One of the fundamental shifts in modern society caused by the invention of the camera is the fact that you no longer need to physically be in a location in order to see it. Today if you’re curious about what the Pyramids in Egypt look like, you can find plenty of stunning professional photos of them. In fact, you can almost certainly find photos taken from angles and during lighting conditions that you yourself would not be able to replicate on your own.
As a result, there’s a certain futility to most travel photography these days. While the urge to capture your personal experience remains strong, knowing that your photos of the monuments and other sights will be second-rate – at best – can be difficult to deal with. Never fear, though – you can still snap some photos that will make for unique canvas prints for your walls. All it takes is a bit more flexibility in your approach. Next time you’re travelling, don’t take photos of anything you can find a postcard of – instead, try one of these cool ideas.
The Hotel and Staff
When we’re travelling we spend a lot of time in the hotel, and we deal with the hotel staff quite a bit. On long trips we even have time to forge rudimentary relationships, and often the people who work at a hotel provide invaluable advice and assistance while we’re far from home. Why not honour that experience by snapping some awesome, high-quality photos?
There are two approaches: The naturalistic one where you ask permission to just take photos as you like, and capture your family away from home going about their business, or the more posed one where you take formal portraits. Just remember: These people are working! They may be willing to help out a guest, but don’t get anyone into trouble.
These personal portraits will make for awesome personal mementos of your trip, and will be photos that not everyone will have on their walls.
Canvas Prints of the Similarities
Obviously, most people snap photos of the things that feel foreign in the countries they visit. After all, you may not ever get back to that spot, and the things that contrast with your daily experience will be the first things to catch your eye.
The problem? That’s true for everyone. Instead, why not focus on things that are eerily familiar in your holiday spot? This is sometimes even more fascinating than the differences: The things that link us all together and make us truly one species on this planet. This could be anything that’s judged canvas prints-worthy: Police at a traffic stop. People buying groceries. A mother and her child. Business people having a power lunch – look for things that echo your own native experience and have fun with the tiny cultural differences you can spot.
Travel photography doesn’t have to be all about the exotic and the unfamiliar. The power of photography isn’t necessarily picking out the things that are different – but can be about finding the aspects of life that bind us all together. When you’ve found your strategy to truly personal travel photos, click here and we’ll turn them into spectacular wall art.
