Enhancing Your Travel Photography

Dana Willard uses the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens to capture the essence of each city she visits in her world travels.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by Dana Willard

The real key to Dana's photography, however - and what she tries to get across in her photos - is learning to see creatively. "Figuring out how to really capture the essence of an outing, to make people feel like they were right there with you, is what I strive to do," she says. "Even when taking photos with my phone camera, I try to find the best angle and most interesting moment that captures what the kids and I are doing."

When she travels, Dana only takes one lens with her: the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens. "It's so versatile," she says. "I can stand right next to my kids and take a close-up shot of their messy hands, or I can stand 20 feet away and zoom in on an old man taking a snooze on a park bench. I really love that long-lens aspect, because snapping those paparazzi moments are so important, especially with young kids. I try to capture my children in their natural settings, with their true smiles, or interacting with each other. Sometimes the only way to do that is to observe from afar and zoom in to snap the photo."

The 18-270's Vibration Compensation feature is also invaluable when she's on the road. "I leave the VC on all the time because it's such a nice feature," she says. "It's great to hear the camera focus and then 'lock' the shot in place - especially on a zoomed image, when slight hand movements have a bigger impact on the shot."

Read on for Dana's tips on how to make your travel photography your own.

Every city has its own story - find it and tell it.
I feel slightly bad for my husband on these trips because I just can't stop myself from photographing everything we see. In Charleston, South Carolina, it was all about the architecture. Every home we walked by had the coolest colorful door, detailed trim, or the most beautiful shutters and balconies. I had to capture it all. In Italy I was drawn to the people and found myself snapping photos of their shoes and kids, as well as the gelato they ordered. Bali brought photos of greenery and rice paddies. Mexico had white cookie-dough sand. And Boston is burned in my mind as a city of gold, since we arrived to the brick-covered campus of Harvard at sunset. I love discovering these things and then capturing them.

I want my audience to feel like they're there with me, and not just for the standard tourist attractions, but for all the details of a city. I'll snap photos of the fruit stand on the side of the road, the city I'm visiting at different times of day, ice cream melting in my son's hand, a pair of green shoes, Spanish moss in the trees, busy streets, an elephant's oversized feet, the locals, and that tray of caramel apples I just couldn't say "no" to.

People and food are my favorite travel subjects because they can summarize a trip in just a few photos. When we were in Florence, Italy, my husband sat on the top of a hill overlooking the city next to a replica of the statue of David. After a few standard photos of the scenery, I was drawn to a group of Italians standing near us chatting away, cigarettes dangling from the corners of their mouths as they talked, snapping photos of each other. So I snapped some photos of them. Those images are far more memorable and interesting than what Florence looked like from the rooftops.

Look for unusual angles and perspectives.
I try to mix up my travel photos by showing landmarks from a different angle or with an interesting feature in front of it. Instead of standing right in front of the Colosseum in Rome, for example, take the photo from 200 feet away, placing the Colosseum in the background over your shoulder and placing yourself in the foreground.

Show scale in your photos. It's more interesting to see how large the statue of Constantine's head looks when you have an actual human standing next to it for size comparison. I've captured the statue of David from his backside (rather than the front); placed a car in the foreground of a building; positioned a stop sign in the foreground against the beautiful red rocks of Southern Utah; and framed a person between objects in the photos, such as the image I took of a little girl framed by a set of stairs.

Focus on what's important.
The long, zoom aspect of the 18-270 is wonderful for getting those crisp foreground/blurred background shots because the depth-of-field is so shallow. These types of shots are always crowd-pleasers and make people think I'm a better photographer than I am. It's fun to decide where to place the focus by toggling back and forth with your focus when you're zoomed in tight on a subject. What are you trying to say in the photo? Is it a picture about your child, or is it a picture about that amazing onion ring you ate while at the fish-and-chips shack with your child?

Take advantage of whatever light you're shooting in.
My favorite time of day is any time - as long as there's natural light. I don't like using a flash and can't remember the last time I did, even when taking photos inside. It casts too broad of a light on the subject and makes it look flat. Ideally, morning and late-afternoon lighting are probably best when you're traveling. But even though some photographers hate midday sun because it's overhead and casts shadows, there are some times when I love it. It casts a nice, contrasting light over a famous city or looks gorgeous when the kids are splashing around in the pool. I'm a "make it work" person, so whatever the weather throws at me, I'll adjust the camera or find shade to work in.

Learn to self-edit before you share.
I remember my film teacher saying, "Before creating a film, ask yourself: Is it worth making?" I often think about that with my photography. We live in the age of digital, so it's easy to snap a zillion photos and then keep the very best. But when it comes to sharing photos with others, I'll ask, "Is it worth sharing?" I don't need to show five similar photos of my child from slightly different angles, unless there's a real purpose to those angles. Sharing one great photo will actually leave a larger impact on your audience. Self-editing is difficult to do, but it's something I'm constantly working at.

To see more of Dana Willard's images, go to www.danamadeit.com.