You may own a “point and shoot” camera*, but don’t take that description too literally. Though point and shoot cameras are easier to use than amateur enthusiast and professional cameras, you should still know the basics of camera controls and setting up a good picture.
Camera Controls
A compact digital camera gives you various tools to control your images. Because different cameras and manufacturers have different user interfaces, you will have to look at the manual and play around a bit to get the hang of your camera. Here are some things to look for:
- Manual or Digital Menu: Which type of controls does your camera have? Manual controls are buttons and dials you can use without going through a menu on your LCD screen. Most often they are on the back right of the camera, made for right-handed people, but manual controls can theoretically be on any side of the camera. Digital menu controls may be operated by buttons or a touch-screen and you look at the LCD screen to navigate the menu. Many cameras have a combination of these two styles.
- Scene Modes: Scene modes like sunset, portrait, landscape, snow, nighttime, etc. are there to help adjust your camera’s settings appropriately for various types of subject matter. Learn them. Scene modes are straightforward and can help you control your pictures at a more advanced level.
- Image Control Options: If you are unhappy with the automatic settings and scene modes for a particular shot, you may be able to exercise greater control by adjusting the quality level and pixel count (which also changes how much memory space your picture occupies), white balance and ISO (to control the way your camera reacts to different lighting situations), focus area, contrast, saturation, etc. Different cameras allow different levels of control. Experiment with the results of these settings before your trip.
Travel Tips
- Turning the Flash Off: This might be the most important thing to know when traveling. Many museums only allow pictures without flash. Even in non-museum settings, flash is often unnecessary or detrimental. Built-in flash only reaches objects within a limited distance and can lead to ‘flat’ images or unflattering portraits. Flash is also a serious drain on your battery. The best advice is to keep your flash off all the time, only turning it back on for close subjects in low lighting, or to provide fill lighting when harsh sunlight appears unflattering.
- Make People Your Subject Matter: By all means, take pictures of everything that interests you on your trip. However, don’t forget to include the people you’re traveling with in many of your pictures. Years from now, you’ll want to remember them as they were on the trip. People pictures also add a level of interest for others who look at your photo album back home. This may be obvious to some, but there are many travelers who get so caught up in the landscape that they forget to snap a picture of their family. Also, don’t be afraid to ask permission to take a picture of interesting people you meet along the way.
Composition Tips
- Get Close: War photographer Robert Cappa famously said, “if your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” While you (probably) aren’t traveling into a war zone, Cappa’s idea holds true for most photographic genres.
- Don’t Center: It’s a natural instinct to want to center your subject. Fight it. Pictures in which the main subject is off-center or occupies a side or corner of the picture are much more dynamic.
(To visualize a standard off-center composition, take a sheet of computer paper and draw two horizontal lines dividing the paper into thirds. Do the same on the vertical axis of your paper. The four points where the lines meet are all powerful spots to place major and secondary subjects.)
- Consider Foreground and Background: What’s behind or in front of your subject can powerfully influence the success of a photograph. Avoid unnecessary clutter by moving to eliminate everything that’s NOT a subject of your photograph out of the composition. Avoid awkward interactions of subject and background, like a horizon line that hits a subject at their joints or runs through their ears.
- Look for the Elements: Elements like angles, light, color, and texture determine the ‘feel’ of your photograph. Try to identify these elements in your picture, focus on one or two of them, and compose them in interesting patterns.
And of course, remember to have fun. The travel and composition tips are guidelines, not rules, so go experiment! The best way to learn is to recognize your mistakes and laugh about them.
*To make sure you’re up to speed on camera equipment, read Buy a Digital Camera for Travel in conjunction with this article. If you’ve got all the basic technology, read on to learn how to make better pictures.
