Essential photo tips learnt from thousands of photo stories
All photos by John Summerton of a recent trip to Leh/Ladakh. The story is in the new issue of Sidetracked (Volume 29)
John Summerton, the founder and Creative Director of Sidetracked magazine, has reviewed many thousands of adventure submissions and understands what makes a memorable story. He shares six pieces of advice for your next trip, whether it's a big adventure or a small outing.
You don't have to take perfect photos all the time, but it's important to capture moments that tell a story. This applies to adventures with friends or snapshots of your daily life.
Enjoy these valuable pieces of advice!
Jo, founder of 20 Photos
A photo should have its own story but even better when it’s part of a set - creating a striking memory of a trip or experience. And personally it’s all about creating that story - usually by means of getting a little out of your comfort zone… but that’s half the fun.
- John Summerton
John’s Advice
1/ Reach for your camera when you least want to. It may be pouring down, freezing cold or you might be in a predicament of sorts. And this is really hard to do but it’s in the extremes that some of the best photos can be found.
“Reach for your camera when you least want to - it’s in the extremes that some of the best photos which tell stories can be found”
2/ Once you’ve spotted ‘the shot’, consider it (the subject) from a different position. Low down, further away or super close up. Basically don’t just stand there and point the camera. Move around a bit and you might find a better result.
Move around and shoot your subject from a different angle - you might find a better result.
3/ Light is everything. There’s a reason why your Instagram feeds are filled with sunrises and sunsets. The low golden glow and soft, long shadows create wonderful colours and balance to your shots. Compare shooting a scene at 7am vs the same one at noon. You’ll never look back. And even better is the blue hour (before sunrise). Chillingly beautiful and totally worth the horrific 4am alarm call.
‘Blue light’ at the beginning or end of the day (left and middle) gives a totally different feel to the harsh light and shadows of noon (right)
4/ Don’t ‘say cheese’. It’s nice to have happy snaps of friends, family or co-adventurers. But some of the great shots are a little more candid. Capturing the action and subsequent emotion is way more interesting.
“Some of the great shots of co-adventurers a little more candid. Capturing the action and subsequent emotion…”
5/ Details matter. We get a lot of photography submissions that solely feature the protagonist doing their thing. And that’s great. But it’s also good to have context. Not just the big wide mountainous landscape shots but go in close. What’s the flora and fauna like? Look for textures, details and shapes within the landscape. Or in urban areas, take a closer look at foods, signage, building materials. Being a little more observant pays off.
Details add context. Go in close, look at signage, buildings and find the small things that catch your eye.
6/ Be friendly! If you’re travelling and want to take photos of other people then I’d advise starting a conversation with them before snapping away. Don’t just assume everyone wants to have their photo taken.
If you want to take photos of other people then I’d advise checking with your subject first - being friendly goes a long way!
About John
I wouldn’t put myself in a pro-photographer category (far from it!). But I come from a background in visual arts, photography and graphic design/typography.
These days my main role is Creative Director for Sidetracked magazine in which I oversee photo and video shoots right through to managing design and production for pretty much everything that Sidetracked creates. The magazine has a great reputation for representing expedition and outdoor photography and we have a tough job on our hands working through some incredible imagery on a daily basis.
And it’s through Sidetracked that I fell back in love with taking photos. A photo should have its own story but even better when it’s part of a set - creating a striking memory of a trip or experience. And personally it’s all about creating that story - usually by means of getting a little out of your comfort zone… but that’s half the fun.
And they shouldn’t just live on your phone. Print them out, frame them or get them into a magazine ;). Way too many photos will become a distant memory with your next phone upgrade.
We’re running a festival in June called Elements which will include creative storytelling, photographer and videography masterclasses by a host of sidetracked featured artists and experts.
These might be of interest too
We also have these photography tips from professional photographers working the outdoor and expedition world - whose work has been featured in Sidetracked!
Mike Guest’s article - featuring his glorious water and surf work - his advice focuses on joy, photographing friends and seizing the moment.
Or begin at the very beginning of this series- join James Robertson’s photography advice - framed in his ultracycling work - looking at different kinds of portraiture, the importance of patience and lateral thinking!
Each article is as individual as the person. Take from this series of tips what resonates to you and enjoy playing around.