Comments on: My Tips for Taking a Vacation as a Photographer

By: yogendra

yogendra — Tue, 18 May 2010 08:57:55 +0000

Also… mostly you are going with the family.. in which case you may take a great snap and end up sleeping on the hotel sofa!!

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:41:08 +0000

I think communication is the key.
On my last vacation I had my DSLR with me all the time. Everything else would have given my wife a reason to give me a speech.
I made some photos (until wife and daughter got bored too much)
and took lots of snapshots (Everything else would have given my wife a reason to give me a speech, like having no pictures of our daughter or of beautiful places is a crime...).
BUT there was one day for my wife to do whatever she wanted and me caring for food (selfcooking) and daughter (2 years, first time at the sea)
and one day was for me to do whatever i wanted. 900 DSLR-clicks and 2 1/2 rolls of 35mm film later I saw my family again. Broke and repaired my tripod in the field, waited 5 Minutes for the rigth waves, made photographs for some panos ord hdrs, wandered 5 hours all around the island of Norderney, well clearly a photography related day.

No stress (but the wrong light), because all the possible problems were out of the way by asking my family for the time and getting it. This is much better than simply taking the time or regretting not to have the time.
BTW, I took the last day for photographing. Whenever I saw something that needed a good picture made I added it to my list.

By: Sara Rosso

Sara Rosso — Sun, 09 May 2010 14:14:47 +0000

I think a good one to add is “Check the weather forecast” – I spent a weekend in London recently, and though the weather usually isn't stellar, it was rainy *and* very windy which meant I could barely hold an umbrella much less a DSLR and think about changing lenses, etc. I ended up ditching the camera most of the weekend and enjoying myself with no thoughts about photos. If I had planned differently, I might have brought a different camera / lens / bag so I take a few shots in bad weather or perhaps foregone that extra weight in my carry-on altogether.

By: Charles Jones

Charles Jones — Sat, 08 May 2010 12:36:29 +0000

I always ask my spouse, or the people I am traveling with, what is important to them about the trip. Then I do not plan on any pictures at that time.

By: Tweets that mention My Tips for Taking a Vacation as a Photographer | iffles.com -- Topsy.com

Fri, 07 May 2010 08:15:23 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Rodrigo Guerreiro. Rodrigo Guerreiro said: [liked] My Tips for Taking a Vacation as a Photographer: A photo from my most recent trip. f/11; 1/320 sec; 28mm;… http://bit.ly/ce3uUX [...]

By: Todd Eddy

Todd Eddy — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:29:27 +0000

I've heard a lot of people like the micro 4/3rds cameras that are coming out now as point and shoot on steroids. Relatively compact but you still get a larger sensor than a point and shoot.

When I went to japan a few years ago I planned on taking pictures but it indeed sorta backfired. At this time I didn't yet get into the mindset of less is more. The image gallery has hundreds of pictures a day. Are they all interesting? not at all. In fact it's still unfinished because I realized I need to just start from scratch and pick only the good images and keep the rest around in my computer. Back then I either categorized as "posted [online]" and deleted. If I didn't delete it then I'd post it. Since then I've grown to realize there are definitely a lot of images that are worth saving but not necessarily merit posting out to the world.

I plan on going to Japan again, solo, with the primary goal of photography. And if I go by myself I don't have to worry about holding anyone back if I want to take a picture :)

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:12:45 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts on balancing photography with regular life. Hopefully your man understands about the stuff that drives you and gives you passion. I like the idea of having specific times planned to shoot.

I've been reading National Geographic Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography. It is geared toward an amateur shooter wanting to be more like a pro. It has great tips like “tell a story” and “photograph people in places not just in front of places”, and as you pointed out, plan your shoots. I'm not a travel photographer, but these are great tips for a photowalk or everyday shooting.

By: Fajar

Fajar — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:41:39 +0000

I'm not sure about your third tips.

The moment I leave my camera home, all I can see is a great photo op. Its hard to enjoy myself that way :)

Usually I would just grab a snapshot with my phone camera and force myself to come back there sometime later to get the shot.

By: shotslot

shotslot — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:28:44 +0000

Nice post iffles and all so true, on my last trip I found myself really struggling between wanting to go and do holiday stuff (bars, beaches etc) and wanting to hang around watching the light – better planning would probably have served me well. I didn't know about the places page – I'll check it out.

And what is it with that guilt thing when you're with out with a camera and other people? I always get that!