[Photography] Troubleshooting 4 Tricky Photography Situations – What Would You Do?

Recently on a road trip to Newfoundland, and a visit to Sable Island in Novia Scotia, I ran into a handful of tricky photography situations. Like you, I’m typically pretty well prepared. I know my gear and I have a good idea of how I want my final images to look. In some of these cases though, I was a little out of my depth. Have you ever felt that way? You thought you knew what you were doing but then when you were actually doing it, things didn’t go as planned?

Bridge on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland. Canon 5DIII with 24-105mm lens at 60mm, 1/125th, f/16, ISO 800, hand held, processed in Lightroom.

I’m going to tell you a little bit about four situations, my goals, my gear choices, and my oh-no-this-isn’t-going-the-way-I-thought-it-would moments. Then I’ll own up, show you some images and tell you if think I made the right choices or not. Of course, then I want YOU to share what you would have done in these same situations.

This was my gear list for the trip:

• Canon 5D Mark III (full frame)
• Canon 7D Mark II (crop sensor)
• 70-200mm L f/2.8 lens II
• 100-400mm L f/4.5-5.6 lens Mark II
• Canon 1.4x Teleconverter Mark III
• Canon 24-105mm L f/4 Mark I lens
• Polarizing filter

Situation #1 – Overcast day and a boat

On my first full day in Newfoundland, I scheduled a boat tour out of Bay Bulls to photograph Atlantic Puffins in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, with a sidecar of Humpback and Minke whales as we ferried to and from the reserve. The boat was about 50 feet long and 22 feet wide, making it relatively stable for photography though with about 100 people on board, it was a bit crowded.

The morning of the boat tour was overcast and foggy. Canon 5DIII with 24-105mm lens at 32mm, 1/180th, f/16, ISO 800, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

Skies were overcast so I pulled out my full frame body Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm lens. I didn’t worry about the 5DIII’s somewhat laggy shutter speed since I’m not the best at photographing birds in flight. I didn’t even plan to try it from a moving boat. Instead, I hoped to photograph some nice puffin behaviors in their nesting grounds as well as whales, if they cooperated by breaching or showing us their tails. At the last minute, I  tucked the 1.4x teleconverter into my bag.

Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm lens plus 1.4x converter at 560mm, 1/6000th, f/8, ISO 2000, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

I can tell you the first huge mistake I made right off the bat. I didn’t take a motion sickness pill that morning. So, I spent most of the boat trip feeling rather green and taking deep meditative breaths while trying to shoot. Mistake number two, deep-breathing near a bird rookery. (I think you know what I mean).

The wise choice around all these birds is to hold your breath or breathe through your mouth. Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm lens 1.4x converter at 140mm, 1/1500th, f/9.5, ISO 2000, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

The third mistake I made was leaving on my polarizing filter. Blown out spectral highlights are hard to fix in post-production so I almost always use a polarizer when shooting on or near water. However, the 1-stop loss of light was too much on the rocking boat. I removed the filter and shoved it in my pocket immediately.

Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm lens 1.4x converter at 560mm, 1/6000th, f/8, ISO 2000, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

The fourth mistake I made was underestimating how far away we’d be from both the whales and birds. Barely 15 minutes into the trip I was digging out my teleconverter, and hunkering down to protect my gear while I connected the teleconverter between the lens and camera body. Thank goodness it was in my bag.

Puffins are comical little birds! Canon 5DIII with 100-400mm 1.4x converter @ 560mm, 1/750th, f/9.5, ISO 2000, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

In the end, I recovered from my motion sickness (and I didn’t vomit from the odiferous bird smell). A common murre (bird) did have the temerity to hit me in the head as it flew off the rookery but it didn’t poop on me (much, anyway). Ultimately, I was only moderately happy with my images – mostly because of the super flat light.

Have you photographed from boats before? Would you have made the same choices? Do you have any suggestions for anyone that will be shooting in a similar situation?

Situation #2 – Adjusting exposure for fog

In Cape Saint Mary’s, Newfoundland, there is a renowned ecological reserve for seabirds, many of them Northern Gannets, which are white. The reserve is supposed to be stunningly beautiful. I can’t actually confirm if it was beautiful or not. Both times I visited, the fog was so thick that the visibility was terrible.

The famous “spire” is almost completely obscured by fog. Canon 5DIII with 24-105mm at 24mm, 1/350th, f/13, ISO 640, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

Photographing in heavy fog is a problem because your camera’s exposure meter reads the white fog as grayer than it is in reality. To get a properly exposed image, you need to systematically check your histogram as you shoot. Pushing your histogram to the right, towards the white end of the histogram’s range, can give you a more realistic exposure.

