Challenges Taking Photos When Traveling (and How to Overcome Them!)

As you would expect from a full-time travel photographer, I spend a great deal of my time taking photos when traveling. That includes everything from landscape photography in remote locations, through to food, portrait, wildlife, event, and architectural photography in destinations around the world.

Over the years of getting shots on the go, I have become familiar with the unique challenges facing travel photographers, which make it more difficult to get the shots we may want on a trip.

In this guide, I’m going to share with you the most common challenges you might experience when taking photos while traveling. I’m also going to share my tips on overcoming these challenges, to help ensure you get great photos when you travel.

Challenges of Travel Photography

All photography has its challenges, but when we travel we often face additional unique challenges which can impact our ability to get great photos.

When you’re taking pictures at home, you are likely familiar with the local area, you know about any photography restrictions, and probably know the type of gear to bring.  If you are driving from home, you may be able to throw extra gear in the car in case you need it.

You also often have some flexibility to plan around weather conditions and crowds. Plus, if things don’t work out as planned, you can usually just come back another day.

However, when we travel we are often unfamiliar with the destination, have restrictions on how much photography gear we can bring, be shooting in poor weather or lighting conditions, and have time limitations on how long we’ll be in any one place. So it can be important to plan ahead in order to minimize these challenges.

Here are what I’ve found to be the main challenges facing travelers looking to get great photos on their trips, as well as some tips and ideas for overcoming them.

Limited time in destination

One of the biggest challenges we face when traveling is that we tend to be on a timetable. Whether we are traveling for work or pleasure, the majority of trips have a defined end date, meaning at some point the trip will be over and we have to head home.

What does this mean to the traveler looking for great photos? Well, it means that you have to get all the shots you want within the time you have available to you.

To ensure you do get the shots you want, the key is careful planning. Without proper planning, you might miss the shots you want because you run out of time.

My top tips are:

• Research…