Episode #15 – How to Take Photos of Yourself When Traveling Solo

Travel photography doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating. In this episode, Meg sits down with professional photographer Anastasia Novosyolova-Blatt to share practical, beginner-friendly tips for taking better travel photos, especially when you’re traveling solo.

They cover everything from choosing the right camera setup (spoiler: your phone is probably enough) to finding the best lighting, asking strangers for photos with confidence, using simple accessories like tripods and remote shutters, and deciding when it’s worth hiring a professional photographer. Anastasia also shares her favorite editing tips and explains why mindset is often the biggest factor in getting photos you’ll actually love.

Whether you want beautiful vacation memories, better social media photos, or simply more confidence in front of the camera, this episode is packed with realistic advice you can use on your very next trip.

Transcript:

Meg: So hi everyone and welcome back to the Solo Female Travellers podcast. I’m Meg and today I’m here with Anastasia. How are you doing today?

Anastasia: Not too bad. How are you? What time is it over there?

Meg: It is 10:57, just to be exact. So, um, it’s one of the rare times where it’s the middle of the day for me. So I’m lit a little better for anyone watching on YouTube, typically with US or European audiences. I’m on meetings middle of the night. So I usually look like a head that’s floating in the darkness.

Anastasia: I know and it’s actually still well because it’s almost summer. It’s light later, so it’s actually light right now because the first time we did this it was already dark at 5:57 p.m. For me, but now the lights here until like 7:30 so we’re good and as you’ll learn later lighting is the most important part of taking a good photo or video?

Meg: It is and I do have a lot to learn because I am not the best at taking photos. I’m excellent at taking selfies. And there was an ongoing joke with our tour group on our Australia tour last year that I’ve perfected the Meg selfie pose because for anyone watching on YouTube, put your phone up like this and you tilt your head like this and you smile. 

But when it comes to taking actual photos, I chop off hands, I chop off feet. I don’t get the best lighting on our Greece tour last year, my iPhone came up, I had everybody posed in a group, ready, smiling, and then my iPhone came up with notification that my storage was full. So I kind of had to say, yep, take it, it looks great guys. And then quickly delete stuff afterwards. 

So Anastasia is here today to tell us about photography, everything about taking photography, how to do it well, how to do it great, what your setup is. And she is, has been our professional photographer on a number of our tours for a number of years, but I’ll let you introduce yourself.

Anastasia: So for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Anastasia and I am a professional photographer. I think I started around 13 years ago when my second child was born. I mainly photograph people. I do weddings, elopements, families, couples, kind of a little bit of everything. I’ve always loved photography, even as a child. And I used to have a little Canon PowerShot that I would just carry around with me everywhere. It’s kind of funny to think about, but point-and-shoot digital cameras are back in now. So that’s a big thing. Like my teenage daughter is all about her little point-and-shoot. So that’s another topic nowadays. It’s cool to have like slightly blurry photos, slightly crappy is what I call them. Slightly crappy photos are in. So if you don’t learn anything, you can just take a crappy one and you’re good to go right now. 

Anyway, so yeah, let’s talk about how to take photos of yourself best when you’re traveling, because people are always asking that in the community, in the Facebook group, I see that question all the time. And, there’s so many things that go into it, people start feeling awkward that they’re taking too long or they’re stressed out and then they end up not taking any photos. So I’m happy to help with what I can.

Meg: Great. Well, you’ve just asked yourself the first question that I was planning on asking you. So you’re very welcome to host this as well yourself if you like, but the first question is how do you take good photos of yourself while traveling solo?

Anastasia: Basically what happens is oftentimes it feel weird if there’s like a huge line in the way and you’re like, oh my God, I’m going to stop here and take all these photos and people are going to be looking at me or there’s people waiting, and then you’re like, people are gonna say, my gosh, it’s another influencer, how annoying. So you feel rushed, you make a weird face and then you look at the photo later and you’re like, oh my God, why did I even bother taking it? I think it’s easy to get in that spiral. And I think the first thing is no one’s looking at you. Nobody really cares that much. You are on this vacation, so you should enjoy yourself. Even if it’s cringe, take your time. Document it however you want to.

Maybe choose a few locations where you’re like, okay, I’m gonna actually stop and do this because this is the one that I want the photo of. It’s important to me. And then maybe other places just take a quick selfie, just kind of pick and choose so that you don’t have to feel awkward too many times and then just taking a crappy photo anyway. So have a plan and stick with it.

