The Travel Photography Book

The Travel Photography Book

by Scott Kelby
Released October 2021
Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
ISBN: 9781681987859

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Book description

Learn how to take professional-quality photographs when you travel, using the same tricks today’s top photographers use!

Whether you're on a dedicated photo trip or a family vacation, you want to come home with a collection of great photos to show your friends, share online, and even make a large print for your home. Capturing great travel photographs can be tricky...but not if you know the secrets that Scott Kelby is here to share with you!

Here’s how Scott describes this book’s brilliant premise: “If you and I were out shooting, and you asked me, ‘Hey, how do I get this flower to be in focus, with the background out of focus?,’ I wouldn’t stand there and give you a photography lecture. In real life, I’d just say, ‘Put on your zoom lens, set your f-stop to f/2.8, focus on the flower, and fire away.’ That’s what this book is all about: you and I out shooting where I answer questions, give you advice, and share the secrets I’ve learned just like I would with a friend—without all the technical explanations and techie photo speak.”

This isn’t a book of theory—full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. With 200 of the most closely guarded “tricks of the trade” for travel photographers, this book gets you shooting dramatically better-looking, sharper, more colorful, more professional-looking travel photos every time.

Each page covers a single concept that makes your photography better. Every time you turn the page, you’ll learn another pro setting, tool, or trick to transform your work from snapshots into gallery prints. If you’re tired of taking shots that look “okay,” and if you’re tired of looking in photography magazines and thinking, “Why don’t my shots look like that?” then this is the book for you.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Research
Chapter 2: What Makes a Great Travel Photo?
Chapter 3: Photographing People
Chapter 4: Gear and Settings
Chapter 5 Travel Photography Accessories
Chapter 5: Composition

Chapter 6: Other Cool Stuff to Shoot
Chapter 7: When to Use Your Phone Instead
Chapter 8: What to Shoot (and What to Skip)
Chapter 9: Sharing Your Trip
Chapter 10: Travel Tips & Tricks
Chapter 11: Post-Processing Tips
Chapter 12: Travel Photo Recipes

