Everyone loves vacation. Getting away, enjoying a new place, a new perspective. Slowing down. And if you're anything like me, you love capturing all that wonderful goodness to look back when it's over way too fast and you want to hold onto those memories!

Here are some tips on how to take great vacation photos!

1. Where is the light??

The key to any great photograph is LIGHT! You can have a beautiful scene or subject, but if the lighting is poor, it will never look quite like you imagine!

The most flattering and interesting light is when the sun is at an angle- so closest to sunrise and sunset.

When the sun is directly above, it’s harsh and unflattering.

Of course there may be times you need to take a photo in the middle of the day under harsh light, but find a shady spot for your subject, or position the sun so it is slightly behind your subject!

2. Interesting Angles

Think about the angle of your photo! Most photos are taking from a standing position, making them all look the same and not very interesting.

Get low! Get high! Look UP! Look down. Just do something DIFFERENT then standing with your camera in front of you!

3. Don’t forget the details!

Often times we focus on the sweeping landscapes or the grand sunset. But what else is going on? What are the little things that make up your experience? Don’t be afraid to get close and get some interesting shots of your surroundings. Let your photos tell the story of your vacation.

4. Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a way to make your photos more interesting and pleasing to the eye!If you visualize a grid on your photo divided into thirds, the concept is to place your subject in one of those intersecting lines.
This creates a more interesting and pleasing composition then placing everything dead center!

5. Look for natural framing

It can be a fun way to draw attention to your subject by findings things around it that give a natural framing to the subject and some context as to where you are!

6. It’s not about the camera

Often times people will assume your photos are good just because you have a good camera. But like an instrument, if you are not trained to play it, it’s not going to sound good! So don’t worry about needing to spend a ton of money on a camera. The best camera is the one that you will actually USE because you’re comfortable with it and will carry it with you! If that’s your phone, then embrace it! I take a TON of photos with my iPhone and most people are surprised to learn it was not from my super expensive DSLR. Applying the above tips will help turn any photo into a work of art!

Photography can be the constant quest to capture that moment or that scene- and preserve it. And thanks to our smart phones, we pretty much always have a camera on us.

I love to run, and I am forever seeing beauty on my runs that I can't help but try and capture! And since I am not about to carry a bulky DSLR camera with me, I use what I have...my phone! I'm always asked how I got that great photo with my phone, and today I’m sharing my top 5 tips!

Use the light you have. Smart phone cameras are going shine their best with lots of good, natural light. So find a subject that is naturally well lit and go with it! Use the sun to light your subject, not hide it. Remember side lighting and back lighting is just as good and even more interesting than top-down lighting. The best time of day is not when the sun is overhead, but when the sun is rising or setting and cuts across your subject instead of directly above it! And if you're inside, get near a window or open those shades wide!

2. Stay close. Don’t try to take a photo of something far away. Your smart phone camera is not going to do great with its “digital zoom” capability. The photo will be grainy and blurry if you try to zoom in too far. So pick subjects that are close to you, and get your camera phone close to it!

3. Get low, look up, look down. A change from eye level perspective can instantly make a photo more interesting. Everyone sees the world from eye level- show them something different! Squat down, or aim your camera in a new way. Just get different.

4. Look for contrast, leading lines, patterns. Look for anything that draws the eye to different areas of your photo- lines point the eye to a subject or contrast can draw attention to where want the viewer to focus.

5. Don’t be afraid to edit. I fully admit to editing all my iPhone photos! This is something you can go toooooo far with, so think of it as taking your photo up a notch, instead of making it something it's not. Don’t add a filter just to add a filter- be intentional as to WHY you are adding that filter. My favorite tool is Snapseed to help bump up contrast and saturation!

Want to see more? Follow me on instagram! @ginnyfiler