• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

DIGITAL PHOTO MENTOR

Photography tips, tutorials and guides for Beginner and Intermediate Photographers.

  • Start Here
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Articles
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Intermediate Photography
    • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Tips
      • Portrait Photography
        • Flash Photography
      • Night Photography
      • Street Photography
      • Travel Photography
      • Photo Editing
      • Landscape Photography
      • Macro Photography
      • Photoshop Tutorials
      • Photography Equipment
  • Online Courses
    • Luminar Neo Course
    • Lightroom for Photographers: The Complete Course
    • Photoshop For Photographers: The Complete Course
    • Beginner Photography Course
    • Portrait Photography Fundamentals Course
  • Private Tutoring
  • Store
    • Online Courses
    • Bokeh Overlays
    • Photography Classes
    • Sky Replacements
    • Texture Overlays
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Private Tutoring
    • Cart
  • Login
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Challenges E-Book
    • 5-Day Photo Editing Challenge
    • All Our Photography Challenges
  • Photography Tips
    • Portrait Photography
      • Free Portrait Photography Key Concepts Course
      • Flash Photography
    • Night Photography
    • Street Photography
    • Travel Photography
    • Landscape Photography
    • Macro Photography
    • Photography Equipment
  • Photo Editing
    • Luminar
    • Learn Lightroom
    • Photoshop Tutorials
  • Gallery
  • Resources
    • Free Basics for Beginners Course
    • Free Portrait Photography for Beginners Course
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Texture Pack for Photoshop, Luminar
    • Webinars
    • YouTube Channel
Home » Travel Photography » How to Avoid Travel Photography Failure
How to Avoid Travel Photography Failure

How to Avoid Travel Photography Failure

by Darlene Hildebrandt | Last Updated: December 30, 2021

Share6
Tweet
Pin18
WhatsApp
Email
  • Did you ever wish you could get travel photos like the ones in the magazines?
  • Get discouraged when your images don’t look like the pro’s?
  • Well, guess what – me too!

Regular tours and vacations hours set you up for travel photography failure! It’s NOT you!

When we are on vacation, or on a prearranged tour, there are limitations on what we can do time wise, and that does affect the photography we are able to achieve. Some of the things beyond our control include:

  • travelling with impatience partners or friends who keep tapping their foot waiting for us to “hurry up and take the photo”
  • not being in one location long enough to get a sense of the place and scout (go hunting) for the best locations for photography
  • we usually don’t have the ability to revisit the same place twice, again at a later time when the light is better
  • we may be travelling in a country where the language is foreign and it’s difficult to get around or get help from locals
  • the schedule is predetermined by the tour or travel agent and there’s more time spent at “recommended” shops than at historic and significant locations
  • we get lost and can’t find that great beach or location we know “should” be just around the corner and we miss the sunset

Sound familiar?!

So I wanted to write this is for two reasons. First, to ask you to please stop beating yourself up because your travel photos don’t look like the magazine ones. Secondly, to give you a few options and ways to make it work within normal travel restrictions and limitations, so you can come home with a few images you’re really proud to share.

Advantages the best travel and nature photographers have:

  • they often travel with assistants or helpers that are there to help them, not hinder them
  • they stay in one city or location for several days which allows them to go look at locations, then go back at the optimal time of day again and again until they get the perfect shot
  • they often have a “fixer” or someone who is a local to help them get around and communicate with locals
  • they determine the schedule and when the shoot is done
  • they are hired to go take these photos and make an income from doing this, so they have to get it right and they have a lot more pressure as well (not necessarily an advantage)

Here are a few of my travel photos that turned out less stellar than I had hope, and some shots of the same locations by photographers that had a lot more success than I did!

My first disappointment – Cannon Beach, Oregon

When I heard we were going to be heading to the Oregon coast this past July I kept hearing about “the” beach that everyone says is the most photographed beach, iconic Oregon. I researched it and found out Cannon Beach is the one to see. So we planned our tentative itinerary with us spending one night in that town and me hoping to capture a fantastic sunset.

It didn’t quite turn out that way. I wrote about my experience of trying to get a sunset shot at this beach in the article – Do you have Photography Compulsion Syndrome? Short story is our journey was delayed and we spent longer at some earlier stops and didn’t get there until almost sun down. There was an amazing pink cloud hovering over the hill by the beach and I practically jumped out of the car to go get a photo of it. I felt the need to get something, anything of this beach, I had such high hopes for.

This is what I got – less than stellar. Chairs set up all over the beach. Didn’t have the right spot to get the sunset and too many people all over the place. I needed to be here at least an hour or two earlier to figure out where to shoot from, then come back at sunset.

My Cannon Beach image - NOT what I had envisioned.
My Cannon Beach image – NOT what I had envisioned.

Now here are some examples of some great images of this same location.

Image by Pete via Flickr
Image by Dave Wilson
Image by Jay Patel - see their website for educational and "how to" products
Image by Jay Patel – see his website for educational and “how to” products
Into the Light - Jay Patel
Image by Jay Patel – see his website for educational and “how to” products

My second disappointment – Palouse Falls, Washington

Later on the same trip through Oregon I had planned a special detour to Palouse Falls in Washington state. It was sort of on our way home anyway and I had seen some spectacular images of the falls and wanted to take a crack at it myself. Once again our schedule got away from us and we did not get there 2 hours prior to sunset as I had hoped, we arrived as it was almost gone!

