Mojo Active Adventures
Photo Credit: CatMax Photography

Summer is here and, for many of us, that means vacations are, too. As a professional photographer, I love looking back on my own vacation photos and seeing the images my friends, family, and clients share of their trips on social media. Since I know many of you will reach for your phone (aka camera) a lot more in the near future, I wanted to provide tips to take your travel photos to the next level and avoid a few common mistakes I see.

Don’t Fret About Camera Quality

As the saying goes, “The best camera is the one you have in your pocket.” It’s OK if you don’t have the latest iPhone or souped-up Samsung. Work with what you’ve got. It’s better to take a photo with a lower quality camera and capture the memory, than not take the photo at all.

Remember the Basics

Even the nicest lens is susceptible to blurriness from fingerprints or being in your pocket all day. Before you snap a photo, grab a corner of your shirt (or something similar you have handy), and give your lens a quick wipe just to be safe.

Another important basic is to make sure your camera is in focus. As in, what you’re trying to show should appear crisp and clear on the screen, not fuzzy. Tapping on your screen when your camera is open should allow you to adjust the focus. In your photo settings, you can also likely choose to blur the background to further highlight your subject.

Prioritize Composition

Once you know what you want to showcase in your photo, think about the composition. Imagine two lines are going across your lens vertically, and then two lines also going across it horizontally. You want to line up your subject so that it falls somewhere within a third, like the top left corner or the bottom right corner. You can even put the subject in the center, but for example, in the top on the third row. Placing your subject in one of the thirds creates visual interest and helps the viewer’s eyes move around the photo.

Play with Your Phone Camera Settings

You probably already know that the camera on the average smartphone is quite robust. Another setting I tell people they may want to tweak when taking a photo with their smartphone is brightness. Often, you can tap the screen while the camera is open and a slider for adjusting the brightness pops up. You’ll want to adjust the brightness in scenarios where there is extreme lighting, and you need to balance it so parts of the picture aren’t washed out or completely dark.

Lindsey Roberts in Puerto Rico
Photo Credit: CatMax Photography

Show Personality

If you’re having a ton of fun on your vacation, you want your pictures to reflect that. This is the time to be goofy and laid back in your photos. There’s no pressure to strike a pose. If you feel like jumping up and getting a photo of you in midair, do it. Want to stick out your tongue? Go for it!

If you do want to pose, be sure to pick an angle and position yourself in a way that you find flattering and that doesn’t make a part of your body you’re insecure about the main focal point. If you’re taking a group photo, aim to position the group in a triangle.

Use Apps

Once you’ve taken your photos, consider using a photo editing app to polish them up. You can even turn to some apps to get hard copies of your images. My go-to apps include:

• Facetune for removing blemishes and softening the face.

• Lightleap for replacing an unattractive or blown-out sky with a pretty one.

• Mixtiles for ordering framed hard copies of your photos to display around your home.

There you have it, my top tips for taking fabulous vacation photos. Leave a comment letting me know how they worked out for you. Don’t forget to follow @catmaxphoto on Instagram to see photos from my travels and behind-the-scenes images from client shoots.