In this post we’re going to share with you 8 steps to get started in travel photography in 2020. Assuming you already have a passion for photography and travel which is kind of important , you also need a roadmap to follow so you keep on track to make the dream of combining the two a reality. So let’s dive in.

1. Define your style. 

Photography trends come and go, but style remains the same. 

There are many ways to capture travel experiences, you may focus on landscapes, street style, documentary, or a combination of styles.

Being known for a particular style, both in editing and the way you present an image gives you an advantage in that you will stand out from the crowd. So take some time to work out what style of photography you enjoy and be consistent with that style

2. Niche

Who are your people ? Sticking to a particular niche will further enhance your photography style and help to define your work to potential clients. In this case it’s better to focus on people with similar interests to you  - people who are like you - like you.

For example, if you’re parents with young kids, you might focus on family travel, you might also niche down and say you only focus on luxury family destinations or budget for that matter.

If you enjoy hiking and camping - you might focus on hiker travel, or if the beach is your jam - you might focus on beachside locations only, you get the picture.  There are a million different niche opportunities when it comes to travel and tourism choosing a niche that you enjoy will make it far easier to become successful travel photographer.

3.Gear

What Gear do you need? Some people say you only need the camera you have, be that an iPhone or a point and shoot or a DSLR.  In some cases that’s right, but, if you want to get hired as a professional you’re probably going to need more than just your phone.

This is all very subjective of course, most modern camera’s are pretty much at the top of the tree in terms of technology, so brand isn’t important. In a general sense though you’re probably going to need most of the following.

Camera -  mirrorless is good for travel as it’s often lighter. 2 or 3 memory cards and 3 or 4 batteries, plus a battery charger.

Lens - 24-70mm and a 70 - 200mm ( or equivalent ) as a minimum. Then add a wide like a 16 - 35 mm ( or equivalent ) . Obviously you can add as many other lenses as you like, just remember your going to be carrying these around with you all day though. Filters - polariser and a variable ND as a minimum.

Tripod / monopod - carbon fibre if budget allows or aluminium if it seems sturdy.

Camera bag - depending on the type of travel photos you are doing will determine the bag. Sometimes just a regular backpack is good, or a hiking pack if you are in the mountains, usually whatever you find comfortable and sometimes the more inconspicuous the better. Generally though you want to stay as light as possible, having two bags is a good option, a regular camera bag that you can leave in your accommodation and then a smaller day pack you can use if shooting a particular subject or place.

It’s also a good idea to use a waterproof liner in your pack, so your gear will stay dry, even  if your camera is weather sealed - the less contact with water the better.

Everyone has their preference as to what other specific gear you might need, more often than not you’ll find that you tend to use the same lens 80% of the time and you’ll want to stay as mobile and ready to go as possible, the less gear you carry around with you the better off you will be given the dynamic nature of travel photography.

4. Local, Domestic, International

Contrary to popular perception, you probably won’t be jet setting around the globe lapping up the resort lifestyle, it’s very expensive to start a career in travel and tourism photography if your focused on international destinations, and generally without solid experience or a large social media following, nobody is going to pay you to travel the world.

A good way to start is by focusing first on the local area where you live or the closest city to your home.

Focusing on the local tourist region or closest city will give you a great grounding in being able to develop your style and niche without breaking the bank. Spending 1 - 2 years solely in your local area or city will give you a good head start in growing your profile as well.

Once established in your local area, you’ll find it a lot easier to work on other destinations around the state or country, building your profile further. 

While continuing to work on travel destinations locally and domestic it’s then a good idea to work towards doing international trips that fit your budget, niche and style, that’s of course if it fits in with what you want to focus on, if your happy focusing on just your own country you’ll find more than enough destinations to photograph. 

So you definitely don’t need a passport to start, gain experience locally and develop a great style that stands out while working towards destinations further afield.

5. Social Media

This brings us to our next step and that is building your profile on social media as a travel and tourism photographer.

If you have in the past used social media platforms for a business venture or a personal brand you’ll know that it’s very un predictable and sometimes frustrating, very few people in context of the total amount of users gain a large enough following to become well known.

That being said it is definitely possible to build a following in 2020 on your favourite platforms.