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. About the Author
  6. Contents
  7. Chapter 01: Doing the Research Before Your Trip
    1. My First Stop? 500px.com
    2. Next, Head to Pinterest
    3. Make a Shot List
    4. Make Your Own Pinterest Board
    5. Find a Fixer
    6. Try Google Earth
    7. The Hidden Power of the Concierge
    8. Hire a Photo Guide
    9. Location Scouting
    10. Make Local Connections on Social
    11. Follow Local Instagram Accounts
    12. Access Might Be an Issue
    13. Search Stock Photo Sites for Ideas
    14. Buy an eBook Photo Guide
    15. Keep an Eye Out for Special Events
    16. Watch Movies to Find Locations
    17. The Ol’ Postcard Rack Trick
    18. Hire a Driver for the Day
    19. Keeping Your Gear Safe
    20. Flying with Your Gear
  8. Chapter 02: What Makes a Great Travel Photo? It …
    1. …Is Shot in Beautiful Light
    2. …Can Have Charm and Romance
    3. …Has Interesting Composition
    4. …Tells a Story
    5. …Can Have Color as the Main Subject
    6. …Can Be Very Simple
    7. …Shows Something Unique
    8. …Can Have Interesting or Dramatic Light
    9. …Has Effective Post-Processing
    10. …Shows an Interesting Place
    11. …Makes the Viewer Want to Go There
    12. …Has Motion or Action
    13. …Is Sharp
    14. …Has Limited Distractions
    15. …Has a Straight Horizon Line
    16. …Has Color That Looks About Right
    17. …Includes the Human Element
    18. …Can Combine More Than One of These
  9. Chapter 03: Gear & Settings
    1. Which Camera Mode to Shoot In
    2. Getting Sharp Hand-Held Shots
    3. Insurance Against Blurry Shots
    4. Which F-Stop to Use
    5. Getting Your Color Right
    6. How to Check Your Sharpness
    7. Which Type of Lens to Use
    8. When to Take Two Lenses
    9. Picking the Right Focus Mode
    10. Turn Off Your Flash!
    11. An Easy Way to Brighten/Darken Your Photo
    12. Should You Shoot in RAW or JPEG?
  10. Chapter 04: Travel Photography Accessories
    1. Traveling Light Wins the Day!
    2. Backing Up Your Images While You Travel
    3. If You Absolutely Need to Take More “Stuff”
    4. You Might Want a Photo Vest
    5. Bring Spare Batteries
    6. Memory Cards (and How to Organize Them)
    7. My Go-To Camera Strap for Travel
    8. A Travel Tripod
    9. Or Take a Platypod Instead of a Tripod
    10. Using a Tripod? You’re Gonna Need a Ballhead
    11. Some Kind of Cable Release
    12. Shooting with an App Instead
    13. Why You Might Want a Polarizer
    14. An ND Filter for Taking Long Exposures
    15. The PhotoPills App
    16. You’re Gonna Need a Cleaning Cloth
  11. Chapter 05: Capturing Images of People
    1. Getting People to Pose for You
    2. Have Your Guide Ask Them for You
    3. The Art of Taking Candid Portraits
    4. Keep an Eye Out for Dramatic Light
    5. Another Tip for Getting People Portraits
    6. Shooting with Window Light
    7. Choosing Your Background for Portraits
    8. Where to Focus for People Shots
    9. Paying Locals to Pose
    10. Shooting in Direct Sun
    11. More Flattering Portraits
    12. Portrait Composition Essentials
    13. They Don’t Always Have to Be Smiling
    14. Shoot and Move On
    15. Camera Settings for Outdoor Portraits
    16. Camera Settings for Indoor Portraits
  12. Chapter 06: Composition
    1. Don’t Forget to Shoot Details
    2. Getting the Most from Your Wide-Angle Lens
    3. Capturing the Moment vs. Composition
    4. Shooting Skyscrapers
    5. Where to Put the Horizon Line
    6. Shooting Level Matters
    7. You Don’t Have to Show the Scene as It Is
    8. Leading Lines (and How to Use Them)
    9. Changing Your Perspective
    10. Working the Scene
    11. Avoid Junk around Your Edges
    12. Simplify the Scene
    13. Odd Numbers Work Best
    14. The Power of Negative Space
    15. Shooting Patterns
    16. Using Frames in Your Composition
    17. Symmetry: Why We Love It
    18. The Rule of Thirds
  13. Chapter 07: Other Cool Stuff to Shoot
    1. Shooting a Time Lapse
    2. Shooting Long Exposures
    3. Shooting Panoramas
    4. Shooting High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images
    5. Shooting HDR Panos
    6. Shooting the Milky Way
    7. Shooting at Night
