Taking pictures on travel is an important way to capture and share memories. Whether you own a camera or a phone, have vast amounts of photography knowledge, or a limited amount, these essential travel photography tips will help you capture the perfect shot.

Tell a story with your picture

The priceless pictures are often the ones that tell a good, strong story. Think about it being like a novel captured in the picture. Who is the main character? What is the world your character lives in, and what is he or she doing?

The picture above is one I took in New York City on Liberty Island. (I was almost afraid that I wouldn’t be able to capture it…but my seagull friend was great at posing.) The seagull is the main subject, and the environment around it adds to the story.

Capture the mood

How does the scene make you feel? Happy? Sad? Nostalgic? Creeped out? If you know how the setting makes you feel, then you can think more about how to capture that emotion in the photograph. Before I shot the above picture, the sky gave me dreamy vibes, and the twinkle lights added to the dreamy effect. With that impression in mind, I set about to take the picture, making sure that I captured the feeling the scene gave me.

Take LOTS of shots for a single scene

Taking way more shots than you think you need will allow you to choose the best one later on when you edit them. Taking more pictures increases your chances of capturing the perfect shot. You don’t need to take hundreds of pictures (that can be a pain to look over later, trust me), but take at least ten, from as many angles as you can think of.

Don’t be scared to look like a tourist!

Whenever I go travelling, I can’t help but think that everything I do screams “TOURIST,” and that the locals are silently judging me. (Which they probably are.) In the past, this has caused me to be shy and not take out my camera to shoot pictures. But the thing is, you are a tourist. Embrace it. Don’t let your fear of looking silly get in the way of taking that golden shot.

Ask Someone Else to Take Your Picture

If you’re travelling alone, don’t be shy to ask someone to take your picture. (After all, selfies can only go so far.) Most of the time, the stranger will say yes. And trust me, it’s not weird to ask. Everybody does it.