How To Get Epic Solo Travel Photos

Traveling solo is incredibly rewarding. If you’ve never taken a trip by yourself, I encourage you try it at least once! Chances are you’ll love the freedom and self discovery it provides. (Check out my 10 Things Traveling Solo Has Taught Me) But if you enjoy photographing your trips, it can be quite difficult to get any decent solo travel photos without someone there to take your pictures.

While sometimes I am fortunate enough to have friends who can join me on the road, sometimes I am traveling by myself. I’ve traveled alone throughout Rome, Iceland, Germany, Egypt, Istanbul, Mexico, Thailand and India in the last year and still have managed to capture some really wonderful memories while traveling solo. Hopefully these few tips and tricks help you upgrade your photography game!

Without further ado… here is how I’m able to capture epic solo travel photos:

Plan Ahead

Before you get out your camera or even board a plane, a little bit of thought beforehand will go a long way in improving your travel photos.

Great travel photos begin with what you pack.

Knowing you have the right outfits to compliment the color scheme/landscape/climate you’ll be photographing is the first step.

Packing clothing and accessories that leave you feeling confident will also come across in your photos.

A thoughtful, put together and culturally appropriate outfit will obviously photograph much better than the T-shirt and jeans you might normally wear at home. Unsure what to pack? Check out my packing guides for winter destinations and Egypt. Otherwise search Pinterest for outfit inspiration in any destination 🙂

In Thailand, I knew I wanted to capture some split under/over water shots. So I planned ahead and knew exactly what type of shot I wanted to take. This also meant being prepared with the right gear.

Read: HOW TO TAKE SPLIT OVER/UNDERWATER SHOTS

Get Inspiration and Come Prepared

Head on over to Instagram, Pinterest or your favorite travel blogs to get inspired by other gorgeous travel photos. What type of photography do you like? Action shots? Mostly landscape? Solo shots or people interacting with one another?

Getting some ideas for how to take photos abroad instead of the classic “here I am just standing and smiling in front of a monument” will go a long ways! Find variety in your shots, poses and angles to help add visual interest.

Pro Tip: Using something to frame the shot in the foreground (like the leaves in the photo below) help add visual interest and frame a subject.

Beat the crowds

One of the best things you can do to ensure you have a great time at popular tourist destinations AND get awesome photos, is to arrive before the crowds. Show up early, arrive really late or travel in the off season.

When I visited Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, I went in the winter and arrived at 8am- long before the sun had even risen! I drank champagne and watched the sunrise in a nearly empty Blue Lagoon. I had the place practically to myself. Not only did this make for an awesome experience, I had no trouble getting a few shots without other people in it. Overcrowding makes it really difficult to get decent pictures.

The Taj Mahal is another popular (and very crowded) photo spot! If you want a photo alone, be prepared to arrived before sunrise. Not only will this help you get amazing photos but it will be a sunrise you’ll remember for the rest of your life!

Read: HOW TO GET A PHOTO ALONE AT THE TAJ MAHAL

Patience

But alas, sometimes there will be a crowd. And you’ll just have to wait.

Want a photo with the famous Bali swing? Most likely you’ll have to patiently wait for others to finish.

Want a picture of just you standing in front of the Colosseum? Odds are you’ll have to wait a bit for the crowd to clear in order to get that shot.

Soak up the sites and enjoy people watching while you patiently wait for an opportunity to take a lovely photo.

Ask a Stranger

The question I get asked whenever I’m traveling solo is always, “Who took that photo?!”

While sometimes it seems like I just travel around with a photographer,(*referencing that hilarious television reporter who insisted that I must be!) I usually just kindly ask another tourist or my guide.

Some of my all time favorite travel photos have been taken by complete strangers.

This photo below with me and a camel in front of the Pyramids was taken by the Egyptian man we paid to take us for a camel ride through the Sahara. He was the one who stopped at this location and (without using any English!) gestured to take this photo! I was quite impressed by his framing and photography skills here. Often if you are friendly and tip a guide, they are more than happy to take some photos for you 🙂

Typically I will approach someone who is also trying to take a picture and offer to take their photo first. Then after I’ve snapped several for them (and I’m conscientious to do a good job!) they will inevitably ask, “Do you want one as well?” And will repeat the same angles and pictures I took for them. But even if they don’t offer, I’m happy to help others capture great pictures 🙂

Sometimes a stranger will chop off most of the background or the photo will be really blurry. Now if that happens, I will sometimes wait a bit then ask another person. If I didn’t get an okay picture on the first try, I usually do on the second.

If you are friendly, polite and willing to help others, I have found people are happy to take your picture. It also sparks conversation with other travelers. It’s an easy way to make friends if you’re traveling solo.

Book an Airbnb Experience

Another option for travel photos- book a photography tour with Airbnb experiences!

