Photography Advice | Pro Tips to Take Amazing Honeymoon Photos

One of the most memorable vacations you will probably ever take will be your honeymoon. I’ve taken many amazing trips with my hubby and daughter over the years, but nothing is ever really like the first trip you take together being officially married! Of course I would love to come along and be a third wheel to capture some amazing honeymoon memories for you. (Yes this is actually a thing!) But in the event that you don’t want me tagging along, I figured I’d offer you the next best thing which is my top 3 tips for taking your own amazing travel photos.

#1 Light is Everything

Light is the foundation of photography– period. Good light will literally make or break a photo, so step one should always be finding the light. Natural light is always going to look the best in a photo, but you’ll want to avoid harsh direct sunlight that can cast funky shadows or create ghostly hot spots.

My holy grails when looking for the best natural light is window light OR open shade! They are pretty much foolproof.

The trick to taking the best selfie ever? Position yourself facing a window– your skin will glow and your eyes will literally sparkle! 

Having another friendly tourist snap a photo of your and your honey? Pick out a shady spot to stand in first and then ask them to take it. You guys will look like rock stars.. I promise.

[Bonus Tip: If you’re having trouble “finding the light” put your cell phone in selfie mode and rotate yourself 360 degrees until you find the light that looks the best on your face.]

#2 Quality Over Quantity

When you’re traveling, your time is extra precious. You typically only have a handful of days to experience a brand new place and most of the time you want to see and do as much as you can! It’s really easy to get overeager taking pictures and videos of everything, posting to Instagram, adding to your snapchat story, going live on Facebook– there is so much to share!! But at the same time it’s important to realize all those moments you’re spending behind your camera phone are moments that you may be missing in real life. That’s why I firmly believe when you’re capturing photos of your travels, it’s about quality over quantity.

Let’s be real. What are you really going to do with 2,000 images from your weeklong honeymoon? I am a professional photographer for goodness sake and I’m here to tell you that you do NOT need that many photos! (And your friends & family don’t care to scroll through all of them on facebook either if they’re being honest.) So make it a point to grab one or two really great images in that moment and then put it away and soak it in!

The memories are in your mind and your heart– the photos are only there to remind you of how you felt, so make sure you are actually feeling… and not just mindlessly snapping.

#3 Think About the Gear

Lastly, when you’re thinking about the moments that you want to capture you’ll want to give some thought to the gear you’ll be using. It certainly doesn’t have to be anything fancy– I personally do not travel with any of my pro camera equipment. Whatever method you choose to take photos, it just needs to be something functional that does the job without getting in the way. So think about what you’re going to be doing prior to your trip in case you need to add a little something to your photo kit.

For example, my husband and I recently traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We knew we had a lot of adventurous excursions planned where we would be hiking, zip lining, swimming and doing lots of physical activity. For that trip we opted to bring our GoPro Hero4 which is super rugged and can be used under water. It’s really tiny and attached to a wrist strap it was out of the way, yet still accessible when we needed it.

Another popular option is of course to use your cell phone which you always have with you anyway! If your iPhone is going to be your primary camera, you’ll want to make sure to have enough storage to hold plenty of photos & video and a portable power bank to re-charge your battery while you’re on the go. If you’ll be hanging out around the water a waterproof pouch might also be a good idea. Otherwise, you may want to avoid keeping it in your back pocket for risk of it getting lost or being stolen, so think about how else you’ll keep it handy yet safe. Fanny pack for the win!

Want more travel photo tips?

Head on over to Get Out Custom Travels’ Facebook page to watch the replay of my FB live chat with Theresa, owner & travel expert! And be sure to check out Theresa’s blog at GetOutCustomTravels.com for more valuable travel advice and ideas to help plan your picture perfect honeymoon. 

 

Author: Elle Baez, Orlando wedding & engagement photographer and adventure junkie