Needless to say I had no time to go look around at all possible angles, the light was disappearing fast so I just shot from the regular view point. Of course I found out later that there is a trail that goes up around to the top of the hill so that you can see down the entire valley. THAT was what I had wanted, but once again I left feeling disappointed. This is what I managed to capture.

Palouse-Falls-fail

Okay so it doesn’t completely suck! But after seeing shots of the whole valley, it was the whole reason we made the side trip just to go there. It’s like when you’re expecting fillet mignon and you get hamburger. It just doesn’t cut it. Now take a look at what at the kind of image I was hoping to capture:

Palouse-falls-1
Image courtesy of David Irons Jr – Flickr
Image by Jesse Summers - watch for an interview with him on his spectacular night photography soon!
Image by Jesse Summers – watch for an interview with him on his spectacular night photography soon!
palouse-falls-sunset-better
Image by Chip Phillips – watch for an interview with the guys from Photo Cascadia coming soon!

Tips to get some good travel photography regardless of situation

Okay so having said all that above, if you are still limited by schedule or any of the other things previously mentioned, here are a few tips to help you come home with some good images in spite of it all.

  • Look for good light anywhere and shoot there! Even in midday sun you will find little pockets of good light. Look for interesting things within that good light and photography them!
  • Separate from your fellow travellers for a while if need be. Get up earlier, or stay out later than they do and go get the shots you want without the tag alongs rushing you.
  • Shoot indoors at midday, or find shade. A good church or something architectural can work well when the sun is high outside.
  • Travel light and carry zoom lenses so you can work faster.
  • Don’t be afraid to use semi-automatic settings like Aperture or Shutter priority to get the shot faster and move on.
  • Best option – take a travel tour specifically designed for photography enthusiasts. This is the number one reason why I’m now leading photography travel tours! So we, as a group have control over when we shoot, and how long we stay in one spot. It also puts you in a group of like minded people where no one is hurrying you along or impatient. Check out the Photo Travel Tours page for more info on what’s coming up, I’d love it if you could join us on one!

ACTION PLAN

This one is simple – share your travel photography images (successful and not so successful) with us, or join me on a travel photography tour!

Cheers,
Darlene-1-250x130.png

Share6
Tweet
Pin18
WhatsApp
Email

About Darlene Hildebrandt

Darlene is an educator who teaches aspiring amateurs and hobbyists how to improve their skills through her articles here on Digital Photo Mentor, her beginner photography course, and private tutoring lessons. To help you at whatever level you're at she has two email mini-courses. Sign up for her free beginner OR portrait photography email mini-course. Or get both, no charge!

Luminar AI photo editing banner

Enroll in My Luminar Neo Course. Over 15 hours on how to turn your photos from good to GREAT!.

Digital Photo Mentor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate Digital Photo Mentor earns from qualifying purchases.

Luminar Neo Course

Luminar AI photo editing banner

Enroll in My Luminar Neo Course covering everything from A to Z and always up to date and current with any and all Luminar Neo updates.

Top Beginner Articles

  • Avoid these 9 beginner photography mistakes
  • 7 Tips for Beginner Photographers
  • Top 15 Photography Accessories under $25
  • How to choose the best digital camera for you
  • 5 Photography Ideas for When There's Nothing Interesting to Shoot
  • 5 mistakes beginner photographers make while using a wide angle lens and how to avoid them
  • 9 Tripod Mistakes Ruining Your Images and Putting Your Camera at Risk
  • Long Exposure Photography

Top Intermediate Articles

  • 10 Camera Settings and Equipment Tips for Portrait Photography
  • Best Photo Editing Software Reviewed
  • Lightroom Alternative: Is Luminar the answer?
  • Top 15 Photography Accessories under $25
  • How to Use a Gray Card for Custom White Balance and Metering
  • Night Photography Settings – Guide to Getting the Best Exposure

Learn Photography Basics

Yes, you can learn to take better photos! It’s my passion to help you learn the photography basics and take better pictures. It’s also the same reason I teach workshops, do photo travel tours, and have online photography courses available.

Enroll in our free photography basics for beginners course, or 12-part portrait photography course, also free.

Recent Photography Articles

  • 5 Fun Inspirational Photography Ideas To Get You Motivated
  • Wabi-Sabi Photography Challenge – How to Embrace the Art of Imperfection
  • Dramatic Landscape Photography of the Lofoten Islands – Tips and Inspiration
  • 8 Best Tips for Photographing the Magical Aurora Borealis
  • How to Photograph the Northern Lights

Useful Links

  • Beginner Photography
  • Intermediate Photography
  • Photography Challenges
  • Photography Tips
  • Photo Editing
  • Resources
  • Recommended Amazon Products
  • Course Login
  • Workshops
  • Webinars
  • Contact
  • Write for Us

Copyright © 2022 Digital Photo Mentor · Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Disclaimer