1) The Dark Hedges 8:40 I like the amount of detail and dynamism you managed to capture in such a dark photo. 2) Le Mont St. Michelle 42:11 3) The gondolas looking down 26:40
In the early 1970s my grandparents decided to travel the world and take pictures to leave for the family. Neither of them bothered to learn photography skills. They cut off more heads than the French Revolution.
Back in 1976 my nan and grandad visited Malta, the camera they used was a kodak prism one of those cameras where you look through the left hand side but the lens was at the opposite end. When the pictures was developed, they had taken 24 pictures of their eyeballs. Miss them so much but what a memory
1) timelessness 2) great light 3) interesting light 4) tells a story 5) eye catching color 6) simplicity… clean 7) interesting composition 8) effective post processing 9) interesting places 10) it makes them want to go there 11) 7 things to add to your shortlist: 1) shoot the food, 2) the locals, 3)city scape from vantage points, 4) cafes, bakeries, markets, 5) cathedrals, palaces, museums, theaters, 6) details, 7) the architecture
Amazing video and presentation. Chapeau bas. Could you please share that secret weapon that you use instead of the tripod please? because I am struggling with the same issue every time I travel , I take the tripod and end up not using it for the reasons you mentioned and many others.
B&H your lectures are always so awesome. As an aspiring travel/documentary photographer - this was pure gold from start to finish. I will be saving this video to reference in the future !
Could you please elaborate ? how does it help? my apologies ,but i am not a Sony user, hence I found your comment very interesting since it is related to tripod 🙏
Just stumbled upon this and I must say what a brilliant presentation. I go in a cruise in 11 days and this video could not have come at a better time. You also have a new subscriber and follower on Instagram. Thank you and I hope to out your advice to good use.
I remember buying Scotts books back in 2011, i was 15 at the time and was passionate about photography. Now im 26 and I just wanna say, thank you Scott for helping me thru my photography highschool and thru my photography career also. Best of luck!
Scott's travel photography is in a class by itself. I've been shooting for many years and I've seen all of his travel photography classes. I put into practice all the techniques he mentions and still my shots don't hold a candle to his images. They're all so powerful. I will say that using a Platypod is starting to be frowned on quite a bit in many places. My coworker went to Mexico City earlier this year and he said that every place he went security didn't allow any means of support for cameras. He said they actually had signs up saying no camera supports allowed. I went to the New York Public Library a couple of months ago hoping to get some shots that Scott has. I was in the hallway outside of the main reading room and I stood behind a waist high sign for a fire extinguisher so I'd be out of the way and set up my Platypod. As soon as I got it set up a security guard came over and said I couldn't do that. I asked him why and said I was out of the way. He said it's not allowed. While he was explaining I was pressing the shutter button a few times though. :) So just fair warning, the tripod police are expanding to be the Platypod police also. What a shame.
Scott is an incredible artist, both behind the camera and "in front of the monitor". And the before and after photos during the "Effective PP" section was incredibly helpful and confidence building. As long as the composition is solid and exposure is within reason, a decent photo has the potential to be a great one. Thank you.
For whatever reason, it has become widely accepted that we must strive to always take great photos. Not all photos have to be great. In fact, the vast majority of photos that are published as part of a written story (e.g newspapers, magazines, blogs), don't need to be. Photographers waste a huge amount of time striving for perfection when their time would be better spent creating adequate photos that better support the stories they're shooting for.
That was absolutely fab, Scott! What wonderful travel images. Picked up a few techniques. Never really shot food but will now...and will tilt the camera!
Fantastic pictures. Great tutorial on travel photography. I wish you had mentioned what camera, lens and settings you used for each photo. Photography has a learning curve all the time. Great photographers' words of advice are a great learning opportunity for new and old photographers who constantly want to improve their photography.
Amazing photos. So glad I was able to see this excellent video two months before my next trip - which is to Prague no less. I was fortunate to have great weather the day I visited Mont St Michel. I hiked all the way up to the top and got some real keepers including shots looking across the tidal sands. Also, while I am all for using post-processing software to compensate for limitations in camera and lens technology, I do take issue with using software to create an "alternate reality" by removing things you just wish weren't there (poles, wires, people, etc.). At that point you cross over from photographer to "creative artist".
Yes I waited and waited and waited for just the right bus to cross the Tower Bridge one evening a few years ago. Yes the ISO was way high to catch the bus at night but sure beats missing the shot. Editing tools helped a lot with the noise. That being said I usually get one or two great shots on vacations with my spouse.
Best travel photo talk -- best photo talk of any kind -- I've ever heard!! Concise, packed with info and examples, and it's 90% photography/10% words, not the other way around!
Loved this - and particularly enjoyed your sense of humour and laughed out loud even when others didn't! But humour is another things you need when travelling and shooting - so perhaps that also is why you are so successful. Thanks so much.
I stumbled onto your video Scott thoroughly enjoyed it. can I ask where to you take the Eiffel tower shot (at 47:37) framed by the buildings. I am planning to go to London and Paris later this year. I plan to shoot the iconic landmarks but I am hoping to include unique (If that's possible) shots of them Thanks
I watched your iphone tips presentation which led me to this. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was pleased I had many of images close to yours from Prague, Lisbon, Rome, Venice, Paris, and London. One of my favorites was from my room on the 7th-floor hotel in Budapest. Thanks for all the tips.
I like this overall, but I would love an audio bullet point simplified definition to remind us of these things that photographers could listen to on their phone or driving to a location or vacation. Something like that would be amazing to keep reinforce and learn these ideas. Something, even as short as a two minute audio with bullet points and slight descriptions underneath laid over example. Less visual more simplified definition checklist, style. Short two minute affirmation daily reminder that does not have to visually be looked up while traveling so you can see what’s in front of you. Maybe make a playlist of extremely short videos like this on different topics that people could say listen to on a drive or or watch right before they start shooting or while they’re waiting for that light.
I’m rather annoyed that photography has been limited to endless sunrise and sunset shots. On holiday the majority of my time is spent in daylight and I find the challenge is to get that banger in harsh sunlight
Thank you so much for a brilliant informative useful presentation - one small thing from a non American - you need only mention the country after the city when it"s not absolutely obvious - so the Eiffel tower is in Paris - that's all you need - thanks again
Scott, you advocate cloning out inconvenient content that you otherwise felt caused your pictures to be failures, but with no discussion of the ethics of removing subject matter that was really there in the original scene? Isn't it important to point out why folks might not want to clone out content for ethical reasons if they care about journalistic integrity?
How many nights? How about many months or how many years? Actually, I think his point is that you have to do the best scouting you can in the time you have and the idea of hiring a fixer is a winner.
I wouldn't normally take pictures of food I didn't make myself, but it would be a great memento from your trip to include a waiter in the photo with the food in the place you liked
A spectacular video. Perfect for what I face when my wife and I travel. While I do many of these things already, I can’t emphasize how important it was to actually enumerate what each one was…I plan to make a small laminated card with these on it as a check list reminder to review before and while on travel, and keep in my bag. Thanks.
I just saw the video. In Europe it is difficult to easily photograph people on the street. There is a law throughout Europe that says that before you take the picture, you have to ask the person whether they want it and you have to inform them in writing what will happen to the pictures. The law is known as the General Data Protection Regulation. A person who has been photographed and published against the express consent can sue you.
