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Frommers.com Podcast: How to Take Better Vacation PhotosDo your vacation photos look like more like mugshots and mistakes than portraits and landscapes? Find out how to make your pictures as interesting as your trip. By The Frommer's Staff December 12, 2007
Professional photographer and author of Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop, Erin Manning, joins host Kelly Regan to talk about digital travel photography and offer advice on educating your "design eye" to take better photos. Learn some basic rules of composition, how to work with and manipulate light, outsmart nighttime shots, and other tricks and practical tips for taking better vacation photos with your digital camera. To listen this episode, click the "play" button on the MP3 player below. To download this episode to your hard drive, click here. To listen to previous episodes or to subscribe, visit www.frommers.com/podcast/.
Kelly Regan: Hi, and welcome to another conversation about things travel. I'm Kelly Regan, editorial director of the Frommer's Travel Guides. I'll be your host. Erin Manning: Thank you. Thanks very much! It's great to be on the show. Kelly: I want to start out by talking about your photo-taking philosophy for a bit. One of the reasons I was excited to talk to you today is that [laughs] I do a lot of traveling, but I'm a profoundly boring photographer. I take pictures while I'm there and I'm really excited about them. Then I get back and I look at them and what I see is [laughing.] old building, old building, me next to an old building, empty beach, me on the empty beach [laughs] you know. Erin: Yes. There are quite a few things you can do. I know sometimes it can be overwhelming when you're on location somewhere. You're on vacation and there are so many things that you're looking at all at once. What do I take a picture of? How do I take a picture of it? Kelly: Right. Erin: It's all different angles and shots all edited together. That's what our mind's eye wants to see. Kelly: OK like what? Erin: First off, a really easy one to think about is the rule of thirds. Kelly: OK... Erin: Not only when you're shooting a building or some inanimate object, but also people. Don't always place everything right in the middle of the frame. Think about placing it a little off center. Because what you want to do is visually divide your scene into a tic-tac-toe board. That's dividing it into thirds. Then you place something of interest at one or more of those intersections, and your photograph is just going to be much more dynamic and compelling. Kelly: Right. And sort of less like a mug shot. Erin: Yes, less like a mug shot. If you're taking a picture of a person, driver's licenses and passports are great for plunked right in the middle. But do something more interesting especially if you're on location with other people. Kelly: Yeah. It's kind of a recurring theme that will pop up as people are going through the photos. Erin: Yeah. Kelly: Oh that's great. That's a great idea. Erin: Those are all great questions. First off, light is what photography is really all about. Once you learn to how read light, you are just going to take off. Things are going to... it's like opening up a whole new language. Kelly: Or reflection in the water. Erin: Right. If you look at magazines and books and start thinking, "hmm, did they shoot this right before the sun set? Or did they shoot it very early in the morning?" The answer probably at least 70% of the time is yes. Those are the most beautiful times to shoot. It really is. It just makes people look fantastic. Kelly: I hear you! Right. Erin: Yeah. So maybe you want to take it easy and have fun. Maybe you're out seeing an important monument and it's high noon. What do you do? Kelly: You don't get those harsh shadows that you were talking about. Erin: Right. Exactly. Let's say there's no open shade, you can't shoot in the afternoon, and you can't shoot in the early morning. It's just blasting sunlight. [laughter] Here's what you do: you can turn on the flash on your camera. Kelly: Oh! Erin: This is why you need to understand how to control the flash on your camera. Oftentimes people need to know how to set their camera to "program" or "manual" if they have a compact point-and-shoot camera. Turn on the forced flash. You just press that little lightening bolt icon on the back of the camera and cycle through your different flash options. The icon will appear right on your LCD screen. Kelly: OK. Yeah, that wouldn't have occurred to me to use a flash in broad daylight, but that's a great idea. Erin: You know what; I should talk to you too about manipulating the light. You asked