BEHIND THE IMAGE

You’ve seen it before, right? An image that’s so unbelievably beautiful, you can barely believe your eyes. Have you ever wondered how such travel photos come into being? How come your mobile phone snapshot looks so flat compared to those glossy Instagram photos?

Let me tell you… As part of a series I’d like to give away one little secret per post on how I compose, take, and touch up my photos, knowledge which I hope you will find useful if you’re also into sharing your pics with the rest of the world, or if you’re just curious.

WHO TAKES MY PHOTOS?

Essentially, all of the photos on my profile are taken by me (even those that include my image – I’ll explain later.) I love having full control over the camera but I also like being in the picture – and this is where all the confusion starts.

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is about how I take photos of myself. Well, unless I am on a solo trip or photo session, it is quite often my travel buddy – either my partner or a friend, who pushes the button.

It sounds easy, right? Well, it is not quite as straightforward as you’d think. Unless you are happy with blurry photos where your head or limbs will likely be chopped off, you need to make the necessary preparations for the shoot: meaning the camera settings and composition. As a first step, I always ask my “appointed photographer” to pose for the photo I have in mind – this way, I can adjust the camera settings according to the lights and atmosphere I want to create and also make sure that I am happy with the composition.

If you are a solo traveler, a tripod and an app connecting your phone and camera is a big help. Either way, it takes a lot of patience: checking the results, repeating, checking again, slightly changing the settings, playing with the composition, etc. Sometimes you get the desired result in a few shots, but other times it might take hundreds of similar shots. And some other times you will end up not being happy with any of them… But that’s just the way it is – all part of the learning process! 🙂