WANDERLUSTING: 7 Ways To Make People Lust Over Your Travel Pics On Instagram

I am absolutely obsessed with travel photography. When I head out on a trip, I always carry my iPhone (loaded with photo apps) an old school Holga camera with Lomography film and my Sony NEX F-3 digital camera to click away. My Instagram (@DeviDev) is pretty infamous for travel pics. Be it ones riding an elephant in Thailand or sunsets captured in Hawaii, I try to be as lustworthy as possible with my uploads.

This week, Sarah Wilkerson, CEO of www.ClickinMoms.com, the photography industry’s largest female social network and subscription based community of female photographers, offers up seven amazing tips to make your next Instagram posts lustworthy too!

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1. Visit a Gift Shop: Stop into the gift shop at your hotel or even on your way out of the airport when you arrive at your destination. The postcard racks there are filled with visual inspiration for the places and things you’ll want to be sure to capture as well as some of the best perspectives for doing so. Want to capture the Eiffel Tower in a way that no one else has? Well, then the postcards can serve as a “what not to do” and help to ensure that your perspective is, indeed, unusual.

2. Be an Early Bird: Head out before the most popular locations get packed. While everyone else is asleep, you can have quiet time to focus on composing the perfect shot of the Taj Mahal — all while avoiding the inevitable throngs of tourists that would otherwise walk right in front of the frame. As a bonus, the time shortly after sunrise has some of the most beautiful light worth photographing and will make your images positively magical.

3. Change up your perspective: Particularly when capturing a “bucket list” or “don’t miss” subject on the trip (e.g., The Rialto Bridge on your trip to Venice), approach your subject from several perspectives. I’m not just talking about a step to the left or a horizontal vs. vertical shot; I’m talking about major shifts in position and field of view. Get one shot in which you fill the frame, one shot in which the subject is so small that it might seem like an afterthought, one shot crouched low to the ground, and one shot from atop the highest position you can find in the area.

4. Capture the Details: Naturally you’ll want to capture the big landmarks that define the places you visit, but pay attention to the details, too! Photograph your train ticket, the flowers at the farmer’s market, the hand painted sign at that cute little jewelry shop, the seashell you find on the beach, the glass of wine you had at dinner, the ladybug crawling on a stick in the National Forest and the red door of that cottage you walk by on your way to the coffee shop each morning.

5. Look Beyond the Setting: Remember that where you are is just one aspect of your vacation. Be sure to photograph the characters as well–such as your traveling companions and the city’s residents–and the stories that occur while traveling, whether it’s your child’s first time petting a dolphin or the way she reacts the moment she sees Cinderella Castle at Disneyworld. Better yet, make a point of combining the two, letting the setting provide context and a backdrop for the stories you tell and the characters you capture.

6. Get in the Frame: Do you always find yourself appointed DP (Designated Photographer)? When you look back on the family scrapbook, are you conspicuously absent from vacation photos and birthday parties? Even though you might have the biggest camera or the best eye for composition, it’s important that you get out from behind the lens! Incorporate your family, friends or traveling companions in the shot–then hand your camera over and have them take a few of you, too!

7. See the Sights with Your Own Eyes: Don’t mistake documenting your vacation for experiencing it. It’s wonderful to come home with hundreds of pictures, but don’t forget to put the camera down and soak up every detail with your own eyes. And when you’re done with that, pack that camera back in your bag, and feel the salty spray coming off of the Pacific Ocean, breathe in the fresh air of the Alps, listen for the chimes of Big Ben, or sample the best wines Napa Valley has to offer.

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