In this histogram, you can see that the recorded data for the image falls short of the white point (right side). It also falls short of the black point (left side) but that can easily be adjusted in post-production. Whites aren’t so easy to adjust because when you brighten an image, you also add noise.

However, if you push your exposure too far to the right, you can blow out the highlights, creating patches of white with no recoverable detail recorded in the file. I increased my exposure compensation in 1/3-stop increments until it was almost 2-stops above my camera’s recommended exposure.

Here you can see that the histogram climbs up the right edge indicating blown-out (unrecoverable) whites and highlights.

At 1 and 2/3rds-stops above the recommended exposure, the histogram still didn’t touch the right side, meaning no true whites were being recorded in the image. At two full stops above, the histogram crawled up the right side – indicating blown highlights. I decided that shooting at 1.66 stops above was the better choice.

It’s a subtle difference but the histogram I was looking for would have looked like this – just touching the right side but not crawling up it.

I said I’d own up to my mistakes, right? That choice was probably the wrong one. All the RAW files from that shoot look very flat and I only salvaged a few in post-production. I wish I’d experimented more with lowering my ISO to evaluate how that affected the exposure. If I’d lowered my ISO, I could possibly have increased my exposure compensation by two full stops without blowing out the highlights.

Later in my trip, completely frustrated by fog and exposure, I played with ISO values and – oddly – it did seem to help. With a lower ISO, I could increase my exposure compensation while limiting the number of blown highlights.

The moral of the story here is to think outside of the box. Don’t get stuck on what you think are the right settings. In situations like fog, change all your settings frequently to produce multiple files that are both under- and over-exposed and give yourself a better chance of having a RAW file that will give you the final images you were looking for.

Here’s a straight out of camera RAW file so that you can see exactly what I mean by “flat.” Canon 7DII with 100-400mm at 400mm, 1/800th, f/10, ISO 640, exposure compensation +1 2/3rd stops, hand held.

Here’s the same image processed in Lightroom CC. You can see I had a little fun with it to give it some oomph. Lavender birds are way more fun than pea soup fog birds!

Note that the RAW file could have been pushed far more but personally, I felt that produced unattractive results. With extreme increases of Clarity, Contrast, and Dehaze, the birds did become crisper but it was still obvious that the image was captured on a very foggy day. The heavy processing didn’t make the image look anything like an image taken on a clear day. 

Have you photographed birds or wildlife in pea soup fog? Would you have made the same choice? Any other suggestions for the dPS community?

Situation #3 – Photographing in the rain

One lucky evening the fog didn’t blanket Sable Island like it usually did. The ship was anchored just a kilometer away, so I jumped into the waiting Zodiac to cruise around the island’s shoreline. In the best of circumstances, as you cruise you can see wild horses running along the beach, colonies of seals happily snoozing and seals cavorting around you in the ocean.

While this was taken earlier in the day, it gives you an idea of the logistics of shooting from a Zodiac boat. Many people never even pulled out their gear while on the water.

While there was no fog on that evening, it was still overcast. The wind and swell were also high. Salty sea spray was a significant gear hazard. Even though my camera was protected with a rain cover, I was nervous. It wouldn’t be easy shooting but there were three shots I wanted to capture:

1. Seals playing in the water around the boat.
2. Sleeping seals piled en-mass on the beach.
3. Wild horses on the beach, with the dunes as a backdrop behind them.

Twenty minutes into our shoreline cruise, the skies darkened and it started to rain. We continued to cruise but I tucked my camera away in the dry sack and just enjoyed the curious seals popping up around the boat. Before putting the camera away, I hadn’t checked off any of the three images I wanted but my gear stayed safe and I really enjoyed watching the seals.

Before I put my gear away, this was the sort of image I was getting. Canon 7DII with 100-400 II plus 1.4x III @ 560mm, 1/1250th, f/8, ISO 1250, hand held (in a small rocking boat), processed in Lightroom CC.

Ultimately, I captured two of three of the shots I wanted on another day but I’m curious, what would you have done? Have you ever photographed wildlife from a Zodiac? Would you have put your camera away once it started to rain? Or just kept shooting during this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

Situation #4 – Photographing far away wildlife

On one of my last hikes on Sable Island, I assembled what I call my “long combination” of the Canon 7D Mark II and 100-400mm with the 1.4x teleconverter. As much as I wanted to use my full frame Canon 5D Mark III, I just wasn’t able to get close enough to the horses on this trip. I needed the maximum focal length I could garner.

