But for me, as a blogger, a traveler, the main thing is not the pose and not the face in the photo. The main thing is to be able to convey to readers what I saw on the journey. Most complete, accurate and beautiful.
I wanted to write about how I photograph while traveling for a long time. I even threw in a small article, but my hands did not reach to finish. But now I want to get back to my idea. The time has come. I will tell you how I photograph, and in the comments you will tell how you photograph. So to speak, the main principles of shooting, giving a good result.
Yes, this is an exchange of experience among amateurs. If a professional photographer inserts his weighty advice - low bow.

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But being an amateur does not mean shooting badly. This is not an excuse. You can learn to shoot well. My husband is proof of that. To do this, at least, you need to try - do not take oblique photos, do not rush and do not fuss, wipe the lens before shooting and be sure to choose the right, balanced composition. If you still approach photography creatively, it will generally be wonderful!
So, I present to you a small list of tips on how to photograph while traveling. They are designed for those who shoot just for themselves, for their home archive (and want to do it well), and in order to show photos to people, make a photo report about the trip, etc.
So let's go!

1/ Keep your lens clean! Even one fingerprint can ruin a photo. What can we say about a completely contaminated lens. Wipe it with a special cloth for optics and keep this cloth with you at all times.
An example from my practice. I arrived in (Crimea) and did not check the lens. Some of the photos turned out to be spoiled only because I gaped at some point and touched the lens with one finger. Here's how it looks in the photo.

Lions park "Taigan" in Crimea

2/ "Catch" the horizon! This is the simplest, most elementary thing that can be done to make a good photo. The departing (falling, crooked) horizon completely spoils the photo. Does not work? Stop and shoot until you succeed! Do not take pictures carelessly, on the go, with one hand ever! Photography is geometry, everything must be calibrated and clear.

Museum-Estate "Petrovskoye" (Pushkinskiye Gory)

3/ Build a composition. For example, according to the principle of three parts. Do not photograph a lot of sky and little land (water). When shooting nature, make the "heavenly part" 2/3 in size, the "earthly" - 1/3. Or vice versa.

Sunset in Gelendzhik

Don't forget about the golden section rule - the best point for the location of the main object is 1/3 of the frame borders. There are four such points. When photographing, mentally imagine this scheme and place the main object in one of the four places indicated on the diagram by dots.

Of course, it’s more convenient for beginners to take pictures this way. With experience, you, of course, will not think of any scheme.

Pos. Krinitsa (Black Sea coast of the Caucasus)

Mount Bear and view of Gurzuf (Crimea)

4/ Take your time when taking pictures! Haste is not interesting photos. The rush is muddy photos. Cloudy photos - the photographer's marriage. They cannot be improved or changed in any way.

Sonya

5/ Without good lighting no good photo. It’s difficult to shoot well even on a DSLR in the twilight, on a soap dish it’s impossible. What to do?
Outdoors on a sunny day, try not to take pictures against the sun (the sun should ideally be behind you).

Monument to the Sofia Infantry Regiment in the Lopatinsky Garden. Smolensk

​In dark room there is only one way out - to the soap dish shoot with a flash, on a DSLR - in manual mode or also with a flash.

Cafe "Caramel" in Pskov

I usually shoot like this, and like that. Then I choose the frame that turned out best.

6/ Give preference to horizontal photos. Vertical photos should always be justified by something. For example, the desire to convey (emphasize) the length / height / perspective of an object (stairs, bridge, road, tower), the desire to remove an unwanted object / object from the frame (if it is not possible to remove the obstacle yourself), the need to remove an object larger.
Cases when the vertical is justified:

In Kondopoga

Reserve Kivach

I love taking portrait photos vertically. Also, it seems to me, it turns out to be in place.

Sonya in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

7/ Change angles, do not shoot the object from one point! If possible, go around the object in a circle, move away at different distances, take pictures from different angles. So you will kill two birds with one stone - you will find the best point for shooting this object and see and show the object from all sides.

St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky

8/ General plan and details - scene and accents. Always shoot both general shots (panorama, object, landscape) and details (elements). The overall outline will show where what you want to tell happens. Details characterize the object itself. Renting a house - always take a picture of the street where it stands, as well as especially striking architectural details of the building itself.

Museum-Estate "Petrovskoye" (Pushkinskiye Gory)

9/ Shooting in a museum is not that easy. When removing a display board, stand straight ahead, not at an angle, if you want it to be readable. Take a picture of the stand as a whole, and some document (announcement) and a large photo - that which interested you and hooked you the most, which most characterizes the object / object, gives it / them additional colors.

In general, the same applies to museum expositions - the general plan can be shot from any angle, details, individual objects - directly.

Russian Museum (Petersburg)

10/ Frame it right! When shooting a large object (building), move away enough to ensure that it is completely in the frame. Do not cut crosses on churches! Just like the legs and arms of people. Make sure that unwanted objects do not get into the frame. If unwanted objects are unavoidable, look for options for a more aesthetic angle in which objects do not enter into dissonance.
There are some difficult tasks in this regard. For example, the cathedral in Kronstadt from this point was hardly placed in the frame. Personally, for my taste, there is not enough space here, I would move even further. But there was nowhere further, the cathedral began to hide behind the trees.

Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Kronstadt

It is much easier to shoot Nikolsky Cathedral from the square - there is more space, which means more opportunities.

11/ When shooting in a city, crowded or not crowded, be sure to shoot common plans with people(or without them). How else will you convey the atmosphere of the city? Shoot not only houses and their elements, but streets, squares, people, movement and breath of the city. It is these photographs that give an idea of ​​the city as a whole.

Optina Pustyn

Petersburg, st. Malaya Morskaya

12/ Making general plans, single out individuals. A local resident is sometimes more colorful, and conveys the atmosphere of the city more than houses and monuments.
Here is such a grandfather with pleasure posed for my husband in Suzdal.

Local resident of the city of Suzdal

And these are my observations on Cape Tolstoy in Gelendzhik.

Gelendzhik

A young man with a book and a bicycle sits on a high bank and enjoys life.

13/ Don't be afraid to take pictures of people- your child, husband (wife), be photographed yourself. But not against the background of each of the fifty monuments of the city (against the background of 2-3, you can), but on the streets, in nature. When photographing yourself, be natural, do not overact, but do not stand in a column.
photographing, catch interesting moments, human emotions, gait, interaction with another person (genre scenes). The presence of a person in a photograph should always be justified, it should always say something, emphasize something. A person should be interested in what he sees and does. If this is a living statue that does not express anything, does not make the frame more expressive, then it is better to remove the “statue”.

Goritsky monastery

Manor Arkhangelskoye

14/ Experiment, but don't overuse it. It’s just that there should be more good photos than unsuccessful, albeit bold experiments. Although experiments are good, I admit. :)

In the Church of the Assumption Kondopoga

In the Kirollo-Belozersky Monastery

Sophie under a palm tree on the embankment in Sochi

15/ If you are not sure how best to shoot right away, take not 1, but 5 photos. Then, at your leisure, choose the best, delete the excess. I often do this when I photograph buildings. It happens that you can’t catch the horizon in any way, you won’t find the best angle. I can't stand falling buildings. I fight it. I move the camera to different positions, change shooting points. And at home I already choose the best photo.
This is how I filmed the Leningrad City Council Theater in St. Petersburg (by the way, I never found the perfect option, I was limited in time):

Theater of the Leningrad City Council in St. Petersburg

16/ It is not easy to remove monuments. Often they turn out dark. If the monument is small, the lighting is fairly even, I recommend taking two pictures - with and without a flash. Then you can choose the best one.And sometimes it’s enough just to take a closer-up of the monument.

In Oranienbaum

However, if the day is very sunny, then neither the flash nor the approximation will most likely help. Especially if the monument is of impressive size.
This is what happened to me in Kronstadt, when I was shooting a monument to Admiral Makarov against the sun. Changed location several times.

Monument to Makarov in Kronstadt

17/ Don't use flash! If you have a DSLR, almost forget about it. It only spoils the photos, makes them contrast, very dark.

18/ In whatever city (locality) you may be during your trip - look for spectacular viewpoints. These can be specially equipped viewing platforms (on buildings or simply high points cities), and there may be completely natural places from where the surroundings open up in full view.
Here is a view of the Optina Pustyn we saw along the way.

Road to Optina Pustyn

View from the observation deck in Sergiev Posad on the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Trinity Sergius Lavra

And in conclusion, I present to you my algorithm for shooting a new place (for example, a manor) while traveling.

Shooting plan at the facility, if you plan to make a photo essay:

1. You arrived by car. Remove parking.
2. You buy tickets at the box office. Remove the cash desk, stand with information, prices.
3. You enter the area. Remove the entrance, the gate at a distance.
4. You are walking along the alleys of the estate. Shoot alleys, signs, monuments, buildings. Pass on perspective. Take pictures of people - show how many (few) people are in the estate, what they do (take pictures, look at monuments, communicate, sit thoughtfully on a bench, etc.). Convey the atmosphere.
5. Of course, film the Main House (Palace) from all possible points. Make a few general plans. Emphasize how the architects fit the house into environment. And he's signed in! ancient houses always built on this principle. One emphasized the other.
6. Remove all antique details - stairs, statues, balustrade. Look for interesting angles that emphasize beauty, antiquity, sophistication.
7. Be sure to film yourself or film those with whom you travel, against the backdrop of the surrounding beauties. It is especially interesting to photograph children (they are very spontaneous, their curiosity and delight, joy from the surrounding beauty are natural). Take pictures yourself. It is not necessary (although it is welcome) to have acting data. Don't possess - just be yourself.

My photo reports about visiting estates:

What can be the object of photography while traveling? Everything! Houses, streets, people, nature, museums, estates, cafes, hotels. I photograph everything I visit and see. In this case, I have the opportunity to make detailed photo reports. Is it necessary to take everything off? Of course not. Everyone has their own style, their own handwriting, their own zest. The main thing is to find it.

Good luck and good luck on your travels! Let the memories always be bright, impressions bright, and photos ... And photos clear, juicy, interesting, and most importantly, with a twist. Create! Look for your secret beautiful photos. And if you have already found it, if you know how to take pictures while traveling, share your experience with us in the comments.

First of all, to do really good photos, the kind that others won't feel like it's a failed attempt to copy National Geographic, you need very little.

