Holiday photographs that capture how it felt
When we went to Lake Como and Samos, we had two rather different holidays. Como involved lots of exploring. Samos involved rather more lying down.
Looking through the photographs afterwards, I realised that very few of my favourites were the obvious photographs of either place. Of course I took those too.
Lake Como: look beyond the postcard
Once you’ve taken the photograph that says “Look, here’s where we went on holiday”, start looking for photographs that say something about what it actually felt like to be there.
Lake Como isn’t exactly short of spectacular views. But some of my favourite photographs came from finding different views and details, often in places where you might simply walk past or be tempted to take the more obvious image.
Look for the smaller things as well as the grand view. They can bring back the atmosphere of a place just as effectively.
Samos: make friends with the sunshine
Samos was a different sort of trip. We weren’t doing much sightseeing, and there weren’t landmarks around every corner waiting to be photographed. What there was, though, was some rather lovely Greek sunshine.
You’ll often be told not to take photographs in the middle of the day because the light is too harsh. That can be good advice for flattering portraits, but strong sunlight can also create interesting shadows.
The patterned shade above a sofa turned a perfectly ordinary photograph of my daughter and a backgammon board into something much more interesting.
Remember who came with you
I spend much of my working life telling people how valuable photographs of friends and family are. It would be a little odd if I forgot that on holiday.
So photograph the view, the details and the light. But don’t forget the people you went with. In years to come, those may be the photographs that matter most.