Here’s the focal length math:

• Multiply your focal length by the 1.4x teleconverter. For example, 400mm multiplied by 1.4 x equals and effective focal length of 560mm.
• Multiplied again by the 1.6 crop factor of the 7DII, the effective focal length increases to 896mm.

The lone horse I saw after hours of hiking. Canon 7D II with 100-400mm II plus 1.4x III @ 560mm, 1/500th, f/9, ISO 500, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

Ultimately, did I make the right decision with my gear? After hours of hiking, I only saw one wild horse. Considering that, I was darn glad not to be carrying two camera bodies with multiple heavy lenses.

Tenacity pays off! Even though it wasn’t the animal I was looking to photograph that day, I’m delighted with this seal portrait. Canon 7D II with 100-400mm II plus 1.4x III @ 368mm, 1/250th, f/8, ISO 400, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

On the way back to the Zodiac pick-up point at the beach though, I sighted a huge colony of seals. A ridge of sand actually obscured the hundreds of seals that were nearest to me until I was on the brink of being too close to them. I dropped to my knees and photographed them like a mad woman. The light was bright enough, if not soft and golden. And those shots of seals I wanted to get from the Zodiac cruise earlier in the trip? I captured them during this hike instead.

Canon 7D II with 100-400mm II plus 1.4x III @ 560mm, 1/640th, f/8, ISO 400, hand held, processed in Lightroom CC.

Conclusion

What would you have done? Take a look at my gear list (top of article). Would you have chosen the same gear? Or carried multiple cameras and lenses? Would you have headed back after hours of hiking and seeing only one horse? Or just kept hiking in hopes of seeing more?

Thanks for playing along today. Please take a minute to post a comment about a tricky photography situation you’ve encountered so that we can all learn from each other’s mistakes – and successes!

The post Troubleshooting 4 Tricky Photography Situations – What Would You Do? by Lara Joy Brynildssen appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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[Photography] How to Get Great Photos with an Old Camera

In this article, I will give some tips for you on how to get great photos from your old camera or an outdated model you’re still using.

The rapidly advancing technology issue

Camera technology has advanced so rapidly in recent years. Which makes it easy to think that the brand-new DSLR you got last year and love using so much is already outdated and incapable of taking good pictures. Comparing apples to apples, or in this case cameras to cameras, is enough to give one a healthy dose of humility when you discover that the six-frame-per-second camera you were so excited to buy has now been outclassed by its newer seven fps counterpart.

This and all the images in this article were taken with either a Nikon D200 or Canon Rebel XTi. Both were made in 2006 or, as I like to call it, the stone age of digital photography.

Looking at charts and diagrams of how high ISO performance in the latest models run circles around your old dusty camera can give anyone a healthy dose of GAS, or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else. I have long since relegated my outdated gear to the upper storage shelves in my closet in favor of newer, fancier, more expensive cameras that hold a much closer place in my heart.

However, there’s no rule that says you can’t take beautiful pictures with old cameras and just because something new and shiny comes along doesn’t mean your old gear is suddenly destined for the dustbin.

Dig out the old camera

As a way of experiencing this firsthand, I recently got out my old Nikon D200 camera, the first DSLR I ever owned, and put it through its paces to see if I could still get some good pictures from its aging body. Of course, anyone who has shot with older gear already knows the answer is, absolutely!

A good camera from 2007 is still a good camera in 2017. The beautiful pictures you took in days gone by aren’t suddenly going to transform into ugly monstrosities just because another model of camera has come down the pike. However, what I was really interested in investigating was whether outdated cameras are still worth using in spite of the many advances in modern imaging technology.

My trusty old Nikon D200

For example, here are the specs of the old Nikon model with which I shot several photos for this article:

Old cameras might not have all the bells and whistles of their modern brethren, but don’t discount them entirely.

• 10 megapixels
• A maximum ISO of 1600
• Heavy as a brick
• It has no Live View
• There is no touch screen
• There is video capability
• 11 Autofocus points
• One very slow Compact Flash card slot

Any serious photographer would scoff at these specs, right? Well, not exactly. Old cameras like this may not hold a candle to modern models with every latest innovation packed into a much smaller space. But if you’re willing to put up with a few tradeoffs you may be surprised at what you can still do with them.