The main component of any photo is the emotion that is invested in it. If the picture does not show anything that would provoke this emotion, it is empty. This is a philosophical and broad question, which is good to discuss over a cup of something.

Now let's move on to more practical advice, and blunders to avoid when you're photographing on the go.

1. One of the most common mistakes is when you are present in almost all travel photos. Don't abuse it! No one but you will be interested in looking at such photos, and you will really cover yourself noteworthy things.

2. Monuments and museum exhibits are unlikely to give you memories of unforgettable moments from your trip. Look for interesting "live" things. It can be both people and animals or plants, something that will tell about the place where you are. (Local fruits and spices, goods sold by locals, plants native to the region, etc.).

4. Photos individual parts can say much more than the general plan.

5. Be original, do not repeat the scenario with the bus and tourists who jump out for 2 minutes to take pictures of the same, no longer interesting to anyone.

6. If you are already on a bus tour, look for an interesting angle, experiment with foreground and background, colors and objects that fall into the frame.

7. Try to take the time to write down a few notes about the events of the day and about your emotions. This will help you organize your photos in the future, write some keywords to them, or even small description with your impressions of the place.

8. Research the laws and culture of the countries you plan to visit. In some of them it may be illegal to take pictures of people without their consent. There are also beliefs or customs that favor photography. For example, Aboriginal people in some areas believe that their souls are captured when they are photographed. Funny, but true.

9. There are certain situations in which flash photography may not be appropriate. The flash usually does not illuminate more than a few meters, so shooting everything with a flash is impractical, as it quickly drains your battery, disturbs others, and even ruins some old things (murals, paintings).

10. Pay attention to the “No photography” signs, especially when you visit some holy places, churches and other religious institutions. Or during certain rituals or processions. (Attention, not "Do not take pictures", namely "Pay attention" ;-))

11. Expensive equipment attracts thieves, especially in some countries and especially in tourist areas. Don't over-flaunt your camera. If you take your camera out of your bag, wrap the strap around your wrist a few times and hold it firmly in your hand. You should also not, especially in tourist areas, walk around with a camera around your neck, as this attracts motorcyclist thieves. Branded camera bags draw attention to what is in them, it may be safer to keep the camera in a regular backpack or bag, overlaying it with clothing to soften it.

It is impossible not to touch on the issue of photographing people, because this is an integral, but also the most difficult component of travel photography.

Do I need to ask permission from a person before taking a picture? “People often ask about this particular nuance. There is no definite answer here, but there is a tip: If you want to keep the sincerity of the moment and, as a result, the photo will not distort or humiliate the person, try to photograph discreetly. But if you doubt that you will be able to remain invisible, or you want to make a more personal portrait, and even interesting to talk, then feel free to approach the person and ask permission.

The worst that can happen is a negative answer. It all depends on so many factors, and most likely people will smile and nod their heads in agreement.

What is the right thing to do if you have been given consent? Don't push yourself too hard, try taking a few shots. Often you will see that the person in the photo turns out to be constrained, it is clear that he is shy, or he is not comfortable. In this case, it is important to defuse the atmosphere. You can show them their photos on the screen of your camera, tell them something interesting, funny. It will be very useful for you to study some foreign words The locals will definitely love it.

Below is a small list of what is interesting to photograph while traveling.:

– landscapes

— local population(during some of his activity);

- fellow travelers with whom you will get acquainted;

- food and drinks;

- transport;

– markets / shops;

— street scenes (street photo);

- interesting signs road signs, elements of architecture;

- oneself (alone and with others);

- Plants and animals native to the area.

And a set of minimum, which is worth taking with you on a trip:

- Digital camera zoom lens.

- Protective, and even better polarizing filter.

- Lightweight tripod.

- Microfiber for cleaning optics.

- Bag for the camera.

These are small and supposedly obvious facts, will qualitatively improve your photos and the shooting process itself.

If we talk about the reverse side of the coin, the so-called "reverse side of the travel photo", it has its own dangers and unpleasant nuances. A problem may arise when you get tired of carrying a camera with you and the mood for photography completely disappears. Why? Everything is simple, motivation disappears and laziness becomes. Taking pictures is a lot of work, just like the creative process. Both in work and in creativity there are recessions when it becomes indifferent.

But remember, you need to take pictures with taste and pleasure and believe in your dreams. Traveling is great, and travel photos are your memories of the brightest moments of your life. Do them right!

Foreword

Any camera has a “masterpiece” button, but manufacturers carefully hide its location.

Widespread misconception

I started taking pictures at the age of 14, when my parents bought my brother and me the first camera - Smena 8M. Many years later. My passion for photography has grown into a profession. I photographed anniversaries and corporate parties, directors of large and small enterprises and their products, christenings and weddings. For more than 10 years I have taught photography to beginners and not only to beginner photographers. And of course, I took a lot of photographs on my travels.

From my experience with my students, I know that many would like to improve their photos, but do not know how to do it. This seems very surprising given the abundance of information about photography that is available to us in the 21st century, and given that all the numerous textbooks, articles, lessons say essentially the same thing, and, moreover, quite correctly ... But questions still remain. One gets the feeling that for most of the books these books are written on the same Chinese. And if they understand something from these books, then topsy-turvy.

