How To Take Better Holiday Photos

Hopefully, at some point in the summer months you'll be packing up and heading off to distant, sunny climates - but how do you keep yourself photographically amused while you're out there? Fear not: we're on hand with photo projects, ideas and inspiration to keep you and your camera occupied while everyone sunbathes - and to ensure that you come home with your best ever holiday photos.

Don't forget the basics

Just because you're on holiday doesn't mean that the essential rules of photography don't apply. You might be in flipflops, but you still need to keep those horizons level, and use the rule of thirds to divide up your shot into perfectly composed sections... Whatever snap you're capturing, take a few moments to stop and consider your composition, the lighting, the angles you're using, before you press the shutter button, and your pictures will be better for it - we promise.

Challenge accepted

Staring at a long day pool-side? Why not challenge yourself to see if you can capture images along a certain theme? Numbers is a great motif to start with: first find a single object, then a pair, then three, and so on until you genuinely can't see a group large enough. What's the highest number you can reach? If you make it past ten, we'll be seriously impressed - tweet us and let us know.

Another project could be to focus on a certain subject, such as food - and shoot your plates using the same composition/from the same distance all holiday long. At the end of your trip you could make a fast-paced gif of the delicious meals you encountered: it'll certainly be a lot speedier than sitting through a slideshow of images...

Do your homework

It's always a good idea to know what you're headed into: that's why sites like TripAdvisor are so hugely popular amongst holiday goers. You can use these sites to your advantage to check out the photo opportunities that exist at your destination: is there a gorgeous sunset to be spotted, weather permitting? Does the hotel throw an amazing firework show once a week? Can you get a fantastic view from a roof terrace - or is there an unmissable vista just down the road? As well as your fellow holiday-makers, forget to have a look at the location on Instagram or Flickr to see what other social users have been posting: you could be within reach of a truly once-in-a-lifetime photo moment.

Pack light

A few little accessories will help you in your quest to take better holiday photos. A tabletop tripod will take up a tiny amount of space in your suitcase, yet will make all the difference to your pictures - especially if you're shooting after dark or are trying out some longer exposures. Keep some extra memory cards to hand, in case you run out of space before you can get back to your computer to upload your haul. A spare battery or two will also come in handy, especially if you're planning some longer day trips: there's nothing worse than running out of juice in the middle of a photo adventure.

Be ruthless

Marie Kondo has taught the world that less is more - and although though you might not share her enthusiasm and fierce approach to declutterisation, it's true that many of us are guilty of taking ten photos when one will do, especially when we're on holiday. Pause before capturing your next photo and ask yourself: is this really a moment worth preserving? If you can't resist clicking that shutter button in the heat of the moment, when you're back at home and you have some time to flick through your images, you could try a pro trick to trim down your stack of pictures. Go through your photos one by one, rating them either “1” for a keeper or “0“ for one that's no good. Once you've got all the way through, discard your 0's and take another pass through, rating all the really good ones as 2 - then discard your 1's and so on, through 3, 4 and maybe even 5, until you've whittled it down to your very best. You might find you're left with only ten images out of hundreds: that's ok! Just make sure you do something with those ten: create a collage, or make a small photo book.

Whatever you do with your holiday photos, don't forget to upload them and tag us in - we want to see your summer adventures. If your camera's wifi ready, you could even share your shots with us from the comfort of a poolside lounger long before you've returned to the rainy UK! You'll find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: bon voyage....