Take Better Vacation Photos
Lessons Learned From Decades of Travel
(And Expert Tips From a Professional)
By Kristina Coleman, Journey Luxe Travel
After a kind stranger took a photo of me with the tower cut off, I asked someone else and made sure to request the whole tower this time. A small tilt of the camera made for a much better photo.
We have all seen it happen. Someone stands in front of the Eiffel Tower, hands their phone to a stranger and smiles, only to discover later that the photo includes plenty of pavement, the person, and none of the top of the tower. Ugh. That might be my absolute pet peeve, and it plays out on nearly every trip.
I am not a professional photographer, but I am obsessed with capturing the look and feel of every journey. Hoping to take our vacation photos up a notch, I sat down with professional photographer and Westhaven resident Evin Krehbiel for some real tips on how to do it better. Here is what she taught me, plus a few tricks I picked up through trial and error across 42 countries.
Notice the Light First
Before Evin thinks about a subject or a landmark, she thinks about light.
Her rule of thumb: for portraits, look for soft light. Indoors, that means near a window. Outdoors, it means open shade, the soft light created by an overhang or a building. Position your subject with the sun to the side or behind them rather than facing straight into it, so no one is squinting or has hard shadows under their eyes.
Julia Coleman, unposed and having the time of her life on Lisbon's cable car.
For landscapes and architecture, the opposite is true. Bright light and harsher shadows help define the lines and texture of a place. If the light is not cooperating, change your position rather than giving up on the shot: cross the street, turn your subject, or use a building to block the harshest sun.
Sangria in Portugal: the kind of detail shot that brings a whole trip's flavor back in one glance.
Frame It Before You Hand Over Your Phone
This is the fix for the classic headless Eiffel Tower photo. Before you hand your phone to a stranger, frame the shot yourself first. Hold the phone up and show them exactly what you are picturing, something as simple as "would you mind taking it like this?" Ask for a few frames, not just one, and do not be shy about asking a second passerby if the first shot does not work out.
Move Your Feet, Not Just Your Zoom
The more you zoom, the lower the image quality becomes. Move your feet and get closer instead. If you truly cannot move closer, take the photo without zooming much and crop it afterward. You will keep far more detail that way.
Don't Let the Camera Run the Trip
Evin's advice here is admittedly hard for me, but she is right: "Don't wear your people out with pictures," she said. "You do not need a posed shot in every spot. Aim for one posed photo a day, and let the rest be candid."
When it comes to getting kids to smile, less is more. Do not over-ask. "I tell my own teenagers that the faster they smile, the faster we are done," said Evin, whose work can be found at EvinPhotography.com. "But I try to honor that and not let picture-taking take over the moment."
Some of the best images come from staying present, trusting that the sounds and smells of a place matter as much as the photo itself. Unless you are on a photo trek, any safari guide will tell you that the guests who spend the whole game drive behind a lens miss the point of being there at all. If you just wanted the picture, you could have stayed home and looked it up. (Again, this is hard for me because I want the picture AND the experience. But I'm learning not to miss seeing the most important moments with my eyes!)
The goal was never to turn every vacation moment into a professional shoot. It is simply to slow down long enough to preserve the places, the people, and a trip well enjoyed. And please, before you walk away from the Eiffel Tower, check that you got the top.
More Tips for Great Vacation Photos
Scan the whole screen before you shoot. Look for trash cans, tree branches, or anything else that distracts from the photo's focus.
Give the landmark room to breathe. Add distance between your subject and the background so the architecture becomes part of the composition, not just a backdrop.
Shoot both vertically and horizontally. Vertically for tall landmarks and social media, horizontally for landscapes and photo books.
Clean your lens. A hazy sunset photo is usually just a dirty lens.
Take more than one shot, especially of groups. Someone always blinks. The best photo is often the one taken a second before or after the "official" one.
Photograph the details, not just the sights. The café table, the colorful doorway, the view from your hotel window bring a trip back to life years later.
Edit lightly. Straighten the horizon, crop distractions, adjust brightness. The best edits are subtle.
Print something. Make a photo book, hang them on the fridge, or frame them. The best vacation photos should be enjoyed again and again!
Kristina Coleman is a travel advisor and owner of Westhaven-based Journey Luxe Travel.
