Tips for taking great Holiday Photos

Ok I’ll start by saying I’m sorry for the grand title, I’m usually much more humble but decided no one would read a blog titled,

“Tips for taking great holiday photos, not that I’m saying my holiday photos are great. But here are some tips I found useful when we were away”.

It’s just not as catchy.

Anyway now that’s covered, let’s get into the knitty gritty.

So you’re going away and that doesn’t have to be abroad, in fact all of the images you see in this blog were taken in the UK.

And you don’t need to have a photography degree or big snazzy camera, these tips should be useful for everyone.

Now onto tip number 1…

1.) Quick snaps, versus photos for your wall

This is super important as you don’t want to spend your whole holiday stressing yourself and everyone out trying to position your children and get them to smile.

Know that during the day you’re literally snapping to capture a moment. These photos aren’t to go on your wall, they are simply so you can remember that moment.

So use your phone and grab it whenever a cute moment presents itself.

Don’t pose them, don’t interrupt. Just quickly take a photo.

For example this was a phone snap I took of my boys.

They never snuggle like this and had I faffed trying to get the right composition, angle etc. etc. the moment would have gone.

So I took this photo quickly on my iPhone before they noticed me.

But decide on a time that you’ll dedicate to getting some nice photos and make sure you’ve given your partner, or older children the heads up.

These will be the photos you can display on your wall and read the other tips on how to make these awesome.

Tip 2.) Sunrise and Sunset are the best time to take photos

The sun is much softer and more flattering at these times and it means you can get the sun in the frame which looks awesome.

Plus with some cameras you can get what’s called sun flares and these can really add to an image.

Position yourself so that you are facing the sun and your family/children are between you and the sun.

Below are straight out of camera images showing the difference your position to the sun can have.

The 1st image was with me with my back to the sun and the second is with me facing/shooting into the sun.

Tip 3.) It doesn’t have to be sunny

You can capture beautiful images in any type of weather, so if it’s rainy jump in puddles and if it’s windy fly a kite.

This was taken at a beach when it was really foggy and cloudy, but we had the best time.

Tip 4.) Think of something to make it fun

My boys are almost 4 and 2.5 years so things like playing with water, gobbling strawberries, blowing bubbles, marshmallows dipped in chocolate are so much fun for them.

Then you’re capturing genuine emotions and authentic moments with them playing and having fun.

Tip 5.) When photographing indoors try and photograph near the window

I often set up a game where I’d like to take photos, so I’d set up the blocks/toy soldiers/dinosaurs on the window ledge and then photograph my boys playing with them.

You’ll have the most light by a window and it means the camera can expose for the brightest part of the image (your children/family) and the distractions around (e.g. the messy holiday room) become much darker.

These are some photos I took of my boys at a cottage, they’re all window light apart from 1 which is lamp light.

Hopefully some of the tips in this blog will help you capture some of your amazing holiday memories.

And keep your eyes peeled as I’ll be posting another blog soon on tips to help enhance your phone photography.

Suzi x