Meg: So what I’m hearing from you is kind of as a base level foundational tip is that confidence before you start worrying about the camera methods or your actual skills in photography, that confidence is key, right? Because yet you need to push past the awkwardness that you’re feeling. And some women feel very cringe, I guess, when they’re taking a lot of photography and they don’t want to be seen as just another influencer, but you’re right. Nobody’s looking at you.

I think one of the brutal truths that I learned pretty early on was nobody cares. You’re never going to see anybody again, but you are going to see that photo again. So yeah, I’ve taken photos while I’m traveling solo where I’m like literally prancing and being stupid and going like this, just to get the good smile photo. And that’s the one that turns out that’s the one that’s great. And nobody who was at that site is going to remember you. They don’t know your name. Even if they do, who cares?

Anastasia: Exactly. You’re only potentially somewhere one time. So I think the mindset is very important for best photos even I myself will take a photo and then later be like, why did I make that face? Because I was worried about who’s looking at me or what I’m doing. So just shake your hair out, know, do silly stuff because that’s when you get a good candid anyway, is when you kind of just play along, move around, like just act, act silly. And it shows versus lip, and then you take this photo of your face going. 

And for those of you who are just listening and not watching this, I just made a super awkward selfie face that nobody likes when they look at it later. So yes, be confident and it will show. But let’s talk about just generally back to what should you bring or maybe how to get the best photo realistically other than the mindset.

When you’re planning your trip, you know, the first decision is not just the gear, but it’s the purpose. So are you backpacking? Do you want some photos just for friends and family to see the scenery? Do you want really good photos of yourself? are you playing mini influencer? You want to post on social media? Is it for a blog? Is it a portfolio? So that will kind of dictate a bit of what kind of gear I think you should bring. Is the pace fast? Do you have too many things? Are you packing and unpacking? Are you really going to bring this and use it? 

Because I have taken trips where I’m like, I’m going to bring my big girl camera is what I call it. And then I just like never take it out. And I’m like, why did I even bring it? It’s so heavy. I don’t want to carry it everywhere. I don’t want it to get stolen. So I just leave it at home. And then I feel silly. Like, okay, why did I even do that? So I think deciding on what you’re going to bring and realistically, which places you’re visiting, can you bring a camera? is probably step one.

Meg: And that’s a really good point because I’ve also had the same kind of thought process, in terms of I want to get great photos of myself, but then I completely overpack. and that’s the same for kind of outfits too, because I know that a lot of people play in their travel outfits as well as part of the photography process, what they want to wear. I was very proud of myself. I finally, wore really beautiful colors when we went on our Egypt tour. 

Anastasia: I’ve seen them, yes.

Meg: Mar’s on a mission to remove all of the black and white from my wardrobe and on a mission to get me to wear colour. For anyone watching today, I’m wearing pink.

Anastasia: Yes, I noticed that too. It was like, whoa, a gold necklace and pink and purple. Wow. OK.

Meg: She’s actually having an effect. So Mar if you’re listening, I do listen to you. But yeah, so let’s rewind and start from the beginning of like the planning. If you are thinking about the planning, what are your main options from, I guess, the simplest to the most advanced.

Anastasia: Yeah, definitely. Well, the simplest is phone only. And nowadays the phones are really good, actually. Maybe not yours, because Mar told me your phone is old and it’s not taking the greatest photos.

Meg: That’s maybe another podcast episode where we can have a debate about iPhone versus Samsung because mine is an iPhone 13 pro, and if yes, we have, it’s a constant debate between myself and Mar to iPhone or Samsung for photos. But yes, my phone is four years old.

Anastasia: Okay, well, I have an iPhone. Yeah, it can’t be that bad, but yeah, mine is an iPhone. And even with that, you can choose different settings. You can adjust little things and it does a pretty good job. The phones really do take pretty great photos now.

Meg: Mine could be. Mine could just be a user issue.

Anastasia: Well, maybe a little bit, but maybe a little older phone doesn’t do quite as good a job. So anyways, the phone definitely phones are amazing for quick moments. They’re actually, I think, better for wider landscapes and they’re fast and easy, especially if you have a little lanyard like Mar. See, we keep talking about Mar, but lanyard is important because instead of digging for your phone and your purse, maybe you have a slash proof purse and your phone is in the pocket way in the back, and now there’s a moment and you want to take a photo and you’re like digging in there and you’re like, I don’t want to. But when it’s on a lanyard, it’s so easy. You just pick it up, take a photo. 

So I do think lanyard is pretty great. Also, when you have a phone, you don’t really need to swap lenses. You don’t need to do anything except for learn just a little bit about your phone. If does it have RAW settings? Does it have HDR settings? Can you change the quality of the photo just a little bit?

