1. Always carry spare batteries and spare 64-128 GB memory cards! I have 4-5 spare batteries for my Sony mirrorless camera ready and charged in my gear bag at all times. YES, I am a planner, perhaps even an overplanner. I also carry 3-4 memory cards at all times. You just never know how a day of shooting is going to go, and I will never forget one day on vacation overseas where I somehow had left my camera on on the plane, and when I went to shoot, I had a dead battery and no way to charge. It was a sad day.....
2. Capture 'real life' shots, not posed shots. Be you! To truly savor a place as it is really supposed to be captured, enjoyed, and really in my opinion remembered, take some candid, unposed, natural shots. Obviously, being a landscape photographer primarily, I love nature and landscape. I encourage portraiture to take on the same standards. Why should we pose ourselves so unnaturally? We all look so much better when we are at ease, don't we?
Just as I could spend hours roaming the mountaintops, or scoping the forests looking for that perfect shot, am I missing the best one, right in front of my lens?
Amidst the 'quest' for perfection I feel, I am merely missing the beauty of the moment at the place I am in.
Savor your subjects, enjoy your family, make them laugh- take some fast shutter speed shots, and let the kids run and play and enjoy some action shots! After all, wasn't your beach holiday all about waves, and sandcastles for the little ones?
So, do not forget to savor the moments all around you.
Those candids OFTEN turn into the ones that end up in frames!
3. Make sure YOU, the photographer, actually get in the picture! Tripods and timers can be your friend! They allow a whole family to be photographed properly, and you are not at the mercy of strangers anymore. Also, they are great for nighttime and street photography- and can really capture great action shots for those moments where shutter speed must be adapted to get the best shots. Also, a side note, if you are travelling to the northern lights, a tripod and a very slow shutter speed is the only way you will ever capture the Aurora. Additionally, if shooting 300m or more away, as in a telefoto lens, (think a bird or animal at a distance) a tripod and support is the only way you can shoot at a distance.
4. Try to stop shooting on AUTO! It is not that intimidating.
If you will be using a DSLR or mirrorless camera, the main secret in photography is balancing light. Photography, the word, actually means to draw with light! If you watch your light meter, which should be the 0.0 number that can fluctuate up +/- and try to keep your light meter at 0, you will notice by adjusting your ISO and/ or aperture you now can move out of AUTO to manual shooting! You can be more in control of the kind of shots you get and focus in more on your subject in various light conditions, instead of being at the mercy of your camera.
5. Take more pictures than you think- then set aside a little time to delete the shots you do not like each day so you do not get overwhelmed. In this way, before you leave your vacation spot and go home, you can also ensure you got the perfect shots you came all that way for too! Hence, avoid disappointment!
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