10 top travel photography tips and tricks

You don't always have the luxury of time when taking travel photos. You may have just a few hours to explore a destination, or find yourself in a once-in-a-lifetime holiday experience that's over before you can reach for your camera. Delicious local food, candid family moments, fleeting encounters with wildlife – photo opportunities can disappear in an instant.

So how do you make the most of every opportunity and take better travel photos worth sharing?

Spanish influencer and photographer Diana Millos, pictured above holding a Canon EOS R10, began travelling to attend music festivals and concerts. It ignited in her a love of adventure, which quickly blossomed into a full-time career as a professional travel photographer and blogger with more than 150K followers on Instagram.

German freelance photographer Frauke Hameister, known as Frauki on social media, has also built a large, loyal following on Instagram. Known for her storytelling approach to adventures in the great outdoors, she has worked with tourist boards and commercial clients, and was one of the first photographers to use the travel-ready Canon EOS R8 Mark II.

Here, Diana and Frauki share 10 travel photography tips for capturing memorable images wherever your travels take you.

1. Discover photo opportunities before you arrive
2. Pack a dedicated camera that won't weigh you down
3. Choose lenses to suit your needs
4. Be an early riser
5. Return to your favourite locations throughout the day
6. Put yourself in the picture
7. Shoot video as well as stills
8. Work the angles for photos with a difference
9. Capture a travel photo story
10. Experiment in low light and at night

"Planning ahead is absolutely essential in travel photography," says Diana. "Once I know where I'm going, I start researching places of interest online, using social media, blogs and Pinterest."

"I look for locations that inspire me, so I have a good idea of where I want to go and how I'm going to get there. That gives me a framework to plan my photos but, once I've arrived, I look for different angles and perspectives that I haven't seen online, so I can be creative and try to bring something original and unique to my images."

For Frauki, researching a destination to identify unique photo opportunities often begins with analogue sources, such as "old magazines and books", although she also takes advantage of mapping apps such as Google Maps and Strava. She also recommends picking up tips from locals: "Once you are in the area, talk to people. They are usually happy to recommend places to you if you take more than a couple of minutes to talk to them."

The best camera for travel photography is one that’s easy to carry all day. Smartphone cameras are convenient for snapshots, but a dedicated camera gives you a significant step up in image quality, performance and creative possibilities.

Compact cameras may have been the go-to choice in the past, but the lightweight design of EOS R System cameras and lenses means it's now just as easy to travel with a camera that has larger sensor and more controls. This provides superior image quality and the flexibility to change lenses and capture everything from distant wildlife to sweeping landscapes and bustling street scenes.

A full-frame camera delivers outstanding quality, even in extreme low light, and makes it easier to achieve a shallow depth of field that helps your subject stand out. The Canon EOS R8 and more recently the EOS R8 Mark II are exceptional full-frame travel cameras, combining lightweight bodies with intelligent autofocus that accurately keeps people, animals and vehicles in focus as they move. The EOS R8 Mark II is a little heavier as it has in-body image stabilisation, making it easy to take sharper shots without a tripod.

Cameras with smaller APS-C-sized sensors are even more portable. "I really love the Canon EOS R10," enthuses Diana. "It's simply perfect for travel photography and all-day shooting because it's so small and lightweight. It fits easily in a camera bag the size of a handbag, even with an extra lens or two, yet it's powerful and the image quality is impeccable. I also really like being able to preview the brightness, contrast and colour in the electronic viewfinder, so I know how the photo will turn out."

If you’re new to photography but looking for a reliable entry-level EOS R System camera to capture picture-perfect memories on your next adventure, the EOS R100 is small enough to slip in a bag yet capable of capturing both high-quality stills and video right when it happens.

For those who prefer a compact camera for vlogging, the pocketable PowerShot G7 X Mark III packs a fixed lens with a versatile zoom range, as well as 4K video and superb 20.1MP photos.

"If I'm out shooting from dawn to dusk, I don't want to be carrying a heavy bag of kit, so I try to keep additional lenses to a minimum," says Diana.

Travel-friendly lenses for the Canon EOS R10 include the RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, which has a particularly compact, retractable design and weighs just 130g. For a more expansive zoom range, the RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM enables you to adapt instantly to almost any shooting scenario without needing an extra lens.

The great thing about Canon's EOS R System cameras is that you can use full-frame compatible lenses on APS-C format bodies and vice versa. For example, the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS MACRO IS STM gives the same field of view on the EOS R10 as a focal length of 56mm does on a full-frame camera such as the EOS R8 Mark II.

If you have an APS-C camera such as the EOS R10, then you need to consider the 1.6x crop factor of the smaller sensor, regardless of whether you use an RF (full-frame) lens or an RF-S (APS-C) lens. This means the lens provides a narrower field of view than it would on a full-frame camera. For example, the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS MACRO IS STM gives the same field of view on the EOS R10 as a 56mm would on a full-frame camera such as the EOS R8 Mark II.

If you have a full-frame camera and size and weight are your priorities for travelling, then RF-S lenses such as the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM or RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM are options, albeit with some compromises. The lens will be fully functional, but because it projects a smaller imaging circle onto the sensor, the camera will automatically crop the image to match the APS-C-size area. This can be a useful way to achieve a more lightweight setup, but it results in a lower resolution and a different output compared to the same image taken from the same distance with a dedicated full-frame lens at the same focal length.

