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I am interested in making a journey as a very deliberate way of getting some sets of photos. I would like to visit a city, and capture various categories of photos. I would like to shoot intentionally for selling the images I produce.

Does anyone have a system for planning a trip like this beforehand? What sort of images are worth capturing. For example, I would be looking to take some shots for stock photography and then try to cover an area or event of particular interest and perhaps sell to newspapers.

mattdm
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Andrew Welch
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  • This seems more a question of location scouting, picking subject matter and so forth, as opposed to the other question which is about making sure batteries are charged and resetting ISO and WB. – MikeW Jan 25 '13 at 02:47
  • Warning: Be sure NEVER to travel with me :-). Our styles are so dissimilar that we'd melt down soon after morning tea on the first day :-). – Russell McMahon Jan 25 '13 at 12:57
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    @RussellMcMahon do you want to add why otherwise your comment doesn't add anything. – Andrew Welch Jan 25 '13 at 13:02
  • You might find this book useful: Travel Photography: A Guide to Taking Better Pictures (Lonely Planet How to Guides) by Richard l'Anson. It covers technique, which you may not want or need, but also has many tips about travel photography logistics. – vlad259 Jan 25 '13 at 16:56
  • Sounds ok, but maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree here. I thought that some serious travel photographer might have some kind of workflow or strategy to share... – Andrew Welch Jan 25 '13 at 17:12
  • Andrew - if you can't understand that it just further demonstrates our differences :-). But: While I have idea bout what I want to take photos of and will have general notes, I wander everywhere, look at everything, photograph everything and then some, and may decide to become involved in some minutae of a subject and spend an hour taking many photos in great detail. Or not. We'd mutually self destruct in no time :-). – Russell McMahon Jan 25 '13 at 22:48
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    Andrew - Note: Your method sounds better for what you are trying to achieve. Mine serves as a retrospective total immersion experience :-).(Random slideshow on side monitor. 8 second change, Select samples for further processing as desired when they "pop up" out of large assortment. The longer since I was there the more I remember. After months the brain logs them all and I recall every shot instantly as soon as they appear. – Russell McMahon Jan 25 '13 at 22:49
  • @RussellMcMahon This was an open question really. I really like your last comments. I spent 2 years wandering by bike taking photos, and I walk often in London taking photos. Do you have a site I can take a look at? – Andrew Welch Jan 25 '13 at 23:33
  • Andrew - I have a site BUT it consists of a "pouring in" of photos of all sorts. I cringe somewhat when referring people to it as it's not the traditional "best 100 shots" that you show people. When overseas I photograph almost anything that looks of interest. Trip photos need to be severely subset before they are worth showing people even for general interest. I'll often "try" shots which may not work on the off chance of getting that elusive good result - too dark/ too rainy / snapshot of an event - probably out of focus. ... – Russell McMahon Jan 26 '13 at 00:01
  • Sudden scene/event/face/light pattern - wake up camera!, focus, compose, zoom, frame ... gone/or not. ||| SO these are on Fotki - some people say they want to tear their eyes out after viewing their presentation :-) - it WAS good $/volume and cheap. I'm hoping to set up a more selected collection elsewhere (I've got free Flickr Pro - yet to try). || - Use scroll wheel.|| Semi random: Sudden scene/event/face/light pattern - wake up camera!, focus, compose, zoom, frame ... gone/or not. ||| SO these are on Fotki - some say they want to tear their eyes out after viewing their presentation :-) – Russell McMahon Jan 26 '13 at 00:03
  • ... Fotki WAS cheap/GB. I'm hoping to set up a more selected collection elsewhere (I've free Flickr Pro - yet to try). || - Use scroll wheel. Use page up/down to fast move || Semi random - http://public.fotki.com/RussellMc/srs/?view=roll#25 || Different semi random - may be some overlap http://public.fotki.com/RussellMc/atw/rm01/?view=roll#85 || Indonesia, Yogyakarta area / Malaysia http://public.fotki.com/RussellMc/atw/atw1105/first-look-semi-ran/?view=roll#6 - || Oh dear! - Full house. About 30,000 photos - http://public.fotki.com/RussellMc/ ||| ! Duplicates are bug in roll mode at present. – Russell McMahon Jan 26 '13 at 00:10

2 Answers2

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  1. Decide what pictures you want to shoot - select specific buildings, monuments, streets, festivals, etc.

  2. Research the hell out of whatever you are going to shoot, know in advance exactly what's the picture you want to take.

  3. Research what is the right time of year for the picture you want - weather and the sun location in the sky makes a huge difference in the photo

  4. Find out what is the right time of day to take the photo - often it's going to be sunrise, get use to getting up early enough to arrive, choose a spot, setup and take your test pictures all before the sun comes out.

  5. Return to the same location again and again and again until the weather and light is just right.

I know this is a lot of work and doesn't sound fun at all - but is is how almost all great pictures were made, don't expect to create high quality sellable pictures by taking snapshots while on vacation.

Nir
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  • Listen to #4, the time of day that you shoot is critical. Sadly, most normal people are traveling in the middle of the day, when the lighting is terrible. Get up before dawn and shoot. Also shoot in the last hour of light before sunset. It makes a huge different. – Pat Farrell Mar 17 '13 at 20:59
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It depends on the environment i'm planning on going to and what kinds of pictures i'm planning on taking. If for example, your keen on taking photos of static objects (say historical sites like a church), you might want to plan things like transport and what times of day you can be there to capture it in the best light. In addition Scouting out such locations on google maps/street view can also be beneficial to get an idea of what type of lenses you might want to use and from what points. Of course, this won't help you see inside the structure/etc but it will give you some idea about lighting around (are there lots of trees for example?) and what to expect when you get there. Check other peoples photos of the areas your going to see and find out whats interesting to you.

If you are planning on going to capture 'living' moments then i suggest finding out what times of the year are celebrated in the region you are going and going when things are at their most interesting. It depends on your subject matter of course but you can adapt that kind of research to what you want to shoot.

It sounds like you like to research an area first before you go there so do it in the context of what you want to be shooting and you should be fine.

Good luck,

NULLZ
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