    8. Shooting Reflections
    9. A Twist on the Standard Vacation Photo
    10. Showing Movement
    11. Fine Art Style
    12. Give Yourself a Magazine Assignment
  14. Chapter 08: When to Shoot with Your Phone Instead
    1. Time Lapses Made Simple
    2. Shooting Panoramas Is So Much Easier
    3. Super-Wide-Angle Shots
    4. Shooting Video
    5. Easy In-Camera HDR
    6. When You Need Fully Silent Shooting
    7. Taking a Still While Shooting Video
    8. Shooting Straight Down on Food
    9. Shooting Where Cameras Aren’t Allowed
    10. Slow-Motion Video
    11. You Need to Edit and Post On-the-Go
    12. You Don’t Have a Fast Enough Lens
    13. Sharing Photos with Your Group
    14. You Want to Take a Selfie
    15. Much Bigger Monitor for Sharing
    16. Shooting Really Close Up
  15. Chapter 09: What to Shoot
    1. Shoot: Old People and Kids
    2. Shoot: Color as Your Subject
    3. Shoot: What the Locals Are Wearing
    4. Shoot: Cityscapes from Up High
    5. Shoot: Outdoor Cafes
    6. Shoot: Cathedrals, Palaces, and Theaters
    7. Shoot: Small Details to Help Tell Your Story
    8. Shoot: The Food!
    9. Shoot: Interesting Architecture
    10. Shoot: At Blue Hour
    11. Shoot: Subway Stations
    12. Shoot: With a Foreground Object
    13. Shoot: Where You Stayed
    14. Shoot: Markets
    15. Skip: Animals
    16. Skip: Fountains with Frozen Water
    17. Skip: Messy Shots
    18. Skip: People Doing Everyday Things
    19. Skip: Instagram Clichés
    20. Skip: Other People’s Art
    21. Skip: Shots Filled with Tourists
    22. Skip: Things under Construction/Renovation
  16. Chapter 10: Sharing Images from Your Trip
    1. Adobe Spark Page: Best Way to Share Online
    2. Getting Big, Beautiful Prints from a Photo Lab
    3. Printing a Photo Book
    4. Sharing on Instagram
    5. Sharing on Facebook
    6. Group Sharing with Download Privileges
    7. Create a Portfolio of Your Travel Work
    8. Take a Portable Hand-Held Printer
    9. Sharing on the Big Screen
    10. Sharing an HD Slide Show Complete with Music
  17. Chapter 11: Travel Photography Tips & Tricks
    1. Safety Tip: Blacking Out Your Camera’s Name
    2. What to Do When It’s Been Shot to Death
    3. Tourist-Free Shots, #1
    4. Let Photoshop Remove Tourists for You
    5. Yet Another Tip for Tourist-Free Shots
    6. Getting Rid of Tourists, Method #4
    7. Get Down Low with a Wide-Angle Lens
    8. F/22 Starburst Effect
    9. An Ideal Way to Photograph a City
    10. Hire a Model
    11. Why You Need to Shoot the Classic Shots
    12. Putting Your Camera’s GPS to Work
    13. What to Shoot in Bad Weather
    14. Getting a Sharp Shot Under Bad Conditions
    15. Consider Emergency Evacuation Insurance
    16. Safety Tip: Get Gear Insurance
    17. This Might Save You If You Lose Your Camera
    18. Shoot the Sign While You’re Still There
    19. Invest in Travel, Not in More Gear
    20. Where to Shoot in Paris, Venice, London, or
  18. Chapter 12: Editing Your Images
    1. The “Standard Stuff”
    2. Getting a Better Starting Place
    3. Doing an “Auto” Correction
    4. Getting Your Color Right
    5. Nailing Your Exposure
    6. Dealing with Backlit Photos
    7. Fixing Clipped Highlight Problems
    8. Fixing Sunny, Washed-Out Photos
    9. Five Ways to Add Contrast to Your Images
    10. Enhancing Detail
    11. Sky Replacement
    12. Better Skies Using the Linear Gradient
    13. If Your Sky Gradient Covers Something
    14. Another Bluer Sky Method: The Color Mixer
    15. Better Skies: Technique #3 (Select Sky)
    16. Better Skies without Messing Up the Clouds
    17. Making Your Colors More Vibrant
    18. Making Your Light More Interesting
    19. Darkening or Brightening Individual Areas
    20. Adding a “Look” to Your Image
    21. Converting to Black and White
    22. Fixing Lens Problems
    23. Darkening the Outside Edges
    24. Sharpening Your Image
    25. Stitching Panos Together
    26. Creating an HDR Image
  19. Chapter 13: Photo Recipes to Help You Get the Shot
    1. The Recipe for Getting This Type of Shot

Product information

  • Title: The Travel Photography Book
  • Author(s): Scott Kelby
  • Release date: October 2021
  • Publisher(s): Rocky Nook
  • ISBN: 9781681987859