What kind of “laws” people have come up with to complicate their photographic life: that you can’t shoot against the light, that you must use a flash at night, that it’s bad to photograph white on white and black on black, that you can’t “cut off” the tops of people, the tops of trees and crosses near temples, that the horizon line must necessarily divide the frame in a ratio of 1:2, etc. etc.

In this article, I've tried to make it as simple and practical as possible to lay out some key tips on how to improve your photos. The article is illustrated with photographs taken by me in different years and photos of my students. Here are also the works of some eminent photographers, as well as their statements, which, I hope, reinforce my main theses, make them more prominent.

About the photo series

Any photograph may be of interest either on its own or as part of a series, essay, photo report. When we talk about photography while traveling, both the first and second options can take place.

In a series of photographs are important:

— completeness(disclosure of the topic);

— diversity, but at the same time wholeness illustrative series;

— subsequence.

Even a shot that is not very advantageous in itself can find its place and decorate the series as a whole. This is a plus. A series of photographs is a kind of storytelling, it is a kind of finished thing. And therefore it is perceived with great interest by the viewer. This is also a plus.

But I wish there were plenty to choose from. In any case, the series consists of individual photographs. And then we will talk about a separate photo.

What is a “good photo”?

It is interesting to shoot a sunset from the window of a city apartment only the first 135 times.

folk wisdom

In any photograph, it is possible to conditionally distinguish “what” and “how” – (1) “what is taken” and (2) “how is it taken”.

(1) “What is taken”, the content of the picture is some area, a corner of nature, a plant, an animal. Or it is a city, a building, a street, a square, a monument. Perhaps this is a certain object, a fragment of the interior, an architectural detail, or maybe it is people - local residents and visitors, an interesting event, a street scene, a well-captured moment, finally, we ourselves and our friends on a journey ...

(2) “As shot”, or in a scientific way - a pictorial, artistic decision of the picture is mainly the nature of the lighting and the composition of the frame.

Neuschwanstein Castle. Germany. June 2001

Fireworks on the Rhine. Taken from a moving ship. Germany. July 2001

The village of Glazovo Arkhangelsk region August 2003

Pushkin mountains. Pskov region May 2004

A photograph can be taken “very well” (how), but the subject (what) is completely uninteresting, even to the author of the picture. On the other hand, you can shoot something very interesting, rare, but so ugly, amateurish, that you don’t want to look.

We proceed from the fact that in a good picture "remarkable", or at least "very good" should be both "what" and "how". Do you remember Chekhov's soul and costume? But the first (what) is still much more important than the second (how). Without it, the picture becomes completely empty, and pulls into best case for an exercise in lighting or composition, albeit brilliantly executed.

In practice, it is not easy to separate one from the other. So a dramatic state of nature, for example, a pre-storm state, can be considered as an object of shooting (that is, it is this state that we shot), but at the same time it is quite obvious that this state is at the same time a shooting condition that determines the nature lighting, which we usually refer to as “how”.

Nevertheless, from a methodological point of view, as well as from the point of view of assessing someone else's and especially one's own photograph, it is very useful, and even necessary, to distinguish between the content of the photograph and its pictorial solution. This article will be entirely devoted to the content of the picture and the meaningful merits of the picture. We will talk about lighting and composition in other articles.

In former times, it was customary to illustrate the geography of the world by reproducing architectural monuments or by representing various ethnic types. Nowadays, photography has expanded the scope of the depicted elements human being shaking that tradition.

Henri Cartier Bresson

Our interests in travel can be very diverse. Someone wants to photograph the main sights and beauty, others are more interested in the local color and everyday life of people, and for some it is important to capture “themselves beloved” against the backdrop of historical monuments or make a report about the trip itself and travelers.

The genres of travel photography are as diverse as the temperaments of photographers. People who are calm, patient and prone to meditation gravitate towards the landscape, open and sociable people are good at portraiture, assertive and decisive “registered” reportage, genre and street photography.

But no matter what genre the picture belongs to, I really want the picture to be liked. At least to those to whom we show it. Discussing what is nice picture, many will say "beautiful". But beauty is not the content of the image. To photograph something beautiful in itself is by no means the merit of the photographer. Shooting something beautiful is a worthy task. And this refers to the field of pictorial solution, i.e. to the "how" aspect.

From a content point of view, it is much more important that the photograph be informative, informative, that it inform the viewer something new or revive the well-forgotten old in memory. Perhaps this is something famous and widely disseminated, well, let's say, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA, and then I would like to see more new details, unexpected colors or a special look. Or maybe it's something located literally under the nose, but little known, as the Temple of the Omen Holy Mother of God in Dubrovitsy, near Podolsk, or a castle in the village of Muromtsevo near Vladimir.

If the picture was taken not only for yourself, your relatives and friends, but is intended for a wide range of viewers, then it is desirable that he tell us about something rare, inaccessible, unusual or even unique (no one has this, and never will) . True, the idea of ​​what is rare and unusual depends on the richness of our visual experience. And this experience, unfortunately, is not formed from reading the instructions for the camera.