For a tourism and travel photographer, a few things go without saying, quality images, and a defined style and niche is just the beginning.

There are many guides out there on how to gain a following on social media, a lot of it is crap, the methods that do work are simply that - work. 

Again the best way is to start small, local area awareness of who you are will build a following faster. Connecting with local business,  local influencers and local brands is one way to grow, then also connecting with your niche community is another great idea.

For example if you focus on  cycling tourism, then connecting with local cyclists should be a priority, also cycling brands and businesses should be a focus. Your aim should be to become a resource of places to go for cyclists in your local area, city or state, or again if you focus on family travel you’ll want to connect with family focused social accounts, blogs and online communities.

As a general rule, always consider what value are you offering your community, if your not offering some kind of value, be that information, resources or entertainment you will find it difficult to gain attention on social platforms.

In terms of the different platforms out there of which there are many, it’s difficult to know where your content will resonate or gain traction, for some it’s instagram while others could have better engagement on linked in, i would say to spend 80% of your time on one platform and divide the rest of your time spread across a couple of other platforms to feel them out and see what works for you. 

When posting to social media make sure you change the narrative between the different platforms, they all have context and what works on one won’t work on the other, it’s a good idea to spend some time to research what type of posts ( photo, video, language , intent ) do well on each particular platform.

6. Promotion.

Outside of social media there are a couple of things you should be doing to to build a profile.

Researching organisations, companies and brands that would potentially employ you to work with them as a photographer.

This doesn’t mean cold calling or cold emailing to offer your services, it means building a picture of what each potential employer needs in terms of images, what types of images they use, the language they use in social media, interacting with them on Linked in and other social channels.

By researching and engaging without expectation you will find that you become far more recognisable by potential employers, you’ll also find it easier to tailor your imagery to the types of photos that are currently used.

Collaborating with influencers can be a great way to build your profile and promote your work to more people. I’d recommend building a relationship via social media at first, so that means commenting and interacting on potential collaborators posts for a while before sending a DM.

You obviously also need to bring something to the table in this equation, a high quality of work is a must, so it’s a good idea to create a proposal that can be emailed that includes examples of your best work and a description of what you’d like to accomplish by working together with an influencer both in terms of images you’d like to create, and also how you would like to help contribute to the influencers portfolio.

7. Working for Free

If your just starting out, working for free is going to be a reality, but looking at it from a different angle you’ll find that it will give you invaluable experience and will lead to paid opportunities. 

By working for free i don’t mean running an Ad on facebook proclaiming that you’ll work free of charge.

What it means is going out and creating stories, images and content in your travel niche, then submitting the images or stories to as many magazines, publications, websites and travel bloggers that you can find in return for photo credit, it’s all about getting your work published and credited then using that as promotional material and evidence of your work on your website or for your social media.

Yes you will have people contact you and ask you to work for free or for a very low fee but i wouldn’t recommend taking on those jobs, as a general rule if someone contacts you to do work, you should charge the most you feel you can justify for your standard of work.

8. Website

It goes without saying that your website should be the place that shows your best work and tells the story of your photography.

Try to keep it as concise as possible and “on brand”.

If for example, you are focusing on cycling travel - only have cycling travel images on your site, and only blog about cycling travel, only list cycling travel destinations and tours. Your contact information and social links should be prominent and with no broken links. 

If you look at your website like the hub ( sorry about all the cycling analogies - i don’t even own a bike ) then all your other social accounts , a blog , a you tube channel should act as spokes that feed back into the hub as your main point of contact.

Additionally -

Speaking of blogs and youtube, in 2020 they should be a pre requisite as they can be a great asset in promoting your work, the only caveat is that you need to be confidant in either your writing ability and / or your ability to produce video content.

Both of these mediums take time to develop and there are a lot of different ways to go about it, however it’s definitely worth exploring

To wrap it up,

Getting started in 2020 is the easiest time ever to become a travel photographer, there is very little stopping you from getting out and producing great work, There is always something to learn and always room to improve, it’s just a matter of doing it. so have fun.

Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @belindavanzanen in your travel photos , i’d love to see them

You check out my Youtube channel via the link in the menu