Welcome readers to my first blog

Travel Photography

As I have already specified that this is my first blog so, the topic that I have chosen is Travel Photography. So let's get started.....

Travel photography is a genre of photography that may involve the documentation of an area's landscape, people, cultures, customs and history. Photographing while travelling covers such a wide variety of subjects in wildly different circumstances.

You can literally go anywhere in the world and take photographs. And if you use a few basic compositional rules, you are halfway there. Every different country, every different culture will offer you something different. Be it landscape, food or architecture. Think about what you are interested in.

Travel photography is not about your camera. It isn’t even about where you are. It is about the stories you tell with your captured images. The way you take these stunning images is through research. Researching your location will let you know what is available to photograph. And the best time to capture it. Going deep into a culture lets you see all of its inner workings. This lets you experience foods and areas that tourists are not privy to.

A travel photographer gets a chance to experience places, people, and cultures while doing photography. You will travel to lots of places and capture them through your camera. It is the feeling of a time and place. Some images remain timeless, others reflect the moment in which it was taken, portraying the land and its people. Many travel photographers specialize in a particular aspect of photography such as travel portraits, landscape or documentary photography as well as shooting all aspects of travel. And one tries to bring the viewer to the same experience through the photographs. However, choosing to combine a life of wanderlust with your profession has its own set of challenges.

Everyone’s idea of travel is different. Some go away for the weekend; others plan a trip in a very short period of time. If you are the road trip kind then you’ll need to figure out how to get around (maybe by car, a rental or even hitch-hiking) and next is the route.

As a travel photographer, you’ll be constantly moving around. A heavy backpack full of equipment will get tiring so don’t take anything you might not use. It is a waste of space. Learning how to capture travel photography with minimal equipment is a blessing. That way, you’ll enjoy your journey much more.

Travel photography is going to require you to stay on your toes and keeping your eyes open. It’s a wide world out there, with ever-changing landscapes and scenarios.

Your photography style separates you from every other travel photographer. Believe me, there are thousands who fit into this category. Finding your style will take time and practice. It isn’t something you can develop overnight. There are many areas that your photography style will form. Perhaps you use the same specific mood or feel or concentrate on the same color range. If someone recognizes your images without seeing your name on it, you’re on the right path.

Now you know how to pack and planned your road trip, there are a few other things to look at. How are you going to capture all these places you encounter? One of the tips suggests not being afraid of photographing people. People are key here. They have the potential to give your viewers a sense of their culture, and therefore, their location.

You can be a travel photographer without fancy locations and a huge kit bag. It might be a well deserved holiday you decide to capture a few shots. Even then, your photography will look much better with a few tips behind them like choosing the right spot to photograph.

The only way to discover the rhythm of life in a place is to get out there and figure out what to shoot, is to experience it. Make time for photography. Like doing anything well, making good photographs requires a commitment of time and energy. Getting closer and closer, trying different angles, wait for the light, wait for the crowd, wait for a bird to land on the tree branch. Never be in a hurry to get somewhere else. Tell yourself that nothing is more important than getting the best you can get out of the situation you are in. Never be satisfied with your first view of a place or the first frame you snap. It's always possible—and usually likely—that you can come up with. Once you've exhausted every possibility you can think of, you can start working on the next one.

Besides availing yourself of more opportunities, time spent discovering the place will enrich your experience. Travel photography blogs serve as great inspiration for us photographers out there. You can see what other people are up to. Not only do they show what is possible in other locations. They also show you, almost real-time, where that specific photographer is.

-by MANSI