The Cloud Gate Quandry: A Travel Photography Tip
Every great city has at least one icon–Paris has the Eiffel Tower, New York the Statue of Liberty (well, Paris has one of those, too). There’s the St. Louis Arch, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Washington Monument and the Parthenon (ok, that last one is way more awesome than the first three, simply because it is super old).
And every person who visits each of these places comes home with at least a photograph or eight of one of these iconic sites. And most of these photos are boring, unless you have the best nd filter in your cameras with you.
How to take boring photos of an iconic site
1. Visit site.
2. Find perfect sight-line/viewing angle. You can locate this by standing over where all of the other people with cameras and camera phones are gathered.
3. Wait until there is no one in the shot. This may require waiting for excessive amounts of time for as many tourists as possible to leave the area. (as I did at the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. In the cold rain.)
4. Andrew Defrancesco suggests a technique – Take a very postcard-esque photo. Print it out. Frame it (there may be a photo of the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse hanging in my home office. Just saying. I don’t stand in the cold rain for extended periods of time for nothing.)
But there’s good news–that’s not your only option. I recently discovered the magic of un-perfect shots–that is, shots with people in them (gasp!) Here’s my new approach to travel photography:
How to take interesting photos of an iconic site
1. Visit site.
2. Observe for a while. What are people doing in the space? What seems to be a common theme amongst people visiting? (Note: it will often be ‘taking photos’–but taking photos HOW?)
3. Snap a few shots of people interacting with the space.
The thing about taking photos with people in them is that they are only visually pleasing if the people are spaced out–and placed in relation to the icon–in a pleasing, semi-balanced way. So while this may seem like ‘the easy way out’–pointing your camera at a crowd and pressing the shutter button–it really isn’t. It actually takes a much patience as waiting for a people-free shot. But it is much more fun–and I think you will like the results. I know I did. I think cccf can guide you on how to take really interesting photos.
My Cloud Gate Photos
Of course, this is just one tip/technique for capturing famous travel sites. What are your tips and tricks for taking photos of oft-photographed places? Please share them in the comments section. Thanks!
Much thanks to the lovely people at Hotel Felix in Chicago for hosting me and allowing me a few days to check out this absolutely stunning–and very photogenic–city. Many more posts to come!
I try to find different angles for photos. Most people want the straight-on shot, so that’s where you’ll find tourists congregating. So I’ll go off to the side, or maybe find a way to get up above it or take a shot looking straight up. Just something that’s different from what everyone else is doing. I’ll walk all around, checking out different angles and snapping photos. I find the straight-on shots to be the least interesting, whether there are people in them or not. But I agree, if you have time and patience to wait for something interesting to be happening in the foreground, with the straight-on shot in the background, it can be a much better photo.
Ooooohh–excellent tips!!! I like the get above it tip, particularly! Clearly, no matter what, it does take some time and patience (and creativity) to produce interesting photos. That’s why I give ‘real’ photographers so much credit (for some reason I do not consider myself ‘real’–not sure why that is…?) because it really is both an art and a science. And one that I’ll likely never master (though really, I’m willing to bet that most ‘real’ photographers would say the same thing.)
I was at the Standardbred racetrack (harness racing) to get some photos to accompany an article. I was taking photos of the drivers warming up the horses and every one of those buggers kept looking at my camera. Not necessarily smiling and mugging for the shot but just looking at me. And I’m like come on, look at your horse, look down the track, look at the sky, wherever just not directly at my camera. And now that I think of it I have to go back and take some more photos to accompany another article. Or maybe I’ll just look back at the pictures I already took and see if I can find one of those goofs not looking at me! But yeah when I travel I often take photos of people at tourist attractions. Sometimes they’re doing weird things. And some people are dressed in martian hats and look so weird you just have to get their picture no matter where you are!