Travel Photography Guide: How to Take Better Trip Photos

The difference between a forgettable holiday snapshot and a photograph you actually want to look at again comes down to three things: light, timing, and composition. None of them require expensive equipment.

The Golden Hour Rule

The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset produce the most flattering light for almost any subject — city architecture, landscapes, and portraits included. Planning your Discovia transfers to reach key locations at these times requires a modest amount of forward planning but produces dramatically better images.

Get There Before the Crowds

Empty spaces photograph better than full ones. The Discovia airport transfer that gets you to your hotel by 8am rather than noon gives you access to the city's best locations before the tour groups arrive. Booking a Ride & Guide for first thing in the morning is the most efficient route to the best photographic light in the best locations.

Move Your Feet Before Your Zoom

The single most effective improvement most photographers can make is simply to walk closer to the subject and change the angle. A camera mounted on a phone or a budget compact is capable of excellent photographs — what it cannot do is compensate for standing in the obvious tourist position at the obvious time of day.

The Transport Frame

Discovia's tuk tuk tours, bike rentals, and open-windowed transfers create some of travel photography's best natural frames — motion, context, and environment in a single image. Some of the most memorable travel photographs are taken from the vehicle, not at the destination.