A lot of the photos have ISO sensitivity, so you can adjust how much light is being let in. Some have a feature where you tap on the screen and you can actually see it adjust from dark to light. So just kind of playing around with your phone before you even go on a trip will really kind of help you feel confident when it’s time to actually take some photos.

Meg: And the editing on some phones I’ve seen is next level. Yes, I have a four year old iPhone. So that does mean that unfortunately I don’t have the editing feature that I’ve seen on many of my friends phones where they can just tap some random in the background and they disappear. It’s like magic. So that’s kind of the whole photography process in one little device. As you’ve said, the lanyard fantastic, mainly for me when I’m going on cruise expedition cruises anywhere around water, even the beach, it gives me the confidence. No, I’m actually not going to drop it in the water or drop it off a bridge or we’re a cliff somewhere.

Anastasia: So yes, the phones are pretty great. And I have that feature. At first, I was pretty skeptical about using it. Just tap and remove. But it’s not bad if you learn how to use it as well. So that’s another thing. Sometimes people will try it, and then it doesn’t work the first time. They’re like, this sucks. But if you just play around with it and learn how to use it best, it really does work pretty well.

Meg: So then the most advanced setup would be what you’re seeing your big girl camera.

Anastasia: Yes, but there’s definitely quite a few things, more things in the middle. So the first add-on for your phone would be obviously a selfie stick. And I know we’re all like, oh my God, those people and their selfie sticks or a monopod or a tripod. So there’s just so many more things made for iPhones, especially for, okay, not just iPhones, all cell phones, but iPhones specifically with the magnetic ring. Things that slap on on the back of it are pretty incredible and you can get a selfie stick or a monopod or even a combo that changes from a monopod to a selfie stick that you literally attach via the magnetic strip on the back. And it’s super convenient. It’s super easy to use. Some of them even come with a little light on top. So if you do prefer selfies, it really lights your face just a little bit. I think it’s fantastic depending on what you’re using these photos for. Like I said earlier.

Meg: And then the digital point-and-shoot would be kind of the next step option up before you’re becoming a full scale backpack with all the lenses style photographer.

Anastasia: I think so, yeah. But even with a point-and-shoot it has a battery that you have to charge. You need a charger’s memory cards. So you need to know a little bit more how to use it unless you’re just doing the trendy blurry photos, which is great. But yeah, it’s a little bit further. It totally is. If you look at my daughter’s Instagram or TikTok, it’s all slightly blurred.

Meg: Did not know that was a trend. Maybe I’m on trend.

Anastasia: At first I was trying to teach her, was like, what are you doing? Like, I’m a photographer, your photos cannot look like this. But then okay, that’s what they’re doing now. Okay, cool.

So yes, of course, then after that, the next would be the DSLR or your mirrorless cameras, which are a bit lighter. But then you also have lenses. And then you have to decide on what kind of lens suits where you’re going and what kind of photos you want to take. So that goes back to planning and back to what type of trip you’re doing. So if you’re going on a safari, I had to rent a gigantic lens when I went. And so my gear was extremely heavy. I had two cameras. Had several lenses, but it was 100% worth it for a trip like going to Tanzania on a safari. Maybe if you’re just going in a summer trip to Europe, maybe you don’t want to bring a bunch of lenses and a bunch of gear. It’s just too many things to worry about. 

And of course, you have to know how to use those cameras because realistically, they’re not super easy and in different lighting scenarios, it can be really intimidating and then it’s just frustrating. But you’re on vacation. You don’t want to be frustrated, right? You just want to have fun and take some photos. Then another thing to think about is I think I’m going to be pretty strong opinion on this one.

If you’re going to take photos underwater, oftentimes people will get the underwater housing for their big camera. And that’s a whole nother thing that if you don’t usually use your camera outside of the water and then you plan on trying to use it under the water, I just don’t recommend it. When you can just get a little GoPro, those are so amazing with the little stick and then all the fish and all the photos. You’ll feel like a mermaid. It will be easy. You press the button, you get the video, you get the photos. It’s so good. I’m not selling GoPros. This is not sponsored by GoPro. I just think they’re quite amazing for that.

Meg: Yeah. I’ve used the GoPro. I’ve used the GoPro on many trips, Galapagos Islands, like Antarctica. And it’s been fantastic. And I really do think that the simplest setup, which is the phone and knowing how to use all of the different options of attachments, the little mini upgrades that you can make that experience even better is probably the most realistic option that most people travel with these days, especially solo. So it’s actually really nice to hear from a professional photographer.