Body archipelago. Karelia. July 2005

Three photographers. Island of Sidorov. Karelia. July 2007

Confluence of Chemal and Katun. Altai. 2003

marble canyon Ruskeala. Not far from the city of Sortavala, Karelia. July 2008

The canyon has been used for marble mining since the 17th century. Currently, a tourist complex has been created on the territory of the canyon - Mountain Park "Ruskeala"

Purple sunset. Kuzov Archipelago in the White Sea. Karelia. July 2005

Such sunsets are quite a rare thing. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, but it illuminated the high clouds with pink light. The result was an extraordinary picture of a purple sunset.

Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in the flood. Not far from Vladimir. 2005

Local residents on motor boats transported tourists to the temple. My colleague and I asked to be dropped off on an island opposite the temple. So that you can take a general view.

Tree in the water. Marble canyon "Ruskeala". Karelia. July 2008

Sometimes, as time passes, photography acquires additional value: houses are demolished and built, trees are cut down, and new ones grow in their place. And only in the photo everything remains the same as many years ago.

Passage tower of the Nikolo-Karelsky Monastery. Kolomenskoe. October 2005

Unfortunately, in 2007 the tower was moved to a new location - further deep into the park, to open space- to the territory of the Museum of Wooden Architecture, Therefore, such a picture can no longer be taken.

The unfinished palace in Tsaritsyno. October 2004

Grass, bushes and trees grew on the walls.

The emotionality of the picture

When the photographer aims the viewfinder, the line of sight passes through his eye, head and heart.

Henri Cartier Bresson

Look closer at the world around you and believe in your feelings and emotions. Ask yourself the question: if I take a photo now, will it convey my emotions and feelings, will I be able to convey them to the viewer?

Ansel Adams

A photograph has a stronger effect on the viewer, is better remembered if it evokes a spiritual response in him, touches, catches. In a word, if she is emotional.

Emotionality in a landscape is a state of nature that is present in the frame along with the image. This is a gust of wind that bends trees and rips off leaves from them, these are heavy and gloomy clouds hanging over the forest, this is the mirror surface of the lake, emphasizing complete calm.

Emotionality in the event is precisely the moment caught, these are open smiles, burning tears and characteristic grimaces on the faces of the participants, this is a clear and vivid reflection of the essence of what is happening.

The photo beautiful view will not become a landscape if it does not convey the state of nature, its moods. A snapshot of a domestic scene will not become a real genre photograph if the author could not catch the climax of the event or, as Cartier-Bresson said, the decisive moment. The image of a person cannot be called a portrait if it does not retain at least a little bit of the character of this person.

White lake. Belozersk. May 2011

Spring. Neighborhood of Kashin. May 2005

This is what it is - the White Sea. Kuzov Archipelago, Karelia. July 2005

Glare on the water. Big Solovetsky Island, Arkhangelsk region July 2005

Sunset on Solovki. Arkhangelsk region August 2006

Pezhostrov. Karelia. July 2007

Vologda. 2003

The builders are resting. Tsaritsyno. 2006

Photo by Sergey Khritov.

Valera. Pezhostrov. Karelia. July 2007

Max. Pezhostrov. Karelia. July 2007

Olga. Quarry near Lytkarino. March 2008

Painstaking path or luck

“It seems that in photography-landscape the factor of luck is not so great as it is commonly believed. After all, the more often you are in nature, the more likely you are to be lucky.”

Tom Till

“Although I travel a lot, I never travel light. Even if I leave the car for a short trip into the forest, I have a backpack with photographic equipment weighing 25 kilograms behind me, and I have a tripod in my hands”

Theo Allofs

So, we want our photos to be interesting, as unusual as possible, better - unique, and also emotional ... Well, at least 2 points out of four ... Well, at least one.

But, as they say, art requires sacrifice. Or better this way: you can’t even catch a fish without difficulty ... In short, if you want to get something, you have to pay something for it.

You need to get to places where you can't go by car. You need to shoot when almost no one is filming - in a downpour and in a blizzard, in continuous fog and in severe frost. You need to walk more and drive less. You need to get up early and wander around longer while the streets are empty. You must not forget about the evening walk and not be too lazy to go for night shooting, be sure to grab a tripod. You need to take the optimal shooting point and, only having heard, “young man, you can’t shoot here”, answer “sorry, I won’t”, knowing that you still managed to press the shutter button a couple of times. Better yet, meet someone who will take you to places where mere mortals can’t go, and show you views that few people have filmed. You need not be ashamed and take off the expressive face of a passerby or funny scene. If you think this is tactless, no one bothers to get prior consent to shoot. Or, smiling stupidly and shrugging, show the camera as if asking - is it possible? If the problem is not tactlessness, you can use a very strong lens.

And you have to do all this, not really counting on the result. Indeed, there is one unpleasant pattern in photography - the more effort you have spent on a particular photograph, the more valuable it seems to you during the subsequent selection, the psychologically more difficult it is to reject it. So in our reports there are obviously unsuccessful shots that we got at too high a price. So you need to shoot a lot, and select strictly.

Boulder. Photo by Jack Dicking.

“I brought this picture from national park"Jo-shuatree" in Southern California. In anticipation of optimal light conditions, I had to visit here three or four times”

Waterfall Kivach. Karelia. Photo 2006.

