Ah, vacation. Get away from it all. Sleep in. Read magazines, visit new places… and within a day or two you’re ready for a challenge. For those of you who always want to accomplish something, even on vacation, here are some tips for creating the most creative vacation photos.
Stress the Unusual
First, consider what you can do to stress the unusual. If you take the same picture in front of the Grand Canyon that everyone else in the world does, where’s the creativity? Can you try it from a new angle? Consider what the picture would look like from up high or down low. What about through a doorway? Focusing on something specific such as intricate carvings or a beautiful window can make a big difference. Another idea is to try snapping that classic monument at an unusual time of day. What does the Eiffel Tower look like at dawn or dusk?
Focus on the Details
You probably have lots of pictures of your kids on the beach. Consider focusing on the details: your five-year-old’s hands as she packs the sand on her sand castle, or holding the crab she found? How are those flip-flop tans coming along? Rather than focusing on the fireworks themselves, what about look of wonder on your child’s face as he watches them?
Candid Shots
Candid shots are a great way to capture what really was going on during your vacation. Sometimes the unusual backgrounds are the best pictures— one favorite family photo shows two girls reading books in beach chairs with two giant port-a-potties in the background. It’s a picture no one else had and made everyone smile.
Fun and Weird Poses
Once you’ve done some candid shots, consider going in the opposite direction with fun poses. Yes, that photo in front of the with your husband trying in vain to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa can be a cliché, but if this is who you are, have fun with it. Watching the sunset on a beach? That sunset will fit right into the top of your almost-empty ice cream cone and will make a cool picture to remember. Kids playing on the beach during the sunset? You can position them so that the setting sun becomes a ball, and so on. Are there a lot of statues in the town you’re visiting? Some people have posed with them to create clever pictures that turn the statue into a flirt, an anachronism using your iPhone or anything else you can dream up.
Play with Distance and Perspectives
Playing with distance and perspective, you can create some fun camera illusions. Some ideas: make a helicopter and an ant look about the same size on your drink, take a photo that looks as if you’re reaching up to squeeze a cloud, or that skyscraper. Maybe a giant holding a beach pail is about to cover your two “frightened” children… let your imagination run wild.
Special Effects
Finally, there are lots of technical ways to get some really creative vacation photos. The Canon series of cameras has several creative filter settings – the miniature effect, for example, makes a life-sized landscape look like a miniature model train set. Explore the settings on your camera or apps available if you’re shooting on your phone. There are hundreds of possibilities for taking panoramic shots, making your photos look old fashioned or 70s style, whitening teeth – the possibilities are endless.
One of the best ways to ensure creative photos from varied perspectives? Make sure everyone on the trip has a camera, and consider giving out a prize for the most creative shot. You’ll have unique pictures and a vacation to remember.