That you don’t need to get drawn into all of this overwhelming, like just minefield of what are the, what type of DSLR camera do I have and do I need to use? And do I need to use six months learning it? I do love the tip and advice of learning which camera you’re using first, because that even applies to a phone to be perfectly honest. There’s so many settings on my iPhone that I just don’t know how to use. I think we came back from Greece and you were looking at the photos to edit them for us and you were asking me if I had it on like a fisheye thing because they all looked stretched. I’m like, I don’t even know what that is. Definitely, even if you’re using a phone, 100% go out a couple of weeks, even a couple of days beforehand, start photographing. If you have your friends come over, them if you can take their photos, go out to a local market, go out to the woods, take photos.

Anastasia: A little bit.

Meg: In the style that you think you’ll be taking overseas obviously, but that practice will make them so much better when you actually get there. And like you said, then you’re not frustrated. Then you’re like, why are my photos coming out stretched? It’s because I had a fisheye. Fisheye hang on.

Anastasia: It’s because you had it on 0.5x, which works great for landscape. Actually, I pretty much always do landscape in 0.5x. But when you have people on the edges of the photo, they stretch out and it just looks weird. 

Meg: That’s fair, nobody likes to look stretched. Nobody after listening to this is going to want me taking photos on their tours. I’m getting better.

Anastasia: OK, so let’s talk a little more about what you can do if you’re just if you’re deciding to use a phone. Like I said, it’s pretty great option for most trips. I already mentioned the lanyard. I mentioned the selfie stick/monopod, but there’s a few other things. even my phone, it’s not that old. It’s iPhone 16, I think, pro. It overheats. It overheats pretty easily when you’re in a hot summer day in Barcelona, for example and you’re taking all these photos and if it overheats it will die faster.

Having a small power bank could really be helpful. I mean, the big ones are great too for charging, like in your purse. Yep, just like that. Or even smaller, if you have it on your neck on a lanyard, I really love the little tiny ones that just plug in straight into your phone, just on the bottom and it’ll recharge it and you don’t even necessarily have to take it off your neck. That way can just take photos when you’re ready.

The next biggest upgrade I think is a remote shutter. So if you have a tripod or monopod or you plan on using a GorillaPod, I haven’t mentioned this one yet, but it’s basically like a little tripod that is kind of grippy. You can use it on like railings. So it’s really great for street photos as long as you’re not in a place where it’s just going to get snatched.

So yes the first upgrade I would say is getting a remote shutter or a timer having a way to release the shutter, if you have it set up where you want it and then going to a spot where you want to be for the photo, it will be much easier to get the photo or to get a bunch of photos so that you can choose the best one later. I really enjoy the fact that, and I’m not selling iPhones or Apple products, but I have an Apple watch. It’s an older version. It’s nothing new or fancy, but it has the little camera app that connects to the phone. And so you can set it up. You can tap on the screen and you can release the shutter remotely, or you can even do the timer. And on top of that, on the little screen, even though it’s tiny, you can see if you’re in the right place, in the photo and you can adjust it is it’s, it’s incredible. I honestly use my watch for that. Like all the time.

Meg: That’s cool. I didn’t know that. Mar is going to be really upset because you’re convincing me that my next phone is just going to be remain an iPhone, just the next version up.

Anastasia: It’s very convenient because you can adjust you can even zoom in or zoom out on the watch screen like what? Yes, you can so.

Meg: On the watch. That’s amazing. I almost tried to reach through the computer to be like that on your watch, just cause that seems so cool. I’m like, can we do that?

Anastasia: Yeah, I know. Well, there’s like a little button on the side that you’d move. I do sometimes accidentally change it, but you can just, you’ll notice it and you’ll change it back. So I really love that, that portion, or you can get a remote shutter on Amazon for probably 10 bucks or less, depending on what quality of a remote you want for your phone or for your camera. But having one is definitely a huge upgrade to any setup.

Meg: So I have my gear. We’ve set up the shot. We have our little fabulous Apple watch which can zoom in. And so what about lighting now and time of day?

Anastasia: Oh my gosh. So I probably should have started with lighting because to be honest, lighting is the most important thing. I’ve said this forever. It was my big aha moment. I think when I feel like I got good at photography is lighting. It’s true. 

When you’re lighting a photo, you probably have to decide first, do you want the background to be lit well, or do you want your face to be lit? Well, unfortunately, sometimes of day, you cannot have both, especially if you’re using a phone. This is probably where the phones lack a little bit comparing to a bigger camera like a DSLR or even a point-and-shoot. 