that. Reflecting light into shadows is a great thing to do too. Professional photographers use reflectors to bounce sunlight or studio light back in to their subject's face to fill in those dark shadows and corners. Maybe you're out and about and you're not bringing a professional reflector with you. Kelly: Well, it's pretty flat. It's pretty lightweight. Erin: You can hold that. I've taken macro shots, you know close up shots of flowers, and I've used that as diffusion between the sun and the flower. It really makes it look beautiful. Kelly: Oh. How pretty! Erin: And, no one has to know what, what you're using to diffuse it, but you can. Kelly: Yeah. Exactly, exactly. OK, well, those are great tips. To transition from shooting in kind of broad daylight to shooting at nighttime - I know people can find shooting at night to be very tricky. So, are there things that people can do to ensure that there's some depth and some ambient light to the shot? Because I know for me, to my untrained auto-focus-prone photo-taking abilities, I find that the pictures often bleach out the person or the subject that's right in front because the flash just kind of - bouncing off of them. And, then the background becomes very dark. Erin: Right. Yes. There are so many party pictures like that. It's like here are all these really blasted out people in the shot. And, where were they? - Because we can't see anything. Kelly: Yeah. Erin: You know, or you're at this beautiful party with candlelight and, and lights in the background. And, the host has made a big effort to make it look beautiful. And, you come back with all of these pictures that look just like what you were saying. So, yes. I have felt your pain, and other people do too. Kelly: Yeah. It feels kind of Blair Witch Project, you know? With the flashlight - like AAH! Erin: Yes. Well, that's what's great about the digital cameras now. If you're unsure how to use it, you can always start off in the Automatic Mode and you can take some OK shots. But, the problem is that you're not going to be able to control it in certain situations and get the great shots. Kelly: Oh. Right, right, right. Erin: If you turn it to that, the camera is going to use its lower shutter speed which picks up ambient light in the area, yet it will still flash. It creates some really interesting effects. You have to be careful if people are moving a lot. Or, if you're shooting moving subjects, you might get a little more blur than usual. But, sometimes, it makes for a really interesting effect. Kelly: Yeah. I mean, I think those are, are great ideas. And, I think again, it's about people just kind of understanding all of the different options that are available to them. Certainly now, that so many people have digital cameras. There are so many different ways to configure the, the settings before you actually do the shot. Erin: Yes you're right. And, they're trying - the manufacturers are trying to make it easier and easier for everyone, so you don't have to bring the manual with you to figure it out. There's just a couple of buttons to press or just go to your menu. You can just cycle through that thing. Kelly: Yeah. Erin: It's like rummaging through your sock drawer, but eventually you find what you need. Kelly: Yeah, exactly. Do you have any suggestions - I mean, one thing that often happens when you're traveling is you often see, or I often see, you know, people who take beautiful portraits, but also, as you say, candid photos of people who they encounter on their travels - someone that they see on the street or you know a woman selling wares at a market or something. Erin: Right. That's often an issue. And, when you're traveling and you see someone very interesting and you want to take a picture of them, you don't want to just steal the photo, so to speak. You want to be respectful of people. And, especially if they're, you're close-up and they're noticing you, is... Kelly: Exactly. Erin: ...you're doing a one-on-one portrait. It's important to ask them, even if you don't know the language. You know, a couple of hand gestures, head nods... Kelly: Right. Erin: ...smile, laugh. They'll figure out what it is that you're intending. And, often times, they're quite happy to let you take their picture. Or maybe, offer to send it to them in email. Or sometimes, in some instances, a, a couple of dollars or whatever the local currency is - sometimes helps. It just depends on where you're at. Kelly: Yeah. Erin: But, always, always my motto is - be respectful of, of other people and life is going to be a lot nicer... Kelly: Yeah, yeah. Erin: ...when you photograph. Kelly: Yeah, yeah. Erin: But, then if you, let's say - OK. So, you've asked