My Secrets To Stunning Solo-Travel Self-Portrait Photos
Hello, it’s me, your resident self-portrait photo queen. Okay no, queen was bold, let’s just go with enthusiast. I travel solo often, so I’ve had to figure out a way to bring the photos I’m envisioning to life. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say. The way I see it, you could easily Google generic (and stunning, nonetheless) photos of the places you’re visiting, but that’s not why you’ve made the journey. I like to create my own art through my photography in the places I explore, and I find there’s no better way to put my own individual stamp on this than becoming part of the art. So, here’s my process. Read on to learn how I took some of my all time favourite solo-travel self-portrait photos.
Self-Timer is Your Best Friend
This might be the most obvious one but, doesn’t hurt to say it. The majority of self-portrait photos I take are taken by using the 10 second self-timer setting on my camera. I started off in the good old days (2015) taking self portraits by just setting up my phone on video pointing at where I was going to be and leaving it playing while I walk about and pose. In some situations I still do this, but most of my favourite photos are taken from self-timer. The self-timer, unlike videoing, does put a time crunch on you getting to your desired position. This photo required a quick slightly athletic jump to get to the rock, and the photo below required me to sprint away in the water to get far enough away from the camera to get the composition I’d imagined.
No Tripod, No Problem
I don’t own a tripod. Maybe I should but I don’t. The idea of carrying one around with me on hikes, or just having to set it up seems like a lot of work. More often than not you can find somewhere to set up your camera that will work just fine. A few of these self-portraits are stops on the side of the road so I set up the camera on the car. I’ll either place it on the hood or I’ll put down the window all the way and balance my camera on the window sill area (yes, I like to live dangerously). This isn’t to dissuade you from using a tripod, go for it, I just personally don’t (yet?).
I took the photo below right off John D. Rockefeller Parkway in Grand Teton National Park. My camera was balanced on the hood of my car and yes, this photo absolutely needed adjusting afterwards to get the horizon horizontal.
Pay Attention To The Light
This is the golden rule of photography, so maybe another obvious one. Pay attention to the light! Some of the best self-portraits I have are from sunrises, sunsets, or just the light catching a little differently.
For this photo I made sure to line up where my shadow was cast with the lens of the camera. The edge of my head’s shadow was lying halfway across the lens meaning giving the final photo this sun glare effect that I’m obsessed with.
Get Moving For Your Photos
I love the effect that adding a subject in motion to a photo has on giving a real sense of experiencing the place. I can’t remember if I posed this step or if it was natural and I was really walking away, either way I love what it adds to the photo.
Imperfect is Perfect
I usually go into my self-portraits with a vision of what I’d like it to look like, but that doesn’t always work out. Sometimes the focus being on a different part of the photo can still create a moment worth capturing.
With this photo I took the Badlands National Park in South Dakota, I wasn’t thrilled with it to begin with as the focus was on the background. I ended up tweaking it in Lightroom and adding grain to the photo to give it more of an antique feel and now I love the overall effect.
You Don't Have To Be A One Shot Wonder
A lot of these photos are taken in one go, but equally, a lot of the photos are not. It often takes multiple shots to get a pose that you like and the composition you were picturing. So enjoy the process, take your time. Laugh when it looks completely wrong and don’t beat yourself up if it’s not right first time!
I also wrote this: The Most Magical Photo Spots In Grand Teton National Park
Feel The Solo-Travel Fantasy
Ok, this might not be for everyone, but sometimes I do plan ahead with outfits so I can get a more stunning self-portrait. You know, like those photos you see of women wearing flowing dresses is completely impractical places? One thing I love about solo travel is you can do what you like for photos, and no one is around to tell you it’s a silly or “extra” idea. The only thing I do in terms of process here, is try and figure out what colours are going to complement the landscape wherever I’m headed.
My favourite planned outfit self-portrait situation happened in Monument Valley. I knew I was heading to the bright orange Utah desert and I knew I had my white dress in my suitcase… An artistic vision and a plan began to form. In Kayenta, AZ the last town before Monument Valley, I did a quick change in the McDonald’s bathroom. I emerged among the older fanny-pack clutching, visor-wearing crowd sticking out like a sore thumb. Running around barefoot in my favourite dress in the Utah desert brought me so much joy and I’m so happy I have the photos to remember it.
You Really Can Fix It In Post
Post processing is your best friend. Often when you’re not at the viewfinder the photo you end up taking is not exactly what you had in mind… But that’s why we have cropping tools and Lightroom! Something to keep in mind here is that it’s always better to have a more zoomed out photo so if you need to rotate the photo to ensure it’s horizontal, nothing important gets cropped out. It’s also beneficial to have a more zoomed out photo so you can play with compositions of your final shot. Scroll down to look at the ‘bigger picture’ below.
How do you take your solo travel self-portrait photos? Is there anything else you’d like to know? Let me know!