For example, and this is where learning how your phone works really could help, if you’re taking a selfie you can tap on your face usually on the screen and it will light your face properly and you’ll be able to see if the background is going to be dark. You have to decide are you focusing on your face in that photo or do you want the background to be better. Then of course, lighting once again, time of day is probably even more important. And I know it’s not always realistic to get up early or go somewhere at sunset. But maybe for the places that you really want your photos to shine, or maybe you are going to dress up and take really cute photos, maybe try to go early in the morning or closer to sunset because the light is so much nicer on your skin.

In the mornings, oftentimes the busier places are emptier. So you don’t have to worry about a million people in your shots too. Of course, that’s not the case everywhere, but still. Then again, if you are in a city with large buildings, going early in the morning will avoid most people. But the light might even be better midday because sun is blocked most of the day anyways. So really, any time of day, can find good places. You can find shade and you can find a location to get a good photo. Liighting is important. It’s the most important thing, but don’t let that prevent you from taking the photos. Just play around with the camera, play around with the light, see the light, try to learn to see which light photographs best for what. And midday can be amazing, especially for architecture, for cities, bright streets you will get the blue skies if you like them like Mar. You will get those midday. You will not get a blue sky or blue sky in the afternoon.

Meg: And that kind of circles all like everything fits in together, right? So lighting is part of your planning. Also part of your practice. So if you do head out and practice with the camera, you’ve got, whether that’s your phone or your point-and-shoot or your big lenses. If you’re heading out and practicing, then you’ll be able to do it in the moment very quickly. Cause I know for instance, it’s very difficult. If there are a lot of people around, you only might have a two second window to get that shot. And you’ve got to be really quick with moving the phone to know how the settings work to get that lighting. Perfect. planning wise at a time of day at the attraction that you’re going to, to have no people in the shot and kind of time that with the lighting. So it does all fit in and all flow once that all comes together. I did want to also ask you about something you mentioned earlier about strangers and we’ve touched on asking a stranger, we’ve touched on your phone getting stolen. So what, what are your recommendations around asking a stranger to take your photo and setting yourself up for success there?

Anastasia: Yes. I think it’s great. I honestly would rather ask a stranger than the setup a tripod. Me personally, I do like the selfie stick sometimes for like a photo somewhere from further away this is where you use the 0.5x so you can get the scenery behind you. But asking a stranger will really help, but you have to remember that the stranger may not be a photographer or it’s not really not a photographer. You’re the photographer. So before you even ask someone, look at the scenery, look at wherever you are, decide what frame you want. You want to set up the person for success. Before I ask anyone, do three things. 

First, I decide on the frame. I actually use my own phone. I hold it up and check and I’ll probably even take a photo just to see, does it look good from here? Do I want this angle or that angle? Then I decide where I’m going to stand in that photo. I might even go over there, and kind of see, is there too many people? Can I stand here comfortably? Then I go back to where I want the photo to be taken from. And then I start looking around to see what kind of people are around me because not everyone you ask will be the same.

I will probably pick someone who is maybe younger, who is already maybe taking photos of each other, or people who clearly want someone to take a photo of them too, so we can trade. I can take a photo of them. They can take a photo of me. Usually, I will actually take a photo on my phone of the frame that I want and show them the frame and say, I want it just like this. And oftentimes they will see it and they’ll be like, okay, I understand. And then I already know where I’m going to go. So I go in the spot and then usually they won’t cut off my feet or arms because I’ve already told them where I want to be. And I’ve already tested to see where I want to stand. And then the next biggest thing I think is to think of what poses you want to do ahead of time as well. So oftentimes we don’t look at the frame. We don’t look at where we want to stand. We just hand their phone to someone and say, okay, take a photo. And then you go over there and then you’re like, you make that weird face.

You don’t know if they’re cutting off your arm, if they’re diagonal or what’s happening. And then you get the photo back and they’re always like, let me know if it’s good. And then you feel bad saying, no, it sucks. You’re like, okay, thanks. 

Meg: Then you’re waiting for 15 minutes so you can ask the next person without offending them.

Anastasia: To your point though, I would, I would, if this is a place where you really wanted a photo, going back to what we said earlier. Don’t worry about it. Just wait five more minutes and ask someone else because this is your place. This is your vacation. Just get the photo. If you’re traveling solo and you still want photos, there’s nothing wrong with asking another person.