The real question isn’t whether or not an old camera can still take good pictures because if it could take good photos in 2006 it can still do so today. Nothing about a newer camera inherently makes the older camera any worse, unless by way of comparison. There are a couple of things you can do to get better photos if you do have, or are thinking about buying, an older camera that can help you get the most out of your images.

Work within the camera’s limitations

One of the best things you can do if you want to get good pictures with old gear is to know the strengths and limitations of the equipment you are using. Then take pictures that work around those characteristics.

ISO limits

For example, one trait that is almost universal among older gear is miserable high ISO performance. Modern cameras can often shoot at ISO 3200 or 6400 without breaking a sweat. But be prepared to adjust your expectations quite a bit if you pick up a model from 10 years ago.

Solving the problem isn’t all that difficult, it just takes a bit of creativity and adjustment on your part. When I took my D200 (which I don’t dare shoot past ISO 800, and even that is pushing it) out to experiment as I wrote this article, I kept the ISO performance in mind. I aimed for pictures where light was not a scarce commodity (in other words, avoid low light situations). The result was pictures I like quite a bit and would hold up against anything I could take with my modern Nikon D750.

Megapixel limits

Old cameras are also generally low on the megapixel front. That doesn’t mean a whole lot unless you’re doing a great deal of heavy cropping to your images and even then you can still get good results if you crop carefully. It is something to keep in mind though, and it’s important to shoot your pictures knowing the limitations like this. Get closer to your subjects instead of cropping, or find a lens that has a little more reach to it compared to the lenses you are used to using.

Other limits of older cameras

In addition to more megapixels, modern cameras often have large image buffers, burst rates, and more reliable autofocus systems than their older counterparts. Keep this in mind if you go to a sporting event or head out to capture wildlife photography with an older camera, and change things up a bit to get the images you are looking for.

Plan your shots carefully so you don’t fill up the image buffer, or shoot with a smaller aperture to give yourself more leeway in terms of depth of field. If you’re used to relying on a modern autofocus system to lock on and track your subjects, then try experimenting with center-point autofocus and learning to be a little more nimble when composing. Also, try learning new techniques like back button focus to improve your skills so you don’t have to rely on the camera doing all the heavy lifting for you.

Limitations can be a good thing

Ironically, sometimes the limitations of older cameras can actually help you get better pictures because you have to improve your photography skills in order to compensate for the camera’s shortcomings.

For example, using the ultra-fast burst mode on a modern camera can actually impede your ability to get good shots. Using an older camera without that feature can force you to plan your shots, think about things like composition, and how you want your subject framed within the elements of the picture, and ultimately get better pictures as a result.

My point is that if you find yourself using an old camera, whether a basic DSLR or one that used to be the cream of the crop in its heyday, you should know what you’re getting in to beforehand. Plan around its limitations so you’re not frustrated or confused when you are trying to take pictures.

In-camera focus stacking, flip-out LCD screens, and hundreds of autofocus points are nice and can certainly help you get better shots. But often the key to getting better shots is to simply study the fundamentals and hone your basic skills.

Work on understanding exposure, lighting, and composition. Know how to control the camera you have in order to get the shots you want regardless of whether the camera is brand new or well past its prime.

Know your camera’s capabilities

One thing that consistently surprises me when shooting with older cameras is just how much they can actually do. While they might not have touchscreens and built-in GPS, it’s not uncommon to find highly advanced tools such as a plethora of metering modes, Auto-ISO controls, customizable bracketing options, and a variety of autofocus options.

A top-of-the-line camera from 2005 may not compete with the cream of the crop today, but when it was released it had to appeal to demanding professionals and advanced amateurs which required a certain set of features and capabilities. Even basic models like the early Canon Digital Rebels, which were aimed at consumers and hobbyists, had all sorts of features that may surprise you if you’re used to modern models.

If you shoot with older gear, either an old camera you’ve had for a while or something you picked up online or in a thrift store, take some time to get to know it. Go to the manufacturer’s website, download the manual, and really get to know what it can do. Dig through the menus and experiment with the various options. Find a willing helper and test out its various modes and features. You may just be surprised at how capable and useful these older cameras can really be.

Conclusion

I often get asked for camera recommendations and I like to suggest that people take a serious look at used cameras and lenses. Check reputable online websites that sell these sorts of things for significantly less than shiny new cameras you will find on store shelves. Just because a camera has been put out pasture doesn’t mean it’s not worth using. In fact, the money saved by buying older gear could be put to good use in other ways.  An investment in better lenses, a tripod, or even educational materials that can advance your skills in much more significant ways than simply buying a new camera.