Usually there are crowds of tourists scurrying around the waterfall, so it’s not so easy to take a “clean” shot. You have to wait a long time, or even negotiate with the tourists, asking them to “wait a minute”. In such cases, the help of a friend can be very helpful.

Forest mist. Switzerland. Photo by Katherine Ames. 1994

“Especially I like to get into the car and drive, looking for the right kind. Sometimes, exploring a certain area, you have to live for weeks in a car, and I really like this way of life, which allows me to climb into corners untouched by civilization, leaving human paths far behind.”

Island of Sidorov. Karelia. Photo 2007.

In Russia, you will most likely meet virgin nature only in places where it is impossible to reach by car. And vice versa, if you can get to some place by car, then very soon you will find heaps of garbage, plastic bottles and other traces of the stay of the “master of nature”.

News of the world. Yankee Boy River Basin, Colorado. USA. Photo by Ken Duncan.

“I came across a pretty place in the Yankee Boy Basin, but the morning light was too sluggish. The matter was aggravated by the mass of other photographers who joined me and trampled through the fields ... Therefore, I left there, deciding to unwind a little. When I returned to the place I had chosen again, it was dull and cloudy there ... And then it began to rain ... I opened a colorful umbrella and sat down on a folding chair under it ... So two hours passed ... but then the clouds parted, the rays of the sun flashed, and over the field appeared amazing rainbow."

Reflections. Photo by Jack Dicking.

“I walked about five kilometers from the road before I got here; after a hurricane with a downpour, a lake formed in the depression, in the center of which one could see a dried, curved root. I tried to photograph it, but the first time I had no luck with the lighting. I returned to this place for the next two weeks. And then one evening I came here again and got a job in the parking lot. At 4 am, with the sun rising, I was already on my feet - the conditions were great, and the result was this photo”

On the way back

The desired moment arises both after a long acquaintance, and suddenly.

Henri Cartier Bresson

If the photographer only searched, waited and seized the moment, his productivity would be extremely small. In fact, most pictures are taken along the way, or on the way back.

In general, in the piggy bank of every photographer there are photos obtained in two ways. Some have been obtained painstakingly, other by chance. In the first case, the photographer came to the same place day after day, or even year after year, in different seasons and at different times. different time days, waiting for the optimal moment, trying to achieve best result. In the second case - just saw and removed.

However, this kind luck, according to some law of photographic justice, lies in wait mainly for those who often walk the first, painstaking path. Or maybe that’s why we shoot the same thing several times in different days, at different lighting and from different angles to capture your best shots on the way back? Maybe we just didn't see them?

Suppose we found a cool place and filmed it this way and that and that, but everything is not right. “Now, if the pinkish rays of the morning sun shone from that side ... That would be a fairy tale. I'll have to come here early tomorrow." And we get out of the tent at four o'clock in the morning, take a sip of warm tea from a thermos, brewed in the evening and somehow reluctantly head to the place of our choice on the go, rubbing our eyes ... We find our plot exactly as we wanted to see it, slowly do a few personnel, trying to achieve the best composition and we go back ... And on the way back (vision has become sharper), we accidentally take our best shot of something completely different ...

It is not surprising that among photographers (like fishermen) tales are popular about how someone saw something absolutely amazing ... and did NOT take it off (there was no camera, there was no tripod, it was corny not in time).

A photograph is the only result that counts, it is proof, otherwise we would be left endlessly describing ruined photographs that exist only in our own imagination.

Henri Cartier Bresson

Kuzov Archipelago, Karelia. Photo 2005.

Kuzov Archipelago, Karelia. 2005

Sunset on the rocky shore. Sidorov Island, Karelia. 2007

Wind. Pezhostrov, Karelia. Photo 2007.

Self-portrait in profile. Behind (on the right) - a photo backpack, on the stomach - a light meter, on the head a hat, a beard. Sidorov Island, Karelia. Photo 2007.

Flowers and stones at sunset. Pezhostrov, Karelia. 2007

Sand Dune. Photo by Jack Dickinga.

“This image was taken in the eastern Mojave Desert as part of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley project. The light did all the work for me, and I attribute the result to pure chance.”

A subsiding storm over the rock Captain. Yosemite national park, California, USA. Photo by Galen Rowell.

“I stopped near Captain Rock in order to quickly photograph the Cathedral Spiers emerging from the darkness, and took a few shots. As I was about to drive on, I realized that my car was stuck in the snow. I was sitting in the car, cursing my bad luck and waiting for help, and then the clouds parted. The fog over the rock dissipated, the sun came out. I saw an amazing picture I had never seen before.”

The photographs that make up our travel reports are always too episodic and fragmentary to be able to capture the fullness of the impressions of the trip. “This one was not filmed, but from this one there is only one picture, and it does not convey completely ...” - we recall with annoyance, looking through the brought catch.

On the other hand, there are too many of them to show all of them to friends and strangers. We have to choose the best. And then - the best of the best. And after many years to choose from the very best. And if you don't choose, don't sort through, don't arrange by folders, by years, by countries, by genres, then gradually they "die", turn into old trash.

Still, more needs to be done. And you can shoot anything.

So, “we start to be different” or “how to photograph while traveling”.

The first reason all photos look the same is because of the travel itineraries. Tourists are brought to the sights, the group listens attentively (or not very much) to the guide and - what? - that's right, taking pictures. All from the same point.

