You might not be a professional photographer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t snap an amazing photo every now and then. Especially if you are traveling through one of the most picturesque places this world has to offer. It used to be that guide books and tour guides were every travelers best friends; though now it’s more common to see a fellow backpacker with a smart phone and camera in hand. If you are about to set out on a RTW trip, here are six ways to improve the photos you’ll inevitably take.

The Petrones Towers of Kuala Lumpur. Credit Tony George

Pick a Theme

The desire to capture in detail everything around you can be overwhelming. If you plan to be in one place for a few days, pick a theme or two for each day. Focus on food or architecture one day, colors a different day and locals the next. You can change themes throughout the day or snap photos of something off theme if you discover the perfect shot, but choosing a theme can offer direction.

Remember the Rule of Thirds

Photo composition determines if a shot is well-balanced and interesting or awkward and boring. The rule of thirds is an easy composition technique to remember that will instantly transform your travel pictures. The basic principle behind this rule is to imagine an image is sectioned into thirds both horizontally and vertically. With this grid in mind, it is easier to position subjects within the frame: generally in the top left, bottom left, top right or bottom right section. A subject placed in the middle instead of the left or right lacks the feeling of movement. Learn to off-center your subjects to see an immediate boost in your photo compositions. If that doesn’t come easy to you, consider taking a class to learn more techniques. Online photography courses at academyart.edu teach students the language of light, the rule of thirds, camera angles and more.

Tell a Story

Sacred Moment – an Indian wedding. Credit Tony George

Use the photos you take on your trip to tell a story about what you experienced. Don’t just focus on the landmarks or one or two amazing things you saw. If you slept in a traditional Chinese bed, take a picture of it. Snap a shot of your food and the conditions of the bus or train that takes you to the local landmarks. Photos not only capture memories but can evoke the smells, tastes and feelings of an experience.

Find Ideal Lighting

Try to utilize natural light whenever you can. If you are inside a museum or touring an ancient castle, angle your subject to receive sunlight from windows or use lamps to brighten an area instead of relying on the flash. When outside, take advantage of the early morning sun or the hour before sunset. These times as well as cloudy days are great for photo shoots because the soft, indirect sunlight captures subjects in their most vivid moments. Light coming from the midday sun is too bright and will bleach out subjects, causing people to squint and cast strong shadows in your photos.

Let’s Be Candid (But Know When to Pose)

Photos of smiling children in front of a waterfall or you standing proudly in front of the Eiffel Tower are a must, but don’t let them be the only shots taken that day. Capture natural moments of the kids playing in the water, your spouse playing bocce ball with the locals in Italy or you exploring the cobble streets of Mexico. Posed photos can prove that you were there; action shots will prove that you enjoyed yourself.

Use the Right Equipment

The right camera equipment is whatever you have on you at the moment. Be a minimalist while traveling. That doesn’t mean you can’t bring your 200mm camera, but don’t miss a moment because you are busy trying to swap out lenses. Keep a point-and-shoot with you at all times and leave the heavy gear at the hotel for an afternoon or two. A hand-held tripod is convenient for group shots or just ask a passerby to snap a photo for you.

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Debbie Fishman used to be a flight attendant and now she writes about travel. She doesn’t miss waiting on people, but she does have a strong appreciation for attendants who can demonstrate how to fasten a seatbelt without scowling.

The post 6 Easy Secrets for Brag-Worthy Travel Photos appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

A great shot to tag #AirTreksOnTheRoad – photo by Travelettes

If you’ve ever used the popular Instagram photo-sharing app you’ll know why it’s the preferred photo sharing tool on the mobile web. Instagram makes it super easy, almost natural, to take arty snapshots to share with people you know and love, no matter where you (or they) happen to be. If you’re an Instagrammer too, well read on. You could win something!

It’s no secret how much it thrills and delights us to help our customers make their way around the planet. The things is, once we send our little ducklings out into the world, we don’t hear much from them afterwards.

That’s why this month we’re launching a contest to change all that.

The contest will give prizes to people who take Instagram photos of their travels and share them with their friends with the hashtag #AirTreksOnTheRoad. Share it on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and each week you’ll be entered in a drawing to win something cool and useful (see below).

For simple Facebook sharing, please let us know as well by using @AirTreks.

There is no limit to the number times you can enter, so snap and tag away. You don’t even need to have purchased a trip with AirTreks to enter, as long as you include the hashtag #AirTreksOnTheRoad you’ll be entered to win.

We’ll monitor all the entries and every two weeks for the duration of the contest, which is currently indefinite, we’ll draw winners at random. The more photos you tag, the greater your chance to win. Don’t forget to add the photo to your photo map so everyone knows where you are!

Prizes will include the following in random order:

• $25 – $100 Amazon gift cards
• Travel books
• Lonely Planet guidebooks 
• Amazon Kindles! (on select occasion)

Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for prize announcements and winners. Winners will also be notified by comment on the photo that was tagged.