this person and they say it's OK to take their photo. You need to have kind of a little conversation. And again, even if you don't know the language - laughing, kind of moving around get them, getting them to give you some kind of reaction, if that's the look you want. Kelly: Right. Erin: Other times, maybe, it's just a very still, soulful look. It really depends. But, then again, having a conversation, and also having them do something. Kelly: Right. Erin: Have them - if they're sitting by the side of the road and they're, they're sewing up a blanket or whatever they're doing - have them keep doing it. And, as they are involved in whatever they're doing, you can capture some real authentic moments. Kelly: OK, yeah, I mean, it's hard. I think people - the tendency for most people is that when you say, Can I take your picture? They want to pose and they want to smile and they want to get very kind of stiff and formal. And, the idea is to kind of move away from that... Erin: Take your picture. Kelly: ...and, to get and to capture something that, that you've kind of stumbled upon as opposed to, like, something that feels very staged. Erin: Right. You don't want something forced. Stay away from the Cheese pictures because those are so boring. And it - and it really puts a veneer over the personality of the, the person... Kelly: Exactly. Erin: ...that you're trying to photograph. That's not what you want. You don't want the Cheese! Look you want something that's really... Kelly: Natural. Erin: ...emoting. Yeah, very natural. So, as you're just talking to them, sometimes they're not even aware that you are still taking the photograph. You're having a conversation and life happens right in front of your lens. Kelly: Right. I mean, and, another thing to, to - for travelers to keep in mind is that in some cultures taking photos or taking photos of certain events is considered disrespectful or sort of wrong. And, so that's another reason to always ask first, as you said, as much as you're able - with kind of hand gestures, and maybe a few common - commonly understood words, so... Erin: Absolutely. Yes. Kelly: Yeah. Erin: And, you know, a lot of times there might be a guidebook for that area that will give you that information. Like - at this festival, they will jump up and down on your camera if you bring it out of your bag. Kelly: Yeah. Erin: So, you want to make sure that you're following local customs and not upsetting anyone. Kelly: Or, if it's a religious ceremony, you know, it can be it can be very distracting and disrespectful to, to try and take pictures and have a flash going off while there's this very kind of holy event taking place, so... Erin: Yeah. Kelly: ...it's always good to just - it's always good to, to kind of ask around and, and to just make sure that you're doing this in the, in the right circumstances, so... Erin: That's right. And, and, on that note, too, in most instances, when you're inside someplace, say, at a museum, if you're traveling or whatever - you do need to turn off your flash. If you turn off your flash, it might still be too dark. So, what you need to do is raise your ISO. That's just basically... Kelly: OK. Erin: It's like film speed, but raising your camera's sensitivity to the light. Kelly: OK. OK. Erin: So, yes - flash can be disrespectful in a lot of situations. Kelly: Yeah, yeah. Definitely. And, while we're talking about sort of capturing these moments of spontaneity - I mean, do you have any tips for taking live action shots, for capturing motion in activities without it turning into just kind of a blur? I mean I imagine, obviously, that the speed will have to increase, as well, in this situation. Erin: Yes. There's some simple ways to do it. If you have a compact Point-and-Shoot camera, they have an option in there for Sport. If it's on your Mode dial, it's like the little running man within your menu. It's either called Sport, or sometimes they call it Kids and Pets. Kelly: Right. Erin: ...unlike the slow shutter speed before when we were picking up light in the background - a fast shutter speed is going to capture that action. And, if someone is moving or running by you, try following the action with the camera, put your... Kelly: OK. Erin: ...your eye up to the viewfinder or look through the viewfinder, if you have an LCD in the back of your camera. Follow it. Hold your shutter button halfway down. And, then when the moment happens that you want to capture, press the shutter button the rest of the way and it will quickly take the picture. Kelly: Right. And, that'll - allows you - that allows you to keep auto-focused, so you don't have to wait for that focus moment. Yeah. Erin: That's right. That's