The guide will most likely be nervous, but in this situation you have only one way to find another point of view - move away from the group. If this is not possible, try changing the shooting point, for example, take pictures from the ground or from outstretched arms. Even this simple technique will allow you to add a bit of surprise to the photo.

Another problem with classic tourist routes is that no one ever thinks about good light when compiling them. As a result, a typical tourist photo is taken under the midday sun. The people in the pictures squint, the shadows are short, everything becomes flat and boring. Of course, with a certain skill, excellent shots can be obtained at noon, but still, the ideal time for photography is morning or evening.

Have you heard of the golden hour? An early rise is fully compensated by the beautiful soft light and wonderful colors - as well as the sunset light. What do you think about night photography? Didn't get a tripod? Eh ... Use pedestals, railings, ground - I assure you, it is quite possible to adapt, do not be afraid of slow shutter speeds!

Another disaster for the tourist photographer is other tourists. Or rather, crowds of tourists. Huge living "snakes" crawling from one attraction to another.

People in the frame - of course - can become a highlight - with their emotions or colorful appearance, but more often hundreds of inquisitive guests spoil the frame. Is there a way out? Certainly! You can come early in the morning, in the desert, or you can put the camera on a tripod and make several takes with the same parameters. There will be something to do on long winter evenings in Photoshop, collecting all these takes in one frame, erasing people ... Didn't take a tripod? Come in the morning!

Fortunately, these problems do not arise in specialized photo tours - there is always the opportunity to look for the best angle, the best point. All routes are thought out from the point of view of photographers. And we always arrive at shooting locations at the ideal time for shooting. I specialize in photo tours to Israel - an amazing country, very photogenic and diverse in terms of shooting opportunities and themes. This is historical Israel, and religious, and modern. Here are deserts, forests, seas, ancient cities and high-tech. But wherever we shoot, the main thing is still the plot of the picture.

Before you press the "start" button - ask yourself - "what the photo is about and what it will tell." Building? Picturesque sunset? Market traders? Let it be main character. Let there be a mood. Let there be your own, personal feeling from the place you have visited. Details, signs, inscriptions, interesting faces- all this will add flavor to your album.

Look for stories, unusual angles, good light and your photos will become interesting not only for you.

You can talk endlessly about shooting while traveling, but I want to remind you of the most important thing - preparing for the trip. Do not be lazy - write a list of the necessary! Flash drives, spare batteries, Charger, a laptop, HDD, a card reader, a polarizing filter - this may be relevant for sunny countries, wipes for cleaning optics - there are no trifles in a photo trip! Even shoes are important - they should be comfortable and better in the amount of two pairs (for a “wet” case).

I sincerely wish you great photos from your trips!

Natalya Marusya Tokareva,

teacher at the photography school "Mamarazzi",

winner of the national award "Photographer of the Year",

member of the Israeli Union of Photographers "Art Photo Group"

Photo tour to Israel in April 2013.

Are you going on a trip? Do you want to visit the most beautiful beaches in Thailand, the Caribbean, etc.? Or maybe you dream of seeing "old" Europe? It doesn't matter where you want to go. It is important when traveling to capture your colorful memories on photographs to show your relatives and friends at home the places you have visited, to convey the atmosphere of these cities.

But it also happens that Photo that you made on a journey, turn out to be fuzzy and faded, uninteresting and flat. Some pictures do not convey those emotions at all, the atmosphere that you would like to convey. And it’s even more offensive when, at the most inopportune moment, your battery runs out. If this has happened to you in your life, then this article is for you. After reading our tips, you will learn how to take high-quality and interesting pictures while traveling. So, let's begin.

Always have your camera ready

When you leave the hotel, look at how much charge is left in the battery and how many frames your flash card will last. Maybe today you will see some unexpected and interesting moment or scene. This often happens.

The most interesting and memorable shots are those that you did not expect. We recommend that you take at least a couple of spare batteries to the camera. It is also not bad if you have several flash cards in stock, or one, but of a large volume. Even better, if you bring a special photo storage device. It's called " Photo bank».

Try to fill the frame with only the subject

Get closer to your subject. Remove everything superfluous from the frame, then the object in the picture will be detailed and accentuated. If you want to take a picture of a person or animal, but in a way that doesn't draw attention to yourself (secretly), use the zoom on your lens. But it is important to note here that the most high quality photos obtained when shooting at close range.

People are best photographed while they are doing something, such as doing some work, talking or just moving around. It's good if they don't notice you. They then behave more naturally. You don’t need people in the photographs with frozen, unnatural faces who are waiting for the “bird to fly out”.

If you're photographing event photos of people, make sure they don't notice you and you don't attract their attention in any way. Otherwise, it is best to ask permission to remove them, since the morals of people different countries may be different from yours, and they may not like the photo session. Very cool turn out pictures of people when they are calmly going about their business, and not staring hard into your lens.

Try to find a uniform, soft and discreet background for the subject. The background should have as few details as possible that distract from the main subject, that is, the background should not be colorful. The viewer's eye should be focused on the subject itself, so the more uniform the background, the better the photo will look.

