The way we take photos on holiday has changed so much over the last few years. When I was little, we would take our photos and have to wait until the end of the holiday to get the rolls of films developed, oh the excitement of getting the holiday snaps back was unreal – let me tell you! A few years later, then came the digital camera – along with the trend to upload hundreds of photos to Facebook, creating huge albums of holiday snaps to bore your friends with. Now, things changed yet again – in a world where we are bombarded with data, photography and everyone trying to carve their own unique ‘corner’ of the Internet, we have become more select, more creative and we now have Instagram. A place to showcase our absolute best photos, upping our game from novice to semi-professional photographer and editor – all in one. So, next time you go on holiday – here are a few tips to get the very best shots to share via Instagram:
- Think outside the box
When it comes to taking photos, you want to captivate your audience in a single shot, so choose your subjects wisely and think outside the box when it comes to angles, lighting and the general construction of your photo. Focus on a single scene that captures the moment, the culture, the sights, the sounds, the smells in one. Take us there in that one picture.
2. Chose wisely
There is nothing worse than a spammer on Instagram, so now you will have to chose your pictures wisely. Avoid uploading too many pictures in one go, I usually select just a few (up to 5) and try uploading them throughout the day, rather than in one go. I also love this as it gives your audience the feel they are following your travels and experiencing it with you along the way. Try and upload a mix of different scenes – capture the locals, the scenery, the weather, the food, the culture to mix things up.
3. Edit
I use lots of different apps to edit my photos, however I find travel shots need very little editing at all. With gorgeous sunshine at your disposal, underfiltering is better than overfiltering, so try not to get carried away with the filter buttons! One of my favourite apps for editing is Afterlight, I use the brightness and contrast selections to brighten my image as a first step, before moving it back into Instagram. If you love the filtered look, Instagram has added so many minimalist-style filters like Gingham and Slumber, giving your images a soothing tone, evoking that dreamy, travel wanderlusty vibe. 
4. Hashtags
As bloggers, we love a hashtag (or a hundred) but go easy on the hashtags, no one likes to see a block of hashtags larger than the image itself! However, if used effectively hashtags can be a really cool little tool. I usually use tags such as ‘#travelblog’ as I love to link in with other travel bloggers and see what they are up to. I also tag my location and a brief description of the photo.
Hashtags, although sometimes annoying can be a really handy thing to use. When I was in Turkey I tagged the town we were staying in and a local bar found me and liked my photos. We then visited the bar on our trip and had a great time there! Without Instagram we wouldn’t have ever known it existed! In Cape Verde someone in the same hotel found my photos and ended up going on the same Turtle Sanctuary excursion as me as she messaged me and I gave her the details. It’s a fun way to link up if used effectively, NOT to be used to spam or get more likes, as tempting as it is!
5. Keep forever
Instagram isn’t the only place to keep your prized travel images, why not print your photos in a cute little Printrbook or funky Fridge Magnets and keep them forever?
So there we have it, I hope this list has inspired you to refresh your travel photography style! It’s simple really – when it comes to Instagram, less is more! I would love to see your travel Instagram snaps, so leave me your links below. My Instagram is @fizzypeaches, if you fancy a peek!
– Post written in collaboration with IceLolly.com
Great advices! And your blog is lovely by the way!