Here are some tips to get your photography journey to feel less
Rule of thirds: The best things come in threes! The divine grid that you want to start visualizing every time you look through your camera's viewfinder will be your best guide to overcoming not knowing where to start. Your phone has a setting to apply the 3 x 3 grid to your screen. Your photo subjects should fall where the lines meet. For portraiture, align your subject's eyes on the top first line. For landscape, align the horizon on one of the (horizon)tal lines. If you see any sets of threes, take a picture! Here are three little boats I snapped in Budung, Bali.
Dimension: How deep is your photo? Add depth and meaning by having a foreground subject and multiple background subjects. Layering things creates motion and causes your viewer's eye to wander from subject to subject. Here is a traffic controller I snapped in Ubud, Bali.
Color: Pops of color are unmissable in travel photography. Find saturated objects to stand out and draw attention to your photo. Don't miss your bus trying to take a good photo though! This lazy dog was so cute in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Portraiture: A street vendor in Mexico balancing a swaying Jenga of sombreros on his head, a mother crossing the streets of India draped in vibrant clothing, or a Balinese rice field worker at dawn surrounded by greenery and sunrise fog... You don't want to let your shyness stray you away from capturing these stunning moments. Scenery is beautiful, but people are more captivating! Don't feel intimidated by your differences, take the photo before you miss it, then have the respect to greet them afterwards. Even if they don't speak English, a smile will send them a positive message of appreciation. Try showing them the photo and they should be sure to love it! Here is a late night snack shop worker in Bangkok, Thailand.
Leading lines: If you stand in an alley or hallway, you'll notice ceiling and floor lines that lead to the end of the hallway. In photography, lines can be used to draw attention to a subject or a part of your photo. Notice how the straw roofs of these huts create leading lines towards the little girl's face. Are you leading your viewers on? This little girl from the Karen Tribe in Chiang Rai, Thailand was adorable!
Geometry: Life is full of shapes and symmetry. Play with the windows of a building or the shadows of a house by aligning them differently and creating an interesting correlation between shapes. If you notice a repetition of things, people, or shapes, capture them by zooming in a bit so they take up your whole frame. Colorful homes are everywhere in El Valle, Mexico.
Selfies: It's time to grow some courage and ask a stranger to take your photo. The front facing camera on your phone just won't capture it all! If you ask another tourist for a picture, make sure to bribe them by offering to take theirs afterwards. It always works! Do get all your typical standing-in-front-of-an-iconic-landmark photos, but step outside of that predictability and get some candid photos in front of walls with street art, beautiful gardens, or bar settings. Try some selfies from a distance, in reflections, and close ups for variety. We tried to get creative in Ubud, Bali.
Documentation: Photography is an amazing way to capture what you may not remember after your travels are over. Use your camera to document the little details that you would otherwise not remember. Of course you will remember what the leaning tower of Pisa looked like, so no need to take 50 pictures of it from the same angle. Instead try documenting the names engraved on the cement nearby, the texture of the stacked bricks, a closeup of the bell alone, what it looks like from the ground up (squat time), and the reactions of people tilting their heads to admire it. Look at those nerd looking rocks in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Perspective: It is what you make it! You are completely in control and dictate what kind of photos you end up with. The more photos you take, the more you will start to build your character as a photographer and add your own twist to your visuals. You will start to see the world with a fresh perspective. Have fun and don't think twice before taking a photo. You can always delete it, but you'll never be able to recreate a moment that already passed. I remember feeling fully present when I snapped this shot on the beach in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand.