5 Ways to Take Travel Photos with Your iPhone
Updated: Dec 3, 2019
Disclosure: I mention a number of products in this article - I am not sponsored by Amazon, nor any of the brands, but I have included affiliate links, from which I may benefit if you choose to order the products for yourself via those links.
This is the first blog post I'm writing while on the road! My first taste of digital nomad life, and I already have a lot of respect for those who can balance the excitement and exhaustion of travel and getting work done!
At the time of writing this post, it is my seventh day in Seattle, and I truly love this city. It is friendly, safe, easy to travel around, full of dogs and amazing vegan food, and - contrary to popular opinion - mostly sunny! When this is published, I'll be in Portland where I'm spending a couple of days being a tourist, and meeting up with some instafriends!
Travelling or not, I wanted to make sure I had a post this week, so I've put together a quick list of five ways you can take travel photos with your iPhone, based on my experiences and preferences. I am a massive Apple nerd, but I'm sure these tips can be applied to other brands of smartphone!
I have omitted the obvious "pointing and shooting" which can be done with any phone camera, as I thought that was pretty self-explanatory! Here are my top five methods for taking photos while travelling, particularly if you're travelling solo!
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1) Burst Mode
I would be lying if I said burst mode hadn't changed my life. I *believe* burst mode was introduced with the iPhone 4 (don't quote me on that), and I use this function in a lot of the scenarios I find my self taking photos.
Essentially, burst mode takes rapid fire photos as you hold down the shutter button. Perfect if you want to capture something moving quickly, or if you yourself can't stop and set up your shot. I use burst mode mostly for gig photos, where there's lots of movement on stage, and for taking photos of dogs who can't stay still!
When travelling, there will obviously be lots of situations where this mode becomes useful, like if you're in a moving vehicle and capturing something through the window, for example. With burst mode, you can take a large number of shots, and then go back and review them individually, keeping only the shots you want.
I swear by burst mode, but there are a few things to remember when taking photos this way:
Burst mode photos are lower quality than regular photos - a lot of times it is worth the compromise, and some subtle editing can go a long way
Using burst mode can quickly fill up space on your phone - during one gig I can easily fill up a 16gb phone if I don't go back and review the photos soon enough
Not strictly an iPhone tip, but if you use Amazon Prime Photos (unlimited photo storage for Prime users! #NotSpon), you currently cannot upload burst photos to your account. Just a minor point I thought I'd add!
2) Timer
One tactic that might seem rather obvious for taking your own selfies is using the timer, but I've only recently embraced it! Method #3 is my go-to tactic, but if you're lacking the right equipment, the timer still gets the job done, even if it takes a bit longer.
I'm always a fan of makeshift tripods (walls, trees, rocks, you name it), but for the last year I've been using the CamKix 3 in 1 Telescopic Pole and Tripod Base Kit which I absolutely love. I'm starting to think about investing in something a bit more heavy duty, but this tripod is so easy to travel with - it weighs almost nothing, and can be put together in seconds. I find myself taking photos with a timer when I'm in more of a hurry and don't want to set up a tripod etc, but I thought I would mention it here nonetheless!
3) Bluetooth Remote
Another gadget I've been loving over the past year is my bluetooth remote! I need to invest in a new one as the battery in mine is definitely going, but the Camkix Bluetooth Remote has served me so well! Since connecting it to my phone, I've had zero connectivity issues, and it has always worked perfectly. For £6 I don't think you can do much better!
I've always preferred using a remote over a timer, just because you don't have to keep going back to the phone to take the next shot, waiting for the countdown etc, so it's a quicker process. If I feel I have time to set up a tripod, I normally use my remote as well. Eagle-eyed followers will be able to see it in some of my Lisbon and Switzerland selfies!
4) Video Screenshots
This is by far the laziest method I use, and I don't tend to use it unless I really feel the need, but you can film yourself walking through the poses you wanted to capture, and then take screenshots during the relevant parts of the video! You really compromise on quality by doing this, but if you're desperate - and I have been desperate - its *a* way!
In a similar vein to using burst mode, using a video to capture something moving, and then taking screenshots, can work in a similar way. Unless you delete the video soon after, however, this can fill up your memory even faster than using burst mode!
5) Clip-on Lenses
I was a huge sceptic of the clip-on wide angle and fisheye lenses for a long time, thinking they weren't really worth the money (even if they were cheap), but this year I was converted! I since invested (if £15 is an investment) in the Mpow 3-in-1 Lenses, which includes a fisheye, a wide angle, and a macro lens, and I love how high quality they feel!
I've only really made use of the wide angle lens so far, but I absolutely love them! I have noticed that other lenses quite significantly reduce the quality of your photos, but this isn't really the case at all with the Mpow lenses! They're a really awesome way to mix up your and enhance your photography while travelling - my favourite is the wide angle, perfect for those shots where you can't quite fit everything in.
For anyone on the fence about these kinds of lenses, I would highly recommend checking these ones out!
Thank you for checking out my first photography-related blog post! I do not claim to be anything of a skilled photographer, but I do take a lot of photos, 99% of the time with my phone! Let me know if you try out any of these tips or the products I've mentioned!
As always, likes and shares are massively appreciated, and please subscribe to my blog if you'd like to be updated whenever I post! <3