Okay travelers, the contest starts now. The first winner will be chosen November 16, 2012 (to build a little tension), and continue afterwards. So take a shot and show us the amazing vistas, sunsets, Unesco landmarks, local fishermen, Buddhist monks, and anything else you’re seeing while you travel the world.

Disclaimer: AirTreks reserves the right to use winning photo entries tagged with #AirTreksOnTheRoad in future contest promotions. AirTreks employees not eligible. AirTreks reserves the right to extend or discontinue the contest at any time.

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Photo by digitalpimp.

Click for more great travel photos on the AirTreks blog.

The post Photo Friday: The Chinese Garden, Singapore appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Because Friday shares a phoneme with photography and also because your relaxation neurons are starting to fire, I’m showcasing a few of the shots I took along my voyage across the Indian subcontinent last month. And also because they’re colorful and fun.

Please have a great weekend!

* Hover over the each photo for their titles and locations.

All photos are © AirTreks and may not be used without express permission of the author.

For more Photo Friday posts click here.

The post Photo Friday – The Colors of India appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Your average photograph from a point and shoot camera these days consists of about 10 megapixels, that’s 10,000 tiny pieces of color put together to create a moody shot of the Notre Dame cathedral. There’s been a movement recently to up the ante, and it’s called the gigapixel photograph. A gigapixel photo is composed of a billion pixels, over 100 times that which a ten megapixel camera can capture!

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with around the world travel specifically. Well, these gigapixel photographs have been showing up for cities around the world, allowing you a new way to look at the cities portrayed in them, turning the majuscule into the miniscule with the simple click of a mouse. It’s very cool.

Below are some of the most detailed images ever taken in some of the world’s most photogenic cities. If you happen to be planning to visit any of these places, take a look and see what they look like with whatever amount of detail you like. In other words, zoom way in and see what you can see.

Click the images to be taken to the sites where the images live and be amazed.

Rio de Janiero from Sugarloaf

This is the largest of the large, coming in at a whopping 152 gigapixels, nearly twice the size of the next largest.

London

A personal favorite. 80 gigapixels.

Prague

One of the first gigapixel photos to emerge.

Dubai

Bet you can’t count the cranes.

For more on the process of gigapixel photography check here. Or else check out more of these amazing macro-photographs.

The post Gigapixel Photos from Around the World appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

This seemingly gravity-defying natural process was found about 1 hours hike into the park.

© AirTreks & Nico Crisafulli

The post Just One of the Thousands of Falls of Plitvice appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Wat Arun, “Temple of the Dawn”, Bangkok

The Khmer-era Buddhist temple located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok celebrated its 200 birthday last year.

The temple’s more-than-a-mouthful complete name is Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan. It can be climbed by purchasing a 20 baht ticket (about $0.60). Read more about its history here.

The post Photo Friday: Wat Arun appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Photo Friday this week gives you an image taken in Cuzco (or Cusco), Peru. The photo was taken in an alley just off the Plaza des Armas in the city center. The walls you see here are original Inca construction dating back to the 14th century. So tightly do the wall’s stones fit together you couldn’t slip a piece paper between them if you tried. Not to mention the fact they’ve remained standing for 600 years with no mortar, a fair improbability if you think about it.

These type of walls, constructed with tightly fitted, sometimes multi-faceted stones, exist all over the city, throughout the region and across the ancient Inca empire. Industrious people, the Incas were. And they would’ve gotten away with it had it not been for those meddling Conquistadors. At least we still have the beautiful remnants of their work to admire.

Have a great weekend!

The post Photo Friday: Inca Walls In Cusco appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Photo taken in Dubai, UAE. The craft is an abra, the traditional mode of transportation to cross Dubai Creek between Deira and Bur Dubai. Dubai Creek is less of a creek per se but a saltwater inlet that curves 9 miles inland, at the mouth of which the original city of Dubai was built.

The abra costs 1 dirham (about .25¢) and takes about 10 minutes to cross the creek. Anyone can ride the ferry.

The post Photo Friday: Ferry in the Morning Fog appeared first on AirTreks Travel News.

Paris is an incredible city, one that absolutely lives up to its reputation, be it wonderful, dramatic or embittered.

For anyone going, recently returned or have relentless memories of the fair City of Light, here’s an adorable little poem written around 1911 by American poet Sara Teasdale.

Paris in Spring

The city’s all a-shining
Beneath a fickle sun,
A gay young wind’s a-blowing,
The little shower is done.
But the rain-drops still are clinging
And falling one by one —
Oh it’s Paris, it’s Paris,
And spring-time has begun.

I know the Bois is twinkling
In a sort of hazy sheen,
And down the Champs the gray old arch
Stands cold and still between.
But the walk is flecked with sunlight
Where the great acacias lean,
Oh it’s Paris, it’s Paris,
And the leaves are growing green.

The sun’s gone in, the sparkle’s dead,
There falls a dash of rain,
But who would care when such an air
Comes blowing up the Seine?
And still Ninette sits sewing
Beside her window-pane,
When it’s Paris, it’s Paris,
And spring-time’s come again.

~Sara Teasdale

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