Follow these expert tips from a professional street photographer to take the perfect holiday pictures
Photographer Sebastian Jacobitz reveals tips for shooting in sunlight, using puddle reflections and the rule of thirds
Are you an enthusiastic holiday photographer who always ends up disappointed with the end result?
Even with a posh camera and the perfect backdrop, many people find it tough to get a picture that looks good enough to share on social media without a few filters.
Street photographers spend their entire careers mastering the art of capturing buildings and passers-by.
They have numerous simple tricks up their sleeves that manage to make their photos look perfect and edgy, while yours are flat and dull.
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Sebastian Jacobitz runs the website , which showcases street photography and contemporary documentary photography.
Here he reveals his top ten tips to follow for getting the perfect holiday snaps...
Become a Local
When visiting foreign countries you should try to adapt to the local lifestyle and let yourself be inspired from the different ways of life.
Adopting a new lifestyle also opens your mind for new perspectives and allows you to see the most famous photo spots differently.
Instead of taking the same pictures that everyone has, you will be able to discover more interesting locations away from the standard tourism paths.
Be Patient
Are you going out to capture wonderful memories on the spot?
Unfortunately, outdoor photography is heavily dependent on the weather and other circumstances.
Maybe the sun isn’t shining or there is an event that turns the historic market into a carnival?
If your focus is to get better images, take your time and come back another day or simply wait for a better moment at the time.
It isn’t uncommon for photographers to wait for hours for the right picture.
Depending on your goals, it might be worth you taking your time to snap a lot of pictures and edit them afterwards, instead of rushing from location to location.
Get Closer
A common misconception for holiday photos is to capture more than is needed, to try making the picture more interesting.
As a result, these photos often lack a clear focus and the viewer is overwhelmed with all the impressions of the wide scene.
Therefore, taking a step forward and getting closer to the landmark you are trying to capture creates a clear vision and the viewer knows what you are showing them immediately instead of making a “Where’s Wally image” out of the holiday picture.
Photograph against the sun
One rule that amateurs get taught is that you should never photograph against the sun, because the subject might be too dark and overblown by the sunlight.
Fortunately, modern cameras can deal with the light very well and if you post-process your images in Photoshop or Lightroom you can play with the sliders a little bit, so that the subject isn’t too dark while still having the beautiful sun in the background.
Search for different Angles
Taking pictures from eye-level is the most common perspective of photographs.
That makes it automatically more boring than taking different stances and experimenting with other levels.
For example, if you are in front of the Eiffel Tower don’t just photograph it from the standard point of view, but instead get low – maybe even on your knees and photograph the landmark from below.
This different point-of view makes every common photo more interesting.
Reflections
The next time it is raining, be thankful for it, because you can use the rain to capture your landmarks.
Instead of photographing them directly from the front, you could use the water puddles creatively to capture buildings or nature.
Other reflections are possible from big window fronts that allow you to divide the object in half when arranged intelligently.
Try for example to place your camera directly on the window and take a picture of your holiday place.
Rule of Thirds
One trick to improve the appeal of your pictures immediately is to embrace the rule of thirds on your pictures.
Our mind is hardwired towards specific ratios and in photography we perceive pictures that are divided in thirds to be the best.
Instead of placing the famous mountain directly in the centre, the picture will look a lot better when shooting the mountain a little off-centre.
The same applies to the ratio of the sky. Either have the sky only on the top third, or the top two thirds, but not exactly in halves.
Auto-Mode
I know a lot of professional photographers are talking you into using the manual mode because “it’s the only way of taking good pictures”.
But the truth is that modern cameras work well enough with the automatic mode and are able to expose the scenes very well.
Even in extreme light conditions there are easy ways to program the camera to expose a little darker and capture enough information to work with it afterwards.
Post-Process
Camera manufacturers advertise their new cameras with new picture styles and other features that, in theory, create better images inside the camera.
The truth is, that 99 per cent of pictures that you see online are post-processed.
So if you try to recreate these images, you should try to edit your images as well.
For starters, there are some good presets that work in Lightroom or Photoshop.
Should you be interested in editing the pictures yourself, the “less is more” approach applies to Photoshop.
Often we overdo the post-processing without realising that we’ve gone too far.
So don’t edit your pictures immediately after taking them. Let them rest and ripen for a few weeks after the holiday.
Enjoy Photography
Your top priority should be to enjoy the photography. Don’t make it a chore or force yourself to take the best images possible.
Sometimes it can be more advisable to let the camera stay in your pocket and absorb the atmosphere with your mind - memories like these are what the holiday should be for.
It isn’t your job to take the same holiday pictures that everyone expects.
Follow your own instinct and photograph the locations that you are interested in and not what your peers expect from you.
In the end, the images are for your collection and show your own vision of the holiday.
