Travel photography tips: Framing your shots

Professional photographer Steve Davey presents his travel photography tips. Read his advice for framing your shot.

By Steve Davey
Published 23 Jan 2015, 15:00 GMT, Updated 1 Jul 2021, 15:52 BST

Don't always place your subject in the centre of the frame. This will give boring, predictable images. More the subject of the picture to the edge of the frame, and you can effectively uncover the background, giving a context to your picture. The picture will look more balanced if the subject is looking inwards, towards the centre of the frame. To make sure that the subject is in focus, then more the active focus sensor so that it is over the subject. This allows you to control where in the picture the camera will focus. An alternative solution is to point the central active focus sensor at the subject, half-press the shutter button to lock the focus, then recompose the frame, before taking the picture. Try to make sure that the background is significant and meaningful to the picture. If you shoot with a large aperture (the smaller numbers like f4) then the background will be more out of focus. Shoot with a smaller aperture (bigger numbers like f11 or f16) to make the background sharper in the picture. bettertravelphotography.com

Travel Photography Masterclass

Here at National Geographic Traveller, we've teamed up with professional photographer Steve Davey, who will be presenting his travel photography masterclasses at Destinations: The Holiday & Travel show. These two-hour masterclasses will help sharpen your skills, iron out bad habits and give you a better understanding of your camera's functions to enhance your travel images. Book your masterclass, from only £30. Early booking is advised as places are limited. Click here to book your workshop

 

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