Top Tips
I have been taking photographs for almost half a century and photographed most countries of the world in the last thirty years.
During this time I've picked up a fair few tips and tricks to help with both photography and travel.
Photographic Tip
Even the most basic of cameras now have flash guns built in. Use this when taking portraits to lighten the shadows caused by hats and the like. This is called fill flash. If your camera allows it dial in an underexposure value of -0.7 to -1.5 (check the menu) so the face doesn't appear washed out. Alternatively hold a piece of paper tissue over the flash to soften it (but don't obstruct the lens).
Travel Tip
Toilet facilities in some countries can be a bit basic. It may be worth carrying a small packet of alcohol-free wet wipes, a small bar of soap (often found in hotel rooms) and a small packet of paper tissues.
Photographic Tip
Be careful when packing lenses in your bags or even in your camera bag. A knock can jam the lens diaphram. Store them in proper well padded lens cases, in a suitcase pad them with clothes. If they have a manual aperture setting then choose the widest setting, then if they do get jammed you can still use them.
Photographic Tip
Often photographs of buildings lack interest because there is an empty foreground of grass or even worse concrete. Try putting a person or a statue in that area. Even a gravestone has more interest than nothing!
Photographic Tip
Sunglasses often spoil photographs. In a portrait if the subject wears them their eyes are hidden and they are the key to the picture. If the photographer wears them then the colours seen by the eye are usually all wrong and if you are asking a stranger if you can take their picture eye contact is missing. The metal hinges and their fixings can scratch a viewfinder of a screen. Removal is the best solution!
Travel Tip
Find out from the hotel what the locals do about tipping. Is it an expected part of the deal? If so how much? In some places tipping a taxi driver and the like is not done and service charge is included in meals and the like.
