Welcome to travel photos part two! Today I’m sharing what I look for in a good photo spot for capturing content, whether I’m searching in my local area or exploring somewhere new.
If you haven’t read part one of the travel photos series, you can click here to find out how I find photo good opportunities when traveling.
What I Look for in a Good Photo Spot
Ultimately, when looking for a good photo spot I’m looking for color, texture, and lighting. Lighting can be edited, so it’s not the end all be all, but you’re not about to hear me complain about good light! Whether you want to be the subject of the photo or you want to have the focus be on your surroundings, these are places and elements I look for.
Gardens (they’re your best friend)
This is better in some seasons than others, but public gardens can add pops of color to your travel photos. Wild gardens can also present an opportunity to capture local flora you might not find at home! I found this protected area of wildflowers when traveling in New York.
Fields (give you endless opportunities)
Whether you’re looking to capture the landscape, just want to have fun with your photos, or are more interested in getting photos of your outfit than your location, a field is a great spot to look for! Julia and I had a ton of fun taking photos together in fields along the Hudson River in Upstate New York.
An early morning at a National Historic Site presented some great photo spots. I took the opportunity to use the contrast of the field and surrounding trees to try out some shots with my red Charlotte Elizabeth Bloomsbury.
Parks
No matter the season, you can find some great photo spots hidden away in parks with a bit of exploring. If I hadn’t ventured down the pier at Round Lake, I would’ve missed out on some incredible views – and the chance to take a few photos!
Parks can also provide great backgrounds in the fall for that extra pop of color when wardrobes become more neutral.
Colorful Walls, Murals, & Lights
Speaking of color, fun walls and murals can usually be found on Instagram and can be great for a more subtle reference to your travels. The Purple Wall has been repainted since I was last in Magic Kingdom, but it’s still iconic and a fun spot to take photos. Museums can also be a great spot to find pops of color that keep photos interesting!
This museum day started with wanting to look at Monet’s, but a bit of exploration brought me and a friend to an exhibit that was all about color and light. It was full of cool photo spots!
Textures
Textures help to create visually engaging photographs, and this exhibit I visited in January 2020, a recreation of a 1970’s living room, was full of them! For photo spots like this one, the focus is more on the surroundings and location.
Use Skylines
I love a good horizon. These are also fun because you can take similar photos in different locations and put together a series of your travels! When traveling, I’m always hoping to get some sort of skyline photo. Even if it isn’t the most engaging, I wanted to get photos with the Detroit River in the background because when else will I get the opportunity to have Canada as my background?
Don’t be afraid to imitate photos you’ve seen in the past or take the fun touristy photos.
I have an entire folder of saved posts on Instagram dedicated to poses I like or want to try myself. At the same time, I’ll almost never pass up a good pre-set photo op, like the one below at the Charleston Tea Garden. I try to focus more while traveling on using photos to capture memories than trying to always get the perfect shot, and those fun touristy photo spots like this can help remind you to keep it fun so you don’t miss what’s right in front of you.