Try to choose one shooting point to keep unwanted background details out of the frame. If this fails, simply blur the background by opening the aperture wider (choose a small aperture value). Then the object will be selected for blurred background. This technique is called shooting with a small .

How to position your subject in the frame

When composing a shot, try not to place the main subject in the very center of the frame. In such cases, your picture will appear static and boring. You need to slightly shift the subject from the center to the side. This arrangement will give the photo dynamics and expressiveness.

There is such a rule in photography -. It means that you need to mentally divide the image in the viewfinder into three parts horizontally and vertically to get a grid containing 9 square areas. The theory of photography says that the picture will be more balanced and will make a strong impression on the viewer if important subjects are placed at the intersection points or along the lines of this imaginary grid.

Studies have been carried out that have established one very important feature of our vision - the human eye involuntarily chooses one of the points of intersection of the lines of this grid, and not the center of the image. That's what it is . Therefore, you should try to place all the important subjects on which you want to focus the viewer's attention at the intersection points of these lines. And if you are shooting a landscape, then the horizon line must be placed on one of these horizontal lines.

Optimal object illumination

Always choose the best lighting for your subject. This is very important for your photos to be sharp, clear and beautiful. To do this, a sufficient amount of light must fall on the camera's matrix.

The best shooting conditions are daylight afternoon ( sunlight). If it is overcast, twilight, or not light enough (for example, indoors), turn on all possible lighting and, if necessary, use a flash. At shooting with flash the distance to the subject should not exceed the flash range of your camera.

Built-in flash range ranges from 1 to 6 meters depending on your camera model. Check the flash range in your camera manual. If possible, do not use flash. The fact is that when shooting with a flash, photos are unnatural and less beautiful. Of the two options, or take a picture from hand, but with a flash, or without a flash, but from a tripod, choose the second option.

Each genre and subject of shooting is suitable for certain lighting. You can use a shadow pattern while shooting. Experiment more often with different light sources - these can be lanterns, incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, as well as candles or natural light from the sun or moon. By diversifying your experience, you will get very interesting and fascinating pictures.

exposure compensation

If you filming in the evening on the camera's automatic mode, that is, there is a chance of getting a too bright frame. If you want to convey evening lighting, adjust the exposure by one or two stops. When shooting a subject white color such as a person wearing white clothes or a white car, we recommend that you add 1-2 f-stops (approximately +1.5 EV).

If you taking pictures on cloudy days, the picture may come out gray and dull. To avoid this, make an exposure compensation of +0.5 - +1.5 EV. You can take several photos with different exposures and choose the best one. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Common mistakes when shooting while traveling

Many people, while on vacation, do not attach much importance to the composition and quality of the resulting images. “There is not enough time, they filmed it, just to have time to film it, but we’ll figure it out at home,” they think so. This is a big mistake because rush – main enemy photographer.

Most common mistakes such “unfortunate photographers” are “soapy” photos, a littered horizon and incorrect placement of an object in the frame.

"Soapy" frames(fuzzy shots) are obtained when the camera moves during shooting. Even if you are shooting completely still subjects, blurring in photographs may result from hand shake when shooting. Such jitter will have a greater effect when shooting at a large focus and a small field of view.

According to the rule, if you are shooting handheld, then the maximum possible shutter speed that will not allow “stirring” is equal to the reverse focal length in millimeters. For example, if you shoot at a focus of 300 mm, you need to set the shutter speed to 1/500 or 1/1000. IN last resort, you can try to shoot at a shutter speed of 1/250 second. But 1/125 is already unacceptable.

What to do to avoid camera shake? Place the camera in a stationary position, such as on a table, step, or other rigid object. But it's best to use a tripod for this. If you are the lucky owner of a SLR camera, you can choose a small travel tripod, and if you have a small digital compact camera, then you can get by with a desktop, portable tripod. Its size and weight will not burden you too much.

littered horizon

If the horizon in a photo is tilted to the side, it will not beautify your picture, so you can fix it in Photoshop. But then you have to sacrifice the edge of the frame. It's best to follow the right horizontal arrangement camera initially at the time of shooting.

Make sure the horizon is level. If your camera has this option, turn on the grid of thirds. It will help you orient yourself on a horizontal plane. If the camera does not have such a function, but focus points are displayed in the viewfinder, you can navigate by horizontal symmetrical points.

frame border

Watch the borders of the frame carefully. It happens that vertical objects (trees, full-length people, tall buildings, towers) do not fall entirely into the horizontal frame. Then turn the camera so that the frame becomes vertical, make sure that the subject is not cut off at the edges and fits into the frame entirely. Use your camera's zoom to zoom in or out on an object in the frame. If there is no zoom, you can move closer or move further away from the subject.

Of course, there are times when you don't want the subject to fit completely into the frame. You can take a picture of a part of an object, a fragment of a building, and so on. It all depends on your idea. Perhaps it is a single fragment that is of greater interest than the entire object as a whole. Do not allow empty space in the frame, avoid unnecessary and foreign objects around the main subject. If it is not possible to fit the entire object into the frame and there is nowhere to move away, you can take several overlapping frames, which can be easily glued together in a graphics editor at home to get a panorama.

And the most important thing. Take more pictures. The more time you spend Photo the faster you become experienced photographer, and your pictures will be more interesting and better. Good luck with your pictures!