Meg: I do feel to like people don’t have enough confidence with asking strangers and they feel embarrassed and they feel cringe. They just want to give someone the camera, get it done with, but then you do, you take a lot of pride in that photo and you’ve actually taken the first step in the courage to ask someone you’ve given probably the most valuable thing that you’ve got with you at that time to someone else. So why not set them up for the success so that you’re actually happy with it afterwards? Because people also take pride in the photos they’re taking.

I feel a little sense of like, I’m so happy that I made your day when I hand someone back their phone in there and they go, wow, like that’s really good. Thank you so much. So yeah, set them up for success. Do feel confident enough to say, actually, can you please, I want it in this frame. I’m going to stand right there, come towards me and take the photo from this spot. And that would be amazing. People will say, sure. And people will be happy to make your day and help you out.

Anastasia: It’s so true. People are always more than happy. And oftentimes they don’t even speak English. And I’m like, you just point to the phone and they know what you’re asking for. And then I always ask them right after, would you like a photo? And if they say no, fantastic. If they do, great. I will take one for them. I’ve even handed over my big girl camera before. Usually I only do that if I see someone who already has their own.

Especially if it’s the same brand because it’s easier. But even if not, if I can tell that they’re probably a photographer or at least an amateur photographer, and I feel like it’s not an area where I think someone’s going to snatch my camera from their hands, I will ask. And most of the time they want to as well because they’re a photographer and they will pretty much always want a photo as well of them. So don’t be afraid to even do that.

Meg: And who do you target to reduce the risk of having it snatched? Have you ever had your camera snatched?

Anastasia: No, I’ve never had it. I actually even left the lens before. I was swapping my lenses and I took one and I set it down on the side, just like where I was sitting. And I got up and started taking all these photos of stuff. And then I was like, where’s my lens? I go back and I was like, thankfully it’s still there. So there’s that, maybe don’t do that. But if I’m handing over the DSLR, my big girl camera, I target someone who has one of those. I wouldn’t hand it to a person with just the phone. They will never even want to. I’ve tried before and, even friends who don’t usually use a big camera.

And I said, hey, you want to take a photo? And they’re looking at me like, no, because it’s heavy. My camera is heavy. The lens is big. It’s scary. It’s just like, even if I say, hey, all you have to do is tap on the back, because I have a touchscreen. Most of the time, people are uncomfortable doing that. So I don’t want to put people in that position. And that’s fine. So yes, for big cameras, I usually ask someone who I can tell already has one. And it’s not just a point-and-shoot.

Meg: Sorry, I’m about to make you cringe with this next story. But so my ex-husband was a wildlife photographer, professional photographer. He has the fancy DSLRs. We were on a road trip through the Outer Banks, North Carolina. So there’s a lot of sand, coastal. I really wanted to get an amazing video of the road.

Here we go. That type of thing. I’ve stood up through our window. What’s it called? The roof window, the hole in the roof. Yeah. That the wind roof definitely had my seatbelt on at the time. Stood up through the sun roof with my seatbelt on cause we follow safety. 

Anastasia: Sound roof? Lunar roof? Yes.

Meg: But to film and unfortunately while because we were moving and we’re in a sandy location all the sand has come at the lens and it’s dinging up the lens of this very expensive camera it was not a fun rest of the road trip because i like we replay it need to replace that lens so like yes there’s definitely something to be said for handing it to someone with experience who knows how to use it especially if it’s something expensive like that so I feel you on that.

And then you mentioned earlier drones. What are some considerations about traveling with drones? Like should I just go and get a drone because I think I’m going to get awesome photos from my trip to Greece next month.

Anastasia: I want to say yes, because I’m a crazy person. But realistically, probably not. Although, you get drones, there’s so many pocket drones a lot of drones that I’ve seen that are pretty cheap and nowadays pretty easy to use. But I would still recommend, if you do want a drone, definitely get it way ahead of time.

Definitely do your research whether or not you’re even allowed to fly a drone where you’re going and practice flying it at home practice flying it in different weather rain, wind. Probably not the best time to fly especially wind because they they’re so light if you get a very expensive drone and you fly it over water this happened to my husband where he flew out of range we started seeing the drone falling, like starting to get lower, lower, lower. And he had to like wade into the, he literally ran into the water with his clothes on to go catch it. Yeah. I was enjoying the moment. I really laughed my butt off, but you probably don’t want to do that when you’re traveling. Just not ideal.

But drone photos are amazing for scenery. If you’re going somewhere, which I have not gone to Iceland, so I don’t know where it’s allowed. don’t go to Iceland and take drone with you. I don’t know. Do your research. But imagine having drone photos in Iceland. I know our photographer took some, and they were incredible. And I’m sure she did it where it was allowed. But certain landscapes just call for drone photos. So I’m not discouraging you. Sure, do it. But just do your research and learn how to use your equipment. You’ll prevent all kinds of upset later on.

