© Yanik Chauvin - Fotolia.com

This article will cover the basics of travel photography. These are guidelines that are valid in most situations.

Planning your trip

First of all, I strongly advise any photographer to carefully plan the trip before leaving home. Make an itinerary with places you plan to visit using information either from your travel agent or from other resources, internet for example (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ is a good place to start). Find out the visiting hours for museums, castles, zoos, etc, be sure to know how to get there (bus, train, car), buy (or print from the internet) a map of the area. Depending on the situation, you may want to get there early in the morning or in the evening to get the best light, so take this into account when planning the trip. If possible, look for other photos of that particular place or tourist attraction, this will give you a clue about the best angles for shooting.

If you have expensive photo equipment you should insure the equipment with you insurance company. You never know what could happen so is best to be covered for loss or theft of the equipment. You will find more about insuring your photo camera by contacting the local insurance agency.

Take with you proper clothing for the climate of the place you will visit. Learn some phrases in the local language, they may prove useful.

What to pack

One important aspect when packing is border verification of your luggage. If you travel by plane, try to keep photo equipment in your hand luggage. If that is not possible, put your gear in some secure case that is resistant to mechanical shocks since the luggage is not always handled with care by airport workers. Check both the home airport and the arriving airport regulations regarding carry on bags; usually you are allowed to take with you one carry on piece and one "personal item" (briefcase or purse). Be prepared to have you gear searched in case the security officers want to take a look at it. If you carry film rolls is best to keep them with you and try to avoid exposing them to the scanner, because this can destroy the film. Show the rolls to the security officer and ask him to verify them without passing the film through the scanner, but it will be at the screener's discretion. Do not leave exposed roll of film in your photo camera. If you are asked to make it operate, you may need to open the camera's back, and this will ruin your exposed film.

When it comes to packing, each photographer will have their own preferences as they attempt to balance weight issues with functionality. In most situations you need to pack:

- Photo camera(s), off course!

- Point and shoot camera. Some SLR users also carry a more compact point and shoot camera. This is useful for situations when you want to protect your expensive gear or when you simply don’t want to carry all the equipmnet with you (dangerous situations, a night out, etc);

- Extra batteries. It is important to have extra batteries for long shooting days and those days when you can not (forget to) recharge your batteries the night before. This issue is even more important if you travel in places where the batteries could run up faster, for instance cold climate areas. If you use a point and shoot camera with AA batteries it is recommended to buy rechargeable ones, they will save you money in the long run;

- Recharger. You will need it for rechargeable batteries. If in the destination country the power plugs do not match your charger plug you must buy an adapter. You may also need a transformer depending on the power supplied at the plug, for example if you travel from Europe (230V) to US (110V). It may be cheaper and more convenient to buy a charger from the destination country than to buy and carry with you an electrical current transformer;

- Cleaning gear. It is recommended to take some cleaning gear with you: lens cloth or tissue, a bulb blower. Regularly clean the outside of your camera and it’s lenses and filters;

- Filters. Polarizing filters are great for cutting out flare and have a considerable impact when photographing water, glass or sky, so they are great for landscapes. UV filters are good for protecting your expensive lens;

- Flash. External flash units can be very handy to have while you travel although can add significantly to the weight of your kit and they need extra batteries. This is an optional piece of equipment when travelling. Photos taken with a externnal flash look much better than the ones taken with the in-built flash. If you did bring a camera with you, don’t carry it with you at all times, take it only if you take night photographs or in a situation where you know for sure that you will need it;

- Memory cards. Memory cards come in a large variety of storage capacities. It is not recommended to buy to the biggest memory card because if it gets lost, stolen, or damaged during your trip you will lose all photographs. It is better to buy several smaller card (1-2 GB is ok for most digital cameras). If possible backup your photos at the end of the day on your laptop or on a photo storage device, an iPod, etc.;

- Camera bag. Personal preference is involved here. Find some bag that fits your camera and the lens you are using most. Look for a bag that is water resistant, this will protect your photo gear. Choose something that fits everything in and that is comfortable. It is difficult to find the perfect bag but if you look carefully you will find a good one;

- Tripod/monopod. Not always necessary but take one with you if you can, it will improve your photos and it will help you at night time or in dark places. If you find it difficult to carry a tripod all the time, use your camera bag, fence posts, or find other stationary objects along the way to support the weight of you photo camera;

- Photo storage device. There are several solutions for this. You may use a notebook to store your photographs, an ipod, an external hard drive (providing that you can use a computer to transfer data) or a dedicated portable photo storage device. These devices have internal hard-drives ranging from 20GB to 80GB, which is ample storage for any amateur or pro out in the field. Photos can be transferred directly from the memory card into the digital photo storage device (although some may need an additional card-reader).

The right lens to take with you when traveling, this is a difficult question. The answer may vary depending on multiple factors like your favorite style of photography, the nature and duration of your trip, etc. If you can afford, buy the best lens possible so you will be able to get high quality photographs. When choosing a lens for travel photography there are a few aspects you should consider:

Focal range. Keep in mind that you never know what you can come across during your travel. What you might like to photograph during your trip can vary a lot. If you travel to a big city and you plan to capture the architecture and the street life of that place you will probably need a wide angle lens. This will allow you to photograph most buildings from an optimal distance. If you choose a lens with a big focal range (for example something up to 135, 200mm) you will be able to zoom in for detail, far away objects, peoples faces and so on. The focal length you choose depends on your style of photography. If possible, take with you a combination of lenses, at least two, a wide angle and a reasonable tele lens, thus you will be covered in almost any situation. You can opt for a lens with a wide focal range, like Nikkor 18-135 mm or Tamron 18-200 mm, but be aware that the quality of the photographs taken with this type of lens is not always very good.

Lens speed. Low light situations are usually common when traveling: museums, galleries where you are not allowed to use the flash, evening or night photography, indoors events, etc. So the faster the lens the better. Of course, this lenses are usually expensive. If you can afford one, buy it especially when it comes with a good focal length (Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is a good example for a zoom lens).

Weight. A big lens can be a problem when traveling especially if you carry a lot of photo gear with you. If you don’t want to carry around a fully loaded and very heavy camera bag you will have to decide which lenses you will take with you. In case your bag is stolen or damaged you will wish you had only one lens in it. Having a lot of lenses with you means that you will spend more time changing lenses, and less time enjoying your trip.

Remember that if you don’t have the best lens possible it doesn’t mean you can not take great photographs. Is the eye that matters.