on how to edit photos in Lightroom and start playing around with settings. Below are just a few examples of before and after Lightroom edits on my travel photos. 

5. Take a Sh*tload of Photos 

I always say that for every 100 photos I take, there is one good photo. Don’t be the person that takes one photo and moves on. Take lots of photos using different angles, poses, and compositions. You might hate 90% of them, but that 10% will make all the difference. 

6. Don’t Take the Same Photo as Every Other Tourist 

The best way to get boring, crappy travel photos is to take the same photos as everyone else. It sounds harsh - but it’s perhaps the most important tip for taking good travel photos. Don’t even think about doing the ‘I’m flicking a coin into the fountain’’ pose at the Trevi Fountain. No one will be remotely interested in your ‘I’m sitting on a four-wheeler in the Mayan jungle on a resort excursion’ snap. People will scroll right by your pretty drink on the beach at an all-inclusive. 

There is just nothing unique about the same photos in the same places. 

Avoid the “Instagram famous” locations at all cost. In many of these places, there are lines to get a photo, and everyone’s photos look the exact same. Even if it’s a pretty photo, no one will be ‘wow’d’ by it, because they’ve likely seen the exact same composition before in other photographs. 

If you do go to touristy locations, play with angles and compositions. Try finding something new or unique about the location you’re in. My photo below is a great example. This was taken at the Delicate Arch in Arizona. Everyone was waiting in line to take their photo under the arch when I looked over and saw this group standing on some nearby cliffs. I snapped the photo, and it’s won awards.

7. Get Weird with Angles

Hold the camera high, get down to the ground, stand on your car, climb a hill, and shoot through a tree. Sometimes a photo looks

8. Be Patient

If you do happen to be in a place with a lot of other people, which happens a lot while traveling, patience is key! Waiting 5 to 10 minutes in a location will often offer a gap with less people and better photo opportunities. The photos below are a great example. There were a decent amount of people around in both, but we waited 5 minutes for a break, and boom, beautiful breathtaking travel photos.

9. Don't Smile for The Camera

Take a tip from "Influencers in the Wild." Pose, have fun, walk away from the camera, walk back toward the camera. Change poses often for a variety of photos. Who cares if people judge you - you won't ever see them again! And you'll go home with better travel photos 🙂

10. Visit Outside of Cruise Ship/Tourist Bus Times 

If you are visiting popular areas such as Santorini, Iceland's Ring Road, Yellowstone National Park, etc., where tour buses & cruise crowds are common, avoid visiting the main attractions in the middle of the day. Santorini can get up to 60,000 daily visitors coming from cruise ships, which are typically in town from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. The town is crowded, miserable, and horrible for photos midday, but much more enjoyable in the mornings/evenings.