Meg: So before we finish up, let’s talk a little bit too about editing because it’s not just about the photos that you take, right? I have you on our team, which is fabulous because I upload my photos to Google Drive and then I say, Anastasia, do some editing magic. Please fix them all. Fix my straight lines. Fix my head, heads in horizons. but I think that some people do take a great photo and then they judge it instantly, but just doing a couple of tweaks can actually really help the quality of the photo and the finished product. So what’s your realistic take on editing photos for travel? Like what’s worth doing and what’s overkill?

Anastasia: Well, I mean, like anything, I think a lot of it is taste. So do you prefer brighter photos, slightly moodier photos? So that is a preference. I think skin retouching nowadays, there’s so many apps that you can retouch your skin if it’s a photo of you up close. And there’s so many various levels of AI powered editing for skin that skin and hair that you can just choose the best one that works best for you. 

I should never really fix my skin in my photos that much unless there’s like a giant zit on my face. I kind of just leave it natural. I prefer touching up things like contrast or color or if there’s crooked lines, if the horizon is crooked, if I feel the composition is a bit off, I crop it in or expand the background before. So nowadays it’s not just cropping, you can expand it and oftentimes it’ll do a pretty good job.

Definitely adjusting exposure if your face is too dark or If you took a photo of the sunset and it was just a little bit too dark, brightening it up or brightening up a portion of a photo. Honestly, all of this you can nowadays do in your iPhone app. I know we keep talking about iPhones. I feel bad for Android users.

Meg: It’s a very big discussion for years about Samsung versus iPhone between myself and Mar So I feel vindicated and she’s not here to offer the opposite side of the debate. So this is great.

Anastasia: Yeah, I know. Well, hopefully someone comments and tells us like, I have an Android and it’s way better. I want to hear it because maybe it is. I’m not sure. I’m not like super in love with the iPhone, but it works great. And if you learn how to use any equipment to the best of its ability, you will get pretty good photos.

Meg: It is actually about that too, because with the editing for something that I personally really like is bright photos. So I’ll turn up the brightness on most of my photos. I did realize pretty early on that my iPhone at various times a day, or if it’s too hot, like you said, before it overheats, it automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen. So I was pulling the brightness of my photos up like crazy. And then when I was going through them a day later, when my bright, the screen brightness was at full level.

My photos were so overexposed and so crazy. like, what, what is going on? It’s, and it’s because I didn’t know properly how to use my phone in just a very basic thing, like turning up the brightness. So that practice and that learning how to use any device that you’re using, whether it’s a DSLR or whether it’s a phone, it sounds basic, but like having your screen on full brightness and then turning up the brightness and then sending someone a photo with like, what, like, why do you think this is good? Yes, is basic, but it makes a big difference.

So we’ve covered the planning, the confidence, going up to strangers, choosing the lighting, choosing the settings, practicing, if all else fails. So you’re talking to someone like me. If all else fails, what is the last option available?

Anastasia: Well, you can always hire a professional photographer. I think that’s the best way, especially if you’re heading a solo trip and you have somewhere beautiful that you maybe brought a cute dress or whatever kind of outfit and you want some good photos. I would hire someone.

Maybe find the best day during your trip and the location that you think will have great photos. Do you research ahead of time? Book someone good? I think when I say good, I mean, read the reviews, read reviews that are recent if possible. Look at their photos. Do you like the vibe of the photos?

Do you like the colors that they use? There’s so many, as we talked about various ways that people edit their photos. And then I honestly do think that it’s important to kind of vibe with your photographer or whatever word you want to use, but you want to feel comfortable, right?

Especially if it’s a solo photo shoot where you’re posing and maybe you are nervous to be in front of the camera, get on the phone, talk to them, see what their process is like. It really will help you feel more comfortable if you speak with them ahead of time. And maybe when you speak with them, you realize, okay, maybe this person is not for me and talk to someone else. And if you are booking someone, then definitely just lean into it.

If the photographer asks you to do something silly where you feel like, oh my God, why am I walking drunk walking? Why am I doing pretending to do this? Why am I flipping my hair side to side? Just roll with it because they’re know what they’re doing. So just roll with it. Have fun. If you need to loosen up beforehand by, I don’t know, taking a shot of something, if you drink, do that.

Sometimes music helps, for certain sessions, I will bring a small little speaker. I’ll ask them ahead of time what music they like and I’ll just play that music. And sometimes it gets people more relaxed and in the mood and they start grooving during the photos and it’s great. You want that, you want to see that. The camera will capture that.