What about you? Do you shoot with an older camera or are you considering buying one? What tips and tricks do you have for getting the most out of these types of cameras? Please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.

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[Photography] 10 Things You Can Learn from the Pros to Help You Take Better Photos

As a photographer, there are so many things that you learn and do on a regular basis. Creating habits in your craft is a good approach to making it become second nature. Here are a few things that most professionals do that you can incorporate into your workflow to help you take better photos.

1. Blink Blink

Pros use the highlight overexposure alert. If you have this turned on in your camera, you will no doubt understand one of its more common name, “blinkies”. When this feature is turned on, it gives a preview of your image with blown out highlights slowly blinking black and white, as a warning.

Blinkies (or blown out highlights) are not always wrong, but if it is in an area you want to show detail, then this information will be useful. You can then correct the exposure as necessary and review the image again.

The highlight alert (circled) blinks to show an overexposed/blown out sky.

2. Focus Focus

Knowing how to quickly move your focus point where you want it is a definite plus. On the opposite side of that is locking focus, which is another great skill to have. Both tell your camera exactly where you want to focus. Moving your focus point helps you place it exactly where you want while locking your focus enables you to grab your focus point, lock it in and recompose your image.

Knowing when to use both of these can also help you get more creative, so practice.

3. Know when to use spot metering

The in-camera light meter helps you determine how to adjust your exposure settings by measuring the brightness of the scene. The default metering mode in your camera is most likely set to Matrix mode (also called Evaluative or Pattern metering).

Evaluative metering works well in most situations but pros know that there are times when they need to switch. Spot metering evaluates only the light around your focal point and calculates exposure based on just that area. Some examples of when a pro would use spot metering include; photographing the moon, someone on a stage, or any scene with a lot of contrast.

Evaluative Metering versus Spot Metering.

A good way to learn when Spot metering is the right choice is by switching to it from time to time and looking at your results.

4. Use Live View to set White Balance

A handy little trick is using the LCD monitor at the back of the camera to set your White Balance (WB). This way you get a real time preview of what your final shot will look like comparatively. This is especially handy if you are shooting jpeg and don’t have the luxury of changing the White Balance after the fact.

5. Good Memory

Simple enough is to walk with extra memory cards. A trick that you can only get from experience though is not cramming too much on any one card. If you are shooting for any paying client, split your shots into several cards because believe it or not, cards can fail on you. If your shots are spread out, you may still have enough images to salvage a shoot.

Bonus memory card tip: Invest in good card recovery software. If you take your card out and for some reason are not seeing the images on your computer, do not put it back in and shoot. Good recovery software has saved many a pro.

6. Bracket

Bracketing in short, is taking several shots of a subject using different exposure levels. It is one of the easier ways to produce images with a high dynamic range. Pros also use bracketing when they unsure about exposure or dealing with tricky lighting.

Bracket images to reveal more dynamic range.

7. Sharpness – Check

By now you may have realized that everything looks sharp on a 3” screen – only to open it up on your computer and see that it is blurry. You could save yourself some heartache by zooming in and checking the image sharpness while you’re still in the field as the pros do.

8. Extra Batteries

When packing your gear, always make room for extra camera batteries. This seems obvious enough, but of note is that if you are shooting in cold weather you may even need to supplement that. Batteries are the one part of your camera that is affected the most by cold weather. A drop in temperature causes your battery to deplete faster and thus not last as long. Keep this in mind the next time you are outdoors targeting golden hour into twilight time.

Pack extra batteries when shooting in the cold.

9. Use a lens hood

The main reason to use a lens hood is to prevent side light from hitting the front of the lens. A lens hood thus reduces or eliminates lens flare that can occur when shooting outdoors during daylight hours.

But, most pros keep their lens hood on even when shooting indoors for more than just blocking light. They use it as protection against scratches, cracks, fingerprints and even some impact. It’s a good habit to use a lens hood.

10. Beep Beep Beep

Backup your images. Pros will tell you that this is at the top of their list. One recommended backup strategy is twice before formatting your memory cards – once to your computer and make a secondary copy to an external drive. If you are even more paranoid, it does not hurt to back up while out in the field. There are a number of portable drives available where you can copy your cards over without a computer.

Backup your images to save yourself some heartache.

Conclusion

Those were just a few of the many things you can keep in mind and add to your own routine. What are some of the things that you would suggest to help newbies take better photos? Share in the comments section below.

