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How to Take GREAT vacation photos!

Every year, my family takes a vacation. We've done Floriday, Disney World, Staycations, Amusement parks... all sorts of different things.

Of course, I am always in charge of capturing moments. I usually have to be forced to hop in a few photos here and there though.

The most important tip to take vacation photos is one: get a good camera.

here is a video link explaining what I do for my vacation camera:

Then the second most important tip to vacation photos is taking little candid moments that tell the story of your trip.

People laugh at me for taking my camera into restaurants, into aquariums and other places that seem "weird" to take photos at. But when I see good light, then that's all that matters to me!

I take pictures of random details to tell the story. We were just on the porch and playing bubbles. It would make a good transition photo in the photo book as well.

My daughter's face in the light of the sun on the porch of our rental house was perfect.

I had my husband take this one as we went around the corner! (At Busch Gardens)

this frog was actually in a cage and all I had was my 35mm 1.8 and some really bright light. But I thought it was a great shot.. oh and NEVER use flash against an aquarium glass case! It will ruin your photo.. this was taken with natural light.

I was pretty much laying on the ground taking this photo to get the perfect relection light from the fish tank.

I had to take four or five photos each area to get the scene that I wanted in my mind.

I directed this shot. I said "Mom, have him point to something." That way I got the shot I needed that told a better story. I was basically crouching down the ground to get this shot. Also, I moved my focus point over the right a little bit so that I could get more of the story in the shot. If you have a Nikon D700 or above, you can do this trick. If you would like to see a blog post from one of my favorite people click it up a notch.

Getting a good picture of the fish tank with my son in the reflection was very tricky. But again, good photos take time. I had to try over 10 times to get this shot. Again, I didn't use a flash. Only natural light. How can you try to do that? It's shooting manual, the way that all photographers in the film days used to do it! Here are some great articles to get you started!

These weren't even my kids on the ride (of course.) My I thought a picture of people going down the roller coaster was a great story-telling picture.

We were just here waiting in line for a ride at Busch Gardens and I got this shot. Again, it's all about lighting and using a Prime lens! Here is a little article to give you more information about why I LOVE prime lenses so much!

This was a 10 foot alligator in there! and my kids faces were priceless! Again, moving the focus point tells the story. If my daughter was in the middle of the shot, I would lose the story.

Here is a cool detail shot of Jamestown. I love how in lightroom, I played with the coloring. If you are looking to get into editing your photos (a must!) You need to check this video out to get you going!

Here is a boat in Jamestown. I thought it really told a story. I like how I put the boat, not in center. I gave some open space on one side.

I took some detail shots of the boat. I think it was a great transition photo.

Here is my son getting my husband up from a nap. I love this little candid moment. The light coming into the room was amazing! I was on the ground on my knees to get a betting story, like I was peeking in!

I shot on my knees a lot! I was photographing children and they are little! I also shot down a lot!

I wanted my husband to be on the side. Again, moving my focus point.

Here I am, shooting down on my son, focusing on the icecream.

All I had was my little 35mm at the water park, so I was getting wet. But fortunately, I brought a back-up camera and I ALWAYS use a uv filter on my lens to protect my camera.

Here are a couple links to some good protective gear:

I made my daughter do this face. Sometimes photos just don't happen, you have to make them happen!

I loved how all the vests were lined up perfectly in the swim area at Water Country. This was a very popular photo on my instagram page.

I wanted to take the typical "hanging out and having a vacation" photo with my green toe nails!

Here is my daughter holding hands with her cousin. I made them do this. We were in the blazing sun! So I really had to know how to do my camera settings! Shooting manual will let you do this better than auto- where the stupid flash pops up all the time!

I loved how when you walk into Busch Gardens, you see these flags. It just spoke to me.

Here we are at Crackel Barrel. The lighting was so soft, it made a really cute B/W photo.

We are just eating icecream. But because of using a PRIME lens, it looks like you can reach out and touch it!

I love this photo. My kids didn't ieven ride this ride. But this image reminds me of summer!

Hope you have a great vacation this year!

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