Meg: Ultimately too, feel like those type of photos are the ones that you’re actually going to print out on a canvas to put on your wall at home because they’re the ones that you’ve paid for, you’ve planned a really nice outfit for and yeah, why not just get a professional.

Anastasia: Yes, and honestly, you might even it might be even a very fun experience that you will remember. won’t just be OK. I took these photos. It’ll be like I did this for myself and it was a fun experience with this photographer. And you might go back there again and you might hire them again. 

And I say that because I kind of live in an area where we have people that come here on vacation a lot people sometimes will get married. I actually got an inquiry today, for example, they got married here a few years ago and now they’re coming back with their children. And I photographed their wedding and now they want me to photograph them with their babies. And how cool is that, right? Because they had fun, they enjoyed the experience, now they want to do it again. So I think it should be a great fun experience for anyone if you book a photographer.

Meg: Love it. Well, before we finish up, I have some quick fire rapid fire questions for you and I’m adding one of my own. have my little script here, but I’m going to add one of my own. 

So iPhone or Samsung.

Anastasia: iPhone, Apple watch

Meg: Phone only or phone plus tripod.

Anastasia: Phone only because okay, hold on. I know it’s rapid fire, but if you are okay with putting your phone random places, I’ve propped up my phone on a branch with a rock with two rocks on my backpack. Like as long as you can press the button on your watch, or if you have a way to set the timer, I think you can get pretty creative as long as you’re not worried about your phone and it’s not like your baby, it’s going to scratch or whatever. If you have insurance, which I do, which I hope most people do.

So anyway, I set it up in weird locations and get pretty cool photos that way, or I ask a stranger.

Meg: Sunrise or sunset?

Anastasia: I’m supposed to answer this quickly. I see now why people have such a hard time just answering the question when I interview them because you want to explain yourself. Sunrise.

Meg: Ask a stranger or figure it out yourself.

Anastasia: I know we talked so much about asking strangers, ask a stranger.

Meg: And what is the biggest mistake just closes off that people make when taking photos of themselves.

Anastasia: I really do think it’s the mindset. I think it’s the feeling awkward. I think it’s the trying to rush through taking the photo because whatever it is you’re worried about looking silly. There’s too many people who’s watching me. What does this look like? I think that’s when you get the crappier photos is when you’re too worried about it. And maybe you rush yourself through it and you’re like, I only have five minutes. Okay. Well, I didn’t get a good photo or well, I’ll just try again later somewhere else.

But no, just take a moment, take the photo, retake the photo, ask another stranger. It’s okay.

Meg: Well, thank you so much for joining us. And please do if you’ve listened to this podcast, please send us the photos that you’ve taken on your trip via email after you’ve taken the trip. And after you listen to the podcast, we’d love to hear. 

You can also go to the calendar page of our website on tours.solofemaletravelers.club and see all of our trips, which have a professional photographer like Anastasia on them. There’s a little camera next to those departures, which denotes the photography. And we would love to see you. We would love to see your photos. Please send them in to us. We hope this podcast today has been valuable.

Anastasia: Thank you.

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And it’s time for this week’s embarrassing travel story. We’ll call this one the red beep. This one is from Anonymous and here’s her story. 

I was flying home after a trip and I was on time to the airport for once. I got through security and found my gate, I filled up my water bottle, I grabbed a coffee, my usual pre-flight routine.

I was working on downloading some music in an eBook on my phone in case there was no Wi‑Fi on the plane. Eventually boarding started, so I got my things and joined in the line. I was in boarding zone five, so I stood in line for a good while before getting to the gate agent. They scanned my boarding pass and I saw the dreaded red beep. I was like, surely this is just a malfunction, so they scanned it again. Red beep. The gate agent looked at my boarding pass, looked at me, and said, you’re at the wrong gate. My heart dropped. Things felt like they were happening in slow motion. Not only was I embarrassed, but once I came to, I panicked about missing my actual flight. The reality wasn’t that bad though. My gate was just the one next door, and they both happened to be boarding at almost the same time. It really didn’t help that I was quite tired too. 

In the end, all I had to do was walk 30 meters to the right and they weren’t even boarding my zone yet. So I made the flight, no problem. The embarrassment and panic I felt for those 30 seconds though will stay with me forever. 

I have almost missed my gate at CDG in France once as well, similar situation. 

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Miss Anonymous. If you have an embarrassing travel story of your own, would love to hear it. Submit yours at www.solofemale travelers.club.