Now this won’t be an option in every location but I met with a photographer in Krakow, Poland for the first time and we had a fantastic shoot together. It was a tour of hidden locations around Krakow. While the photographer guided the tour, she also captured photos of you. It’s like a walking tour/photo shoot mix.

You can read my blog post on the Krakow Airbnb Photography Experiences here.

Get $15 off your first Airbnb Experience of $50 or more!

This is a fun way to meet local people as well! And usually a lot less expensive than hiring a photographer. Some of my favorite travel photos ever came from my Airbnb Experience in Bangkok.

Read: HOW TO GET INSTA-WORTHY PHOTOS IN BANGKOK

Get $15 off your first Airbnb Experience of $50 or more!

Connect with local bloggers or Instagrammers online

If I’m in a new place traveling by myself, I will sometimes reach out to a fellow blogger or Instagrammer online and see if they want to meet up to take pictures! This has been a really fun way to meet someone local and help each other out with photos.

Here’s the steps to find and meet up with bloggers for a photoshoot:

Begin by searching for blogger hashtags in the destination on Instagram. (For example, in Savannah, I searched #savannahblogger & #savannahbloggers) Then look at the most recent photos for that hashtag. Find someone whose pictures you enjoy and who you might like to meet up with! You can also search for a “Savannah Blogger” Instagram page then see what bloggers follow it or are featured on the page. Then send a private DM explaining that you’re an out of town blogger or photographer who would love to explore and take photos together.

Plan to meet up for a shoot!

Ask if they would be interested in joining you for a shoot to help one another get pictures. If you’re friendly in the message and they aren’t a massively successful blogger already, there is a good chance someone will get back to you 🙂 Not everyone checks their DM’s all the time, so I will also go and leave a genuine compliment on their most recent post and mention I sent a DM!

You’d be surprised how many girls were thrilled to show me around their city and go on a photo excursion together!

Use Couchsurfing to find photo buddies!

Another option is to find someone on Couchsurfing. You can post a public hangout that travelers in the area will be able to see. And on this public post you can say you are looking to meet up with someone in town to go on a photo adventure!

I have also met up with someone this way in Poland. We had a blast walking around, taking pictures and chatting! It’s also just a lot of fun to connect with other travelers this way.

Use a tripod

Using a tripod and self timer/ remote is a more challenging but effective way to get photos when you are traveling by yourself!

Personally I find tripods bulky to travel with and I get a little too shy about setting them up in busy destination. But I have done it! When I’m writing a blog post about a location and have no one to take a photo for me, I’ve been known to bust out a tripod once or twice.

I recommend this tripod from Amazon.

Thoughtfully set up your shot

Taking a quick moment and being mindful of framing can make massive improvements in your travel photography. Even if you’re shooting on an iPhone and have no intentions of using your photos for anything other than your own enjoyment.

Either frame the shot with your tripod first or politely and briefly share with your photographer what shot you are going for. Simply say, “I’d love a vertical shot where you can see the three different colorful houses, thanks so much!” 🙂

If you share what picture you are hoping to capture in a friendly way, people are usually quite happy to help out!

Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is a guideline for visual composition. It suggests that an engaging image is broken into nine equal parts with two vertical and two horizontal lines that intersect. The rule suggests that the points of interest should be placed on the intersections rather than simply placed center.

I’ve linked below a fantastic article explaining the rule of thirds more in depth!

Read: https://expertphotography.com/improve-your-composition-the-rule-of-thirds/

Notice how in the photo below, the Nile river takes up the bottom third, the sand & boats take up the middle third and the sky fills the final third. It is a balanced photo. In addition, I am situated along the vertical right line with my head landing at an intersection. From a composition stand point, this is a strong way to capture your audience’s attention.

Edit Using Lightroom

The biggest game changer in solo travel photography is learning how to properly edit your photos. There are countless tutorials on Youtube and if you are seriously interested in quality photos, I suggest you make the switch to editing with Lightroom.

I personally just use the Lightroom mobile app to edit when I’m out traveling. My DSLR camera has WiFi capability and can send high resolution photos right to my phone. This makes editing and uploading on the Lightroom app super simple!

Invest in a DSLR camera

Once you’re ready to take your photography to the next level, it’s time to invest in a better camera. As great as some cell phone cameras can be, they ultimately limit you. A LOT. Night photography is essentially impossible and overall, you have much less control.

I recommend the Canon 80D. I’ve been thrilled with the upgrade and can see a great improvement with my photos.

Once you have a DSLR, learn to shoot in manual mode

No point in having a great camera if you don’t know how to use it right? The Youtube video below is one of the best I’ve come across for teaching the concepts of manual photography in a simple and concise way.

Overall, getting great photos while you travel solo can be tricky but definitely isn’t impossible. Just be willing to approach people, ask for assistance and give it a little thought beforehand.

Shop My Favorite Travel Outfits For Great Photos!

How To Get Epic Solo Travel Photos