We are often asked how we actually take our photos: do we use a drone, do we have a private photographer who follows us wherever we go, or does a friend take all the photos? This article will definitely help you to step your photography game up! We tell you exactly how we get those pictures and give essential photography tips for your journey.
Our Story & How we got here
Hi, we’re Tabitha & Florian, a 20-something years old couple who loves to take photos! And, additionally, we love educating others and share our experiences and tips on the World Wide Web. And somehow we came to this blog via numerous detours. As you know, it is all about travel and photography here.
Tabitha started with social media back in 2015 when she decided to share photos from her life. Often this was simply her breakfast or something that excited her. Like the water lilies in our pond, for example. Somehow others seemed to like it too and so a few thousand followers quickly gathered on Instagram.
With this following, Tabitha decided to do something good and actually educate others about food, recipes and fitness – her passion at that time.
Travel Photography
In addition to this passion, the love for travel grew quickly. In the beginning we used our cell phones to take photos and then used an old digital camera. However, we wanted our photos to get better and decided to invest in a DSLR which we used for 4 years before buying another camera. Nowadays, we travel with some equipment to get our work for hotels and destinations done, but we never forget how we once started.
And that brings us to the point of this article: we want to show you how you can take beautiful pictures of your own without having much equipment!
Taking pictures of yourself: How?
Firstly, this guide is labeled how to take amazing couple pictures on your own, but you could also use these tips if you’re a solo traveling woman or just want to be your own instagram husband. It is hard to rely on others for content creation purposes, and that’s exactly why we wanted to share some travel photography tips!
Which camera is the best?
We know that everyone always wants to sell you the latest equipment and raves about their new great mobile phone, which can now take better photos than the last one. Yes, that’s right – in most cases.
However, the best camera is always the one that you have and that you can handle. Nowadays you don’t need a DSLR or DSLM to take beautiful photos. Instagram & Co deteriorate the quality anyway. Means: If you want to take photos to post on social media, you should not worry about it at first.
On the other hand, if you plan to work with hotels and take photos for destinations, quality plays a big role since they usually buy these pictures for further use.
Photography Tips for Travel Couples
These photography tips include our essential photography tips for travel couples in order to take amazing couple pictures on your own.
1. Use a tripod
Normally, people rely on other people taking their photos. We hate this, because you always have to agree on a certain time, place and communicate your ideas for your pictures first. Oftentimes, this is precious time you could use for shooting.
If you want to be more independent, a tripod is your best choice.
Do you have recommendations?
In the past, we used different tripods – from cheap to super expensive. If you use your mobile phone to take pictures, a cheaper one will definitely work. However, if you plan on using a camera, I’d go for a more expensive one since you have to keep in mind that it has to be strong enough to handle around 1kg+.
Why is a tripod helpful?
A tripod lets you choose what you want in frame and how your photo should look like. We usually set up our tripod with our camera and then one of us – usually Florian – will go to the desired spot. Then, we adjust our camera settings, focus and remote control and we’re good to go!
TIP: When buying a tripod and planning on traveling with it, make sure it’s not too heavy.
2. Act Natural
Usually, the best pictures are the ones that are not posed! We prefer more natural looking photos and that’s why we try to put the camera in time-lapse mode and take 1 picture per second for 60-120 seconds. In 99% of the time, there is at least one good photo.
If you’re shooting with a mobile phone, simply take a video and screenshot your favorite frames. It does not lower the quality significantly but increases your chance of getting a superb photo.
Tips to act more natural in front of a camera
We know it’s hard, especially when you’re just starting. Normally, we just take a deep breath and think about something beautiful and try to forget that there’s a camera clicking.
3. Make sure you’re in a good mood
Seriously, there’s nothing worse than taking pictures after a discussion, a fight or simply when you’re in a bad mood. That happens from time to time and is absolutely normal. Sometimes, humans get mad about the smallest things and that’s okay. Especially if you’re traveling and working together – aka you’re basically twins and spend 24/7 together.
However, please do not take pictures when in a bad mood! We tried it several times and it never worked. That’s why we promised ourselves to never do a shooting without coffee, food and / or enough sleep.
Tips to be in a better mood
Take a deep breath. Is it really as bad as you think? Are you perhaps just exaggerating and should you just come down for two minutes before starting a fight?
Here are some things we like to do when we’re in a bad mood:
- remind the other one how much we love them and that we’re happy to be here together
- discuss the problem very briefly
- take 5 minutes off and calm down
- grab some food and realize we were just hangry
- remind ourselves that we’re so lucky to be able to live in a world like this and that it’s a waste to not enjoy the moment to the fullest
3. Focus, focus, focus
Sometimes it is wanted that the focus is on the landscape and not on us. However, this is a stylistic tool that everyone can choose for themselves. It is important that the focus is where you want it to be.
Depending on the camera you use, you will have access to different focus modes. In our DSLM we usually go with a manual focus, but if you’re shooting with a mobile phone you could fix the focus beforehand and then take pictures.
Focus Point
Usually, the focus should be on one person’s eye. Depending on how far away you are, this is absolutely utopian. We like to simply use each other’s body to set the focus.
5. Other people’s opinion
Probably one of the most important lessons you’ll learn is to ignore other people. Especially at the beginning it can be very difficult and you will particularly notice the looks of other people.
Some people like to pose as a spectator, but for many this is a real obstacle. When we started it was extremely uncomfortable to take photos in front of other people. Somehow we always had the feeling that others would have to think that we considered ourselves to be very special. But mostly it is really just curiosity and enthusiasm.
If you don’t feel comfortable with it at all, you could of course ask people to continue, but we would recommend that you just keep going. To jump over your shadow. Even if it may not be the most beautiful and best pictures the first time, you will learn quickly. And isn’t that the point: to learn?
We really hope you liked this guide on how to take amazing couple pictures on your own. Here are some more posts you might enjoy:
- Lago di Sorapis guide: everything you need to know
- Paris photo spots – secret photo spots to view the Eiffel Tower
- Cologne itinerary by a local
- Lago di Braies travel guide
- Photography locations in Germany
- Couple posing guide
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