Hi and welcome to Episode 82 of the Photography Explained podcast.
I’m your host Rick, and in each episode I will try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 10 minutes (ish) without the irrelevant details. What I tell you is based on my lifetime of photographic experience. And not Google.
Before I go on if you have a question you would like me to answer just go to photographyexplainedpodcast.com/start
Here is the answery bit
You need the following skills to be a travel photographer
- Adventurous
- Interested in travel
- Understand local cultures
- Respect local traditions
- A great communicator
- Good at planning
- Good at preparation
- Good at research
- Even better at wandering around
- Patient
- Confident
- Happy on your own
- Technically excellent at taking photos
- Be the king of composition
- See the wider picture
- But also the details
- Ready at all times
- Equipped with the right gear
- And know how to use it
- Have great workflows
OK, that’s the list. Blimey! Let’s look at each one quickly. And before I do you might not have expected this list. Photography is so much more than taking photos, it is much more about how you get to the point of taking the photo.
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!
1 Adventurous
Travel photography is an aspirational genre of photography. People who look at travel photography often aspire to be there. So you need to be adventurous, not a stick in the mud. There is a mindset that you need for travel photography which I call adventurous.
2 Interested in travel
I always say that you take better photos of things if you are interested in them. I love taking photos of buildings, nice places, and buildings in nice places. This is what I love to do, and this is what I am best at doing. And this is no coincidence.
3 Understand local cultures
You need to understand the local cultures, and be aware of and respect their beliefs, traditions, standards, and values which might not be the same as yours (or mine).
4 Respect local traditions
A very simple example. Check the dress requirements before you go into that temple. Don’t turn up in shorts if that is not acceptable. And if you do and have got it wrong calmly walk away, sort out the issues and humbly return.
5 A great communicator
You need to be able to talk to people from different walks of life, social standing, and positions of authority. And you have to treat them all as equals and with respect.
6 Good at planning
You need to know what you are going to photograph, which needs some planning skills. Now I have learnt this through bitter experience, turning up at locations just after the sun has risen, and once arriving to shoot a location to find a large cruiser discharging several thousand humans right in front of my very eyes!
7 Good at preparation
Not only do you need to plan, but you need to be ready to go at any time, and always be well prepared. This is a skill all of its own. Don’t let those batteries all run down before charging them, keep on top of them! That kind of thing.
8 Good at research
I am rubbish at this. I have only recently learned that it is better to research a location than to just turn up there and see what I can find. See the next item.
9 Even better at wandering around
This is my specialist skill. Wandering around. I have an endless, limitless enquiring mind and am always wondering what is around the next corner, over the next hill, in the next room.
And this is my excuse for not researching or planning.
But I love wandering and am exceptionally good at it.
10 Patient
I have endless patience when it comes to travel photography, endless. I do not have endless patience at other times in my life, to be honest, but when I am out and about with my camera I am in a happy place.
11 Confident
You need to be confident in yourself, and in what you are doing, the places you are putting yourself and also that you can get the photos that you need.
You have to be confident that you are going to be awesome at travel photography. Tell yourself that – there is no reason why not is there? You can do this. I can do this. We can do this!
12 Happy on your own
Photography can be a lonely existence. Now I love people, especially my wife, family, and friends (good job I know), but I am happy out in the middle of nowhere on my own exploring and taking photos.
If this is not for you you might want to think of something else to become awesome at.
13 Technically excellent at taking photos
A sort of given really. And see how far down my list actually taking photos is. Taking photos is a long way down the line in the work of a commercial photographer believe me.
If you are doing any kind of photography professionally getting technically correct images is a must.
14 Be the king of composition
Composition is king. This is what you include in a photo. This is what anyone looking at your photos will be looking at. A rubbish composition = a rubbish photo. A great composition gives you a great starting point. A chance of a great photo.
15 See the wider picture
Look around take it all in, and capture those epic views.
16 But also the details
And get in close on the small stuff. Details can make great subject matter that not everyone is looking at or taking photos of.
17 Ready at all times
When my camera is not on my tripod it is in my hand. I do not use a neck strap, I have a wrist strap so I am always ready to get something should it appear in front of me.
18 Equipped with the right gear
I use Micro Four Thirds gear for my travel photography, which is smaller and lighter. And I love it. Less weight to carry, less volume and more room in my camera bag for normal day-to-day travel stuff. My camera bag is my hand luggage, with just my tripod going in a case.
19 And know how to use it
Yep no point having the gear and not knowing how to use it properly. Buy a book for your camera and learn it.
20 Have great workflows
Workflows for image capture, processing, and data management. These will help you massively, mine have evolved over many years of practice.
The talky bit
I have covered most of what I want to talk about here, so I will restrict myself here to this. This has been quite a talky episode.
You need to love adventure, travel, and exploring new places. You need an inquiring mind and a sense of adventure.
And you also need to practise. I keep saying this, the number one way for you and me to improve our photography is to practise taking photos.
These are the skills that you need to become excellent at travel photography, which has to be yours and my aim – I don’t plan to become anything other than excellent at anything that I embark on.
One line summary
You need a certain set of skills for travel photography, including loving travel and photography!
Next episode
Shout out
This episode shout-out is to @mrasquith, that British Podcast guy, whose excellent, practical, actionable advice has helped me so much over the last year. Thanks, Mark, even if you are from the wrong side of the Pennines! (just a bit of Lancashire/ Yorkshire banter don’t worry). Check out the Podcast Accelerator if you are interested in this good stuff.
I’m done
Thanks for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast. To find out more about my podcast and do stuff to help me check out Photographyexplainedpodcast.com/start.
Brought to you by
This episode was brought to you by a very nice ham sandwich (slot still awaiting sponsor………)
I’ve been Rick McEvoy, thanks again very much for listening to me and for giving me 10 (ish) minutes of your valuable time, and I will see you on the next episode.
Cheers from me Rick
OK – that was the podcast episode.
Want to know more?
Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.
And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.
Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is on there already.
Let me send you stuff
I send out a weekly email to my subscribers. It is my take on one photography thing, plus what I have been writing and talking about. Just fill in the box and you can get my weekly photographic musings straight to your inbox. Which is nice.
And finally a little bit about me
Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.
Thank you
Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).
Cheers from me Rick