often times why people encounter shutter lag with digital cameras is because if you press the shutter button in all - one fell swoop - it has to, like, Who... Kelly: Yeah. Erin: ...adjust to the exposure and the focus and all that. And, it takes it maybe a little extra time. But, if you press the shutter button halfway down and you're ready - that's going to lock in the exposure and the focus... Kelly: Right. Erin: ...and, the area you think you want to capture the shot. Kelly: Right. That makes a lot of sense. In terms of live action shots, outdoor shots, community shots - there's also this notion of taking group shots. Either, you know, you might be at a festival, as you mentioned. Or, you know, you might be traveling with, with a family - a family reunion or something. Erin: Right. Kelly: ...just like this amorphous kind of blob. Erin: Yes. If you're going to photograph a group, the more people you add to the picture, the more variables you will have, and the more direction you will need to give them. That can be difficult, because when everyone thinks: "oh, we have to line up like you're saying", it can look very stiff and staged. Erin: You need to be talking to all of them. Get them all in a group. Make sure that they're paying attention, and that they're looking at the lens, because that's the kind of picture you want. Kelly: Right. Erin: Here's another automatic setting on your camera. It's on compact cameras. It's also on digital SLRs. That's where you set it on landscape, or infinity mode. Kelly: OK, that's great to know. Again, it's: "know your camera, and know the settings". Erin: Yeah, the reflections and everything. First off, it's a good idea to turn off the flash. Know your flash settings, because as soon as you flash, it's just going to reflect right off that glass. Kelly: Wow, look at that. Erin: Yeah. That's one way to do it. Depending on the window that you're trying to get a picture of, you want to stand off to the side and not shoot directly into the window. Kelly: Yeah, as you were saying before, increase the ISO. Erin: That can be a really personal choice. A lot of people might not want to carry a digital SLR around with them everywhere they go. They would prefer to have a pocket camera. Kelly: [laughing] You're not getting that close to the elephants. Erin: That's right. Exactly. Think about it. So you want to get a camera you can really zoom in with. Get, at least, a 6x optical zoom, or more. There are some smaller compact cameras now that are increasing their optical zoom ability. It makes it easy for us to take great photographs. Kelly: I was just going to say that, actually. Erin: Unlike the digital SLRs, with the interchangeable lenses, compact cameras have a video mode. Maybe you're in a little situation, and you want to get a little video. How easy is that to do? Kelly: Yeah, exactly. And if your memory card in the camera is large enough, you can take video, and you can take a good number of pictures, and they can live there together, if you're not traveling with a laptop or a flash-drive and are unable to offload a lot of the images that you're storing on the camera. Erin: Exactly. Buy lots of memory. Have at least a one-gigabyte card in your camera. Kelly: Right. And you can just pop one out and pop the other one in, if you happen to run out of space. Erin: Exactly. And there are other devices you can bring with you, too, if you're concerned about that. Kelly: OK. That's great to know. Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today. I could ask you a lot more questions. Kelly: I'm excited to take my next trip so I can take better pictures. Erin: Great. Wonderful. Kelly: All my family will be so excited to have something a little more interesting to look at from now on. Erin: Oh, yes. They'll all want to see your slide shows and your scrapbook after this, believe me. Kelly: Exactly. My guest today has been Erin Manning, who is the author of the book, "Portrait and Candid Photography: Photo Workshop". Erin, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. Our conversation was a lot of fun. Erin: Thank you. It's been fun. Kelly: Join us next week for another conversation about "All Things Travel". I am Kelly Regan, and we will talk again soon. Announcer: For more information on planning your trip, or to hear about the latest travel news and deals, visit us on the web at www.frommers.com, and be sure to email us at editor@frommers.com with any comments, or suggestions. This has been a production of Wiley Publishing, and may not be reused or rebroadcast without express, written consent.
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Frommers.com Podcast: How to Take Better Vacation Photos