Take better travel photos: composition, light and organising

Travel photos are little time machines. Years later a single image takes you back to that morning in a foreign city or that evening by the sea. You don't need an expensive camera to take beautiful photos, because the phone in your pocket can already do a lot. With some attention to composition, light and organising, you get much more out of it.

Taking better travel photos is about composition

Composition is the way you arrange the elements in your image. A simple aid is the rule of thirds: divide your image imaginarily into three parts, both horizontally and vertically, and place your subject on one of the intersections. That often looks more natural than everything dead centre.

• Look for lines that lead the eye to your subject, like a road or a wall.
• Use a doorway or a branch as a natural frame around your subject.
• Mind the background and avoid distracting clutter.
• Crouch down or climb a little higher for a surprising perspective.
• Feel free to take several photos, then pick the best later.

Working with light

Light makes or breaks a photo. The soft light just after sunrise and around sunset, the golden hour, gives warm colours and long shadows. Around the middle of the day the light is harsh and shadows fall sharply, which rarely looks good.

Shooting into the sun turns your subject into a silhouette, which is sometimes stunning. If instead you want to see detail, make sure the light falls on your subject. In low light, hold your phone extra still, or rest it on something to prevent movement.

People and moments

The atmosphere of a place often lies in the people. Ask permission before you photograph someone up close, with a gesture or a smile. That's not only polite, it also yields relaxed and honest portraits. Stay alert to small moments too, because it's precisely the spontaneous images that stay with you longest.

Organise straight away on the road

By the end of a trip you soon have hundreds of photos, in which you later struggle to find your favourites. So take a few minutes each evening to organise. Delete the failed shots and mark the best. That way you keep an overview and save yourself a mountain of work when you get home.

• Delete blurry or duplicate photos straight away.
• Mark your winners with a favourite or a star.
• For special places, briefly note where and when you were.

Your favourite spots, the photos you took and the places you still want to visit, you keep neatly in one place with a travel planner like Zuvy, so your memories and plans never get mixed up.