Before you go on a day trip, first you need to choose a place where you will feel comfortable. Think of what kind of photography you want to practice. My advice is to go by yourself. Or if you go with somebody, choose a person who will shoot as well, or somebody who will help with some creative ideas. It is also important what part of the day you want to use. If it is sunrise or sunset, you need to check out the exact time of the day, so you are sure you will be on time. If you travel with a group, try to stay behind, so you have more time to capture what you like. And don’t forget to charge your phone batteries as well!
Time to Develop Your Skills
If you want to have a useful experience, you need to relax and try not to think about anything other than photography. Try to focus on what you want to shoot. It is better to take pictures just on flowers with your macro lens than trying to change your lenses all day and shooting absolutely everything. Use the lens which fits the best for the moment. If you try to take pictures of birds with a 70mm lens, it will not work out. If you try to make a night picture, try to use an additional light body. Don’t be scared to experiment and do shoots that you have never done before. Also, turn off your phone, or at least the mobile internet. It is great detoxification and will let you create in peace.
Take Just What You Need
While packing, think of just what you need. Going with an extra heavy backpack would make the experience terrible. You need to enjoy it, so your mind will let you create and develop. So, think of the most important lenses and bring just them. I had the experience of carrying all my equipment on a 10-day trip, and honestly, I only used just one lens. So, keep that in mind!
Think of Why You Want to Make Those Pictures
You need to know why you make those pictures. Is it just practice, or do you want to use them for a photography competition? Are they for your Instagram page and your blog, or do you want to put them on a gallery wall? When the stakes are high, it changes the way you see the surroundings. It makes you extra motivated and gives you the right amount of energy needed for a useful photography trip.
How Far Do You Want to Go
You need to know how much free time you have! If you want to take pictures of the stars or capture animals drinking early in the morning, you need to set your timing. Timing in photography is essential. How far do you want to go, how far do you want to get? You need to know the answers to those two questions in advance. If you are fully prepared, it will give you extra time to experiment with different shooting techniques.
More Pictures Doesn’t Mean Better Pictures
Quality over quantity. Try to learn when to press the click on the camera. It is better to have five good pictures than 1000 bad. I do not say that you shouldn’t take as many pictures as you want, but gives yourself time to enjoy the moment. If you do and shoot what makes your heart beat faster, the quality would be on another level.
My Last Photography Trip
I want to finish this article, sharing with you my last photography trip. A lady hired me to shoot pictures and videos for her website. She has a travel agency, and she wanted me to make the content good enough to represent her next trip. I was not going to be paid, but she promised me a reserved place for whatever trip I wanted to go in the future. For some reason, my battery charger stopped working just the day before, and my Sony Handycam was not turning on. I had no time to think of a solution. My luggage was already prepared. Adapt, improvise, overcome. I took the camera, the lenses, and the tripod out. I charged my old Huawei P20, which has a wonderful camera and makes incredible videos. I traveled the next day and spent the weekend shooting with that phone. I want to say when I showed her my work, she was impressed. I even recorded noises of the river, the birds, and the hike to use them like a background noise setting up the mountain mood for the upcoming video. So, I have done it, just with a phone with a lot of vision and originality. So, I believe you can adapt to the situation, and it doesn’t matter how hard it can get. Just improvise. Always. And be yourself. Thank you so much for reading me again, and I wish you many happy trips experimenting and shooting. I believe you can do great things. By Clyde