A fast standard prime lens such as the Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM or Canon RF 45mm F1.2 STM is another great travel option for either the EOS R10 or the EOS R8 Mark II. On the EOS R10, these lenses provide full-frame-equivalent focal lengths of 80mm and 72mm, respectively. Top zoom choices include the lightweight Canon RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM and the RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM, with full frame equivalent focal length ranges of 38-168mm and 160-640mm, respectively, on the EOS R10. The RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM is also very compact for a telephoto lens with such a long reach.

Tourist spots get busy, even very early in the day," says Diana. "I get up really early to beat the crowds so I can capture scenes without people, or sometimes with just a single person to add interest. You also get the bonus of beautiful lighting at sunrise, which makes it my absolute favourite time to shoot."

The 'golden hour', as it's often called, is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, when the sun is low in the sky, casting a golden glow that can add real magic to travel photos. Diana always shoots RAW files, so she can fine-tune white balance and exposure to enhance colour rendition, highlights and shadows when she comes to edit her shots in imaging software such as Canon's Digital Photo Professional.

Frauki suggests visiting a location in inclement weather as well as in the early morning or late afternoon. "I find it's worth going when the weather forecast says conditions are not going to be ideal, because a little bit of rain and fog makes for very magical scenes," she says. The combination of interesting light and weather, she adds, "can make a place completely different from the sunny postcard picture you might have seen on Instagram.

"Although I love to shoot at sunrise, I think it's important to revisit great locations at other times of the day," advises Diana. "Bustling scenes can also make great travel photos, capturing the culture and mood of a place. Areas of shadows and light, and how the sun illuminates a scene, change fundamentally as the day progresses."

Remember that the sun moves across the sky so if, for example, landmarks and buildings you want to shoot are in shadow in the morning, it might be worth returning in the afternoon when the light has changed.

"My favourite travel photography technique is to look for symmetry within scenes, with clean, tidy lines that create bold shapes," explains Diana. "I also like to put myself in the picture, so I always carry a tripod and set up the camera before walking into the frame."

The Canon Camera Connect app enables you to control the camera from your phone and make any adjustments remotely. You can also preview the image and adjust the autofocus while you're in the frame.

EOS R System cameras shoot video as well as stills, and it's quick and simple to switch between the two when you need to. "Video is featuring more and more on social media, so it's important for me to shoot video as well as stills," says Diana. "I tend to capture lots of short clips of different locations, so that I can edit them together and make a video that gives an overall flavour of a place. I always use my camera's maximum quality setting for video, so I have the most latitude when editing."

The Canon EOS R10 is great for this, with options for 4K 60p, 4K 30p with 6K oversampling and high-quality Full HD at 120p, which Diana loves for creating slow-motion sequences. The EOS R8 Mark II offers even better video performance, with Full HD at up to 180p and up to 4K 60p oversampled from 6K for even better quality. It also has a pre-recording function that starts capturing video before you've hit the record button, helping you to capture unpredictable moments.

If video is a priority but you also want to shoot great photos, then the EOS R50 V makes a versatile choice for vlogging and creating content while travelling. Practical features such as a vari-angle screen, front-mounted record button and vertical tripod socket make it easy to film on your own, while Canon Log 3, custom picture modes and colour filters help you create a distinctive, consistent look for your content.

If you want to keep your subscribers and followers up to date with your travels, the Canon PowerShot V10 is an all-in-one pocket-sized solution for your next trip. Designed for vlogging, you can create 4K UHD video wherever you are, with the option to add creative filters and smoothing effects as you go.

"When you're shooting famous landmarks and locations, it can be hard to make your shots stand out. I always look for unusual angles that give a different perspective," says Diana. "Shooting from low down near ground level or from high up can be a huge advantage, and it's easy to do with a vari-angle screen. For gaining even more height, I put my camera on my tripod and use it as a pole, so I can hold it high above my head and still preview the shot on the rear screen. It's great when you need to shoot over the heads of people in a crowd, or even over fences and walls."

Telling a strong visual story with travel photos can be more engaging than showing a single shot of a viewpoint. Capture the build-up, close-ups of incidental details and diary-style photos to support the final image. It'll be interesting for family and friends, and gives any followers you might have on social media a deeper dive into the experience.

"In the beginning, I really focused on getting all the technical aspects right, and that sometimes prohibited me from telling a story and enjoying the moment," says Frauki. "But the more you practise, the better you will get at the technical aspects and it will become almost muscle memory. You can rely on that and then enjoy just telling stories."

Take advantage of the intelligent automated features in Canon cameras so that you can concentrate on getting shots that tell the story rather than focusing on the technical side of things. The Canon EOS R8 Mark II comes with Register People Priority, for example, which lets you register specific people on the camera that you want it to focus on in a scene – a really useful option when you want the autofocus system to automatically pick out friends or family members in crowded locations such as city squares and street markets.

"Just after the sun goes down, or before it rises in the morning, you get the 'blue hour'. I love the cool colours the light creates and the deep blue of the sky," says Diana. "It gives a completely different look to cityscapes so it's another way to create unique images. Even late at night, there are still brightly lit scenes to be shot. The most important thing is to enjoy the experience and have fun."

Equipment selection can make a big difference for low-light photography. Full-frame cameras tend to perform better in darker conditions. The full-frame EOS R8 Mark II also features built-in image stabilisation and a sensitive autofocus system that works in very little light, helping you achieve sharper results.



Written by Matthew Richards and Marcus Hawkins