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[Photography] 7 Non-Photography Items Which No Travel Photographer Should Leave Home Without

It’s fair to say that as a travel photographer you can never be 100% prepared for everything. There are so many different scenarios and variables that can affect your photography and your journey that you simply can’t predict. But over time you will begin to learn techniques that will help you be able to tackle the issues you’ll encounter.

Part of this is your list of equipment. While the obvious photographic equipment might seem straightforward, there are also a number of non-photographic items that will begin to make it on your list. As you will discover over time they can also be invaluable. Here are seven of my must-have items that might also help you along the way.

#1 – Plastic Bag and a Rubber Band

It doesn’t matter how well you prepare and how many times you check the weather forecast, at some point every travel photographer will get caught in the rain. Most times you can avoid you and your camera equipment getting wet by trying to wait it out under some shelter. But sometimes you can’t or more importantly, you still want to photograph. After all, rain can provide wonderful reflections on the surface of pavements and roads not to mention people with umbrellas that can really help tell a story.

So to avoid getting your camera wet, simply take an ordinary plastic bag and cut a hole big enough for your lens hood to fit through. You want roughly half of the lens hood sticking out and the hole in the bag should be a tight fit. Put your camera in from the top of the bag (as if you were putting shopping in it) and stick the lens with the hood attached through the hole. Put the elastic band around the bag near the hole to keep it in place and voila you have created a bag to keep the rain off your camera.

When you want to shoot with your camera simply put your hand in the bag and hold the camera inside. Sure you can probably find an expensive version that you can buy, but why waste money when you can make it yourself?

DIY rain cover.

#2 – A Face Towel

If you ask me what is the one non-photographic item that I always carry with me, it’ll be a small face towel. I have lost count of the number of times that I have used a towel in different scenarios. Whether it’s to wipe my camera dry after getting water, mud, or anything else on it, or wiping my face when I’m hot and sweaty (it’s amazing how much better you feel when you can simply wipe your face with a clean towel when you are out and about all day), wiping my finger when I have cut myself, or even just wiping a bench dry after rain so I could sit down while waiting instead of standing up (or getting my trousers wet by sitting on a wet bench). The number of times that a simple towel will come in handy will astound you.

The number of times that a simple towel will come in handy will astound you.

#3 – Smartphone

Okay, so technically speaking a Smartphone isn’t a “non-photographic” item but ignoring the camera element, it has become a must these days for travel photographers. Whether it’s to check sun direction, weather forecast, maps, making notes about potential shoot locations and metadata details, to simply having access to pass the time by reading the news while waiting for sunset, a Smartphone has become an essential tool for every travel photographer.

#4 – Compass

For the majority of photographers, a Smartphone has replaced the trusted compass. But it’s still worth having a small one in your bag just in case your phone runs out of power or you can’t get a signal. Besides being able to bail you out when you get lost, a compass can help you determine sunrise/sunset direction where the light will move, which is essential for any travel photographer.

#5 – Gloves

Travel photography usually means early starts and late finishes as the soft light in and around sunrise and sunset is great for photography. This usually means you’ll be out and about when it’s colder than during the day and trying to work your camera dials with cold hands or even carrying a tripod is not an enjoyable experience.

During the daytime depending on the time of year, it can be pretty cold for your hands and even in the summer months it can get much colder in the evenings and early mornings. So do yourself (and your hands) a favor and keep a pair of gloves in your camera bag.

#6 – Pen and Paper

Sometimes you simply can’t beat pen and paper. It might be to take notes, to jot down ideas for shoots, to sketch a composition that you want to try and create later, or it might simply be to take the email address of the person who’s photo you have just taken so that you can email them a copy. Whatever the reason, a pen and paper is always useful to have in your camera bag.

#7 – Sunscreen and a Hat

It’s easy to forget sunscreen and a hat among all of the other things above, in addition to your photographic equipment, but they are essentials for anyone working outdoors. As a travel photographer, you will be spending most of your days out and about and it’s easy to get distracted and not notice a few hours going by. The last thing you need on a photo trip is to get sun burned.

Conclusion

Over the years, I have found that these small items have become invaluable. I will, of course, adapt this list as I go and add or remove things for certain destinations. For example, if I’m out in the wilderness I would carry a first aid kit, an emergency kit with things like a whistle, blanket, etc., a torch, and the relevant maps of the areas I’m planning to explore. But my basic list of items accompanies me on any trip even a short city break.

Over time you will build up your own set of items. But for the time being, I hope this list is useful for you.

Anything else you can think of? What non-photographic item do you always carry with you and why? Please tell us in the comments below.

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