"Take better vacation pictures!"
Awesome, another article that gives you a numbered list of tips to help you flaunt superb summer vacation photos...Yes, you too can say "Hey, I took that!" when people admire the framed image of your kid flying off a slip & slide with a look of horror.
Well summer's just about done, but here's a comprehensive list I made up while I was on my recent road trip to Florida.
1. Take your phone. 2. Destroy it. 3. Dust off the Camera you've been neglecting. 4. Profit.
Yes, get rid of your smartphone in whatever way that is most convenient for you. My preferred method was to drop it in an alligator infested pond at an alligator themed mini golf course...You won't believe what great things this will do for your photography!
Get adjusted to your new-found colonial life. Okay...so I didn't intentionally drop my phone into the turgid reptilian-filled waters. Sometimes these things just fly out of your hands. Anyway, after lamenting the loss of my phone and having my friends restrain me from diving in after it, I had a serious case of social media anxiety. I mean, that's what you go on vacation for: To make other people feel bad that they're still stuck at work. It's sad, but after sharing every monotonous moment of your life and finding yourself submerged in a void of disconnection, one begins to feel very small in an existential kind of way. To help me cope, I naturally gravitated to the other gadget I had on me: The heavy camera that I had been toting around "just in case" something cool happens.
Don't be too cool for school. One of the many problems I seem to have is that I don't live in an action movie...Sometimes it can resemble a melodramatically dark comedy, however I find that waiting anxiously for that perfect moment often yields in missing the more subtle things in life. This means taking your camera everywhere and not second guessing yourself. The risk of looking like a tourist is a risk you'll have to take if you want to get the best pictures. If you want to take pictures, but are too coy to do so out of fear of looking uncool, then you're not going to get very far. You'll be lucky if you can get out of bed at that rate.
Pack light. If you have a walkabout lens that you're really comfortable with, this is your best bet. I went with a fast prime which allowed me to shoot in even the abysmal lighting of a townie bar where you feel extremely on edge. One very versatile lens forces you to get creative and keeps you from being that guy who's constantly digging through his camera bag. No one wants to be that guy. You might not want to choose a 300mm since you won't want to be going across the street for a simple candid shot, nor are you going to want to document your entire trip with a fisheye. My favorite: The ol Nifty 50mm! What better way to get capture a memory than with a similar perspective of the human eye. They're also usually very compact which brings the whole "pack light" thing together. One thing that I invested in was a Black Rapid strap...at first it was probably one of most awkward tangles I've gotten myself into, but once you have it down you're a well oiled photo machine. Just snap away and let it fall to your side like a certified BA.
Stay Alert/Stay Dry. Going on a casino cruise? They DO NOT like cameras. I've never been pestered about having a camera more than on this overseas bingo ship. You best tread lightly Bond, they'll treat you as some sort of international spy who's trying to bring down their elaborate pyramid scheme overseas operation...you don't want them throwing you overboard. Bringing your camera to a theme park? Great, just don't expect to try to go on any crazy rides without having to use a locker. From what I remember there used to be places to stash your gear, but if you think about it, leaving your stuff around isn't safe at all. Although these lockers were free, you'll constantly be putting your bag away and taking it out. Another quick suggestion: Stay away from rides that have water..Even if they say you won't get wet. You will...and your camera will...and you will be a very wet blanket for the rest of the trip. I highly suggest giant zip lock freezer bags to keep your electronics fresh. Also: Ponchos. Believe in them. Buy them at Target for a dollar instead of being forced to buy one for 12 dollars with a mickey mouse logo on it.
Don't smash your phone. I hope you have enough sense to not listen to some guy on the internet when he's making a satire article about psuedo-vacation photography. If you did smash your phone...to be honest, you're probably better off. In the end this isn't so much a real tutorial as it is an attempt to persuade you to save the Instagram for later. Especially now that you can share short videos on the fly, I feel like there's even more temptation to broadcast every moment when you could be getting some actual quality memories. Sure you won't be able to share them immediately, but some things are better when they're not instant...like jello, well not really...or Ramen! No, instant noodles are pretty great too. Instant film...Expensive, but that's is kind of awesome too...
Whatever.
Without this social bird pecking at my neck for a few days, I wasn't so bent out of shape by trying to figure out which camera I needed to use. Scratch that, I was still flipping a coin over which to use: My DSLR or the Panasonic G6 that I've been testing out for a review which is slowly coming together. It probably took me much longer to edit through my the 300+ images of slightly inebriated karaoke patrons singing their hearts out to Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, but spoiler alert: My photos came out a much better than whatever blurified abstract they took (sorry guys).
Here's a few of my favorites:
Of course my favorites aren't exactly your typical vacay snapshots, but I like em' and you know what? That's all that matters in the end. To elaborate here's a brief recap of what you need to do to get the most out of your vacation pictures:
Use your darn camera, stop worrying about likes, enjoy.