Enhance your memories with these 6 tips
If you’ve got a great RV trip planned, you will, of course, want to be able to look back on it fondly and recall all the fun stuff you did and saw. In addition to perhaps picking up some souvenirs, you can do this by taking photos. If you’re a little old-school, perhaps this will involve bringing along an actual camera. But even if you’ll just be using your phone, you can still capture all the great moments. However, this doesn’t just mean pointing it at everything and hitting that shutter button; use these tips to take pics you’ll want to revisit.
Don’t overdo the scenic stuff
America is full of spectacular natural amenities, and this doesn’t just mean the Grand Canyon or huge mountain ranges. You can find examples of beautiful nature almost anywhere. This is why, for many people, the urge to take pictures of everything they see can be overwhelming. And while a few shots are fine, they can quickly become redundant. You can make them more interesting by putting your travel companions – or yourself – in them.
Use a timer
Speaking of putting yourself in your photos, this is often hard to do. Sure, you can put your camera on selfie mode (perhaps even a selfie stick), but generally, those pictures don’t turn out that well, or you get shots of your face, but the stuff you really wanted to capture in the background is obscured. Instead, use the timer. This will give you and anyone else you want to include time to get into the right position.
Don’t make it obvious
What pics stand out to you when you scroll through your phone? Probably the candid ones, right? The ones where nobody knew you were taking them? Posed pics are all well and good, but when people don’t know they’re about to be captured, you get much more than a pasted-on smile. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to invade somebody’s privacy, but you don’t always have to be so obvious with your camera.
Capture the essence of the area
While you’re bound to do some touristy things on your trip, it’s always a good idea to get off the beaten path a little. Instead of just relying on travel websites, don’t be afraid to ask some locals about things to do/see/eat that only locals know about it. This will give you an excellent opportunity to see what makes the area unique. You can then take pictures of the wildlife, interesting architecture, or perhaps even some of those colorful local folks.
Do something different
How many times have you seen somebody pose in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and use their hands to “hold it up?” Or perhaps somebody doing something a little more risqué with the Washington Monument? While the first people who did this may deserve a little credit, the thousands since don’t get any, and you don’t want to be one of them. If you’ll be visiting an oft-photographed place or structure, think about a new way to shoot it, or just snap a regular pic and move on.
Tell a photographic story
If you plan to show people these travel pics – perhaps on social media – you can make it more interesting by using them to tell a story. This means documenting the entire journey, not just the sights at your destination. If, for example, you had to quickly pull off at the nearest rest area after someone in your party ate some questionable highway diner chili, snap a pic of them hightailing it to the bathroom. It’s these types of pictures that both your online friends and you will most enjoy looking at.
Unless you’re a full-time RV-er, your trip will have to come to an end at some point. But you can always take a trip down memory lane with your photos. If you have any amazing or funny experiences, or cool tips or trick you’d like to